One of the strategic corporate objectives of Audi is to develop technologies that combine driving fun with sustainability.
It seeks solutions that strike a balance between individual mobility on the one hand and economy, ecology and the requirements of Audi customers on the other.
The models of the Audi tron family demonstrate especially well how these seemingly opposing pulls can be reconciled. g-tron stands for drive concepts that run on synthetic Audi e-gas and natural gas and achieve an excellent CO2‚ footprint. The first production model to pave the way for CO2-neutral long-distance mobility is the A3 Sportback g-tron.
The term e-tron, on the other hand, stands for the systematic electrification of the driveline. As one outcome of its research and development projects in this area, Audi is now going into volume production with the A3 Sportback e-tron, the first premium compact car with plug-in hybrid drive.
With its plug-in hybrid concept, the A3 Sportback e-tron combines the advantages of the combustion engine with those of electric drive. The entire expertise that Audi has built up in the sphere of hybrid technology has been channeled into its concept. The parallel driveline features a 1.4 TFSI working in tandem with a powerful electric motor. The power is transmitted to the front wheels via a newly developed e-S tronic. The liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery is located ahead of the front axle; it stores 8.8 kWh of energy, enough to drive 50 kilometers (31.07 miles) purely electrically and therefore with zero local emissions.
With 150 kW (204 hp) of system power and 350 Nm of system torque (258.15 lb-ft), the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron is a sporty premium compact vehicle. It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in 7.6 seconds and reaches a top speed of 222 km/h (137.94 mph). The overall range is 940 kilometers (584.09 miles) and the electric range 50 kilometers (31.07 miles). Consumption measured in accordance with the ECE standard averages just 1.5 liters of fuel per 100 km (156.81 US mpg), equivalent to CO2 emissions of 35 grams per kilometer (56.33 g/mile). The A3 Sportback e-tron will go on sale from the end of 2013.
The A3 Sportback g-tron interprets the principle of sustainable mobility in a new, pioneering way. Its 1.4-liter TFSI engine runs on Audi e-gas, a synthetic fuel that in chemical terms is almost identical to natural gas and can therefore be distributed as mains natural gas. This fuel, which the brand with the four rings produces at its newly completed facility in Werlte, in the Emsland district, is CO2-neutral. Its starting components are water and carbon dioxide, and it is produced using exclusively renewable power. The A3 Sportback g-tron will be arriving at dealers before the end of this year.
The A3 Sportback g-tron and A3 Sportback e-tron already show how diverse the Audi range of technologies for sustainable mobility is. Audi will be bringing further pioneering cars onto the market in rapid succession.[wzslider height=”400″ lightbox=”true”]
