Filed under: Concept Cars, Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Europe, Audi, Electric, Racing

Audi is letting the mighty e-tron out to play with the other kids, taking its EV concept to the Silvretta E-Auto Rally in Austria. The competition is designed to pit the latest and greatest of the electric vehicle world against each other over 10 special stages that cover a total of 104 miles. The company has picked Michael Dick, a member of its board for technical development, and Lukas Luhr, a factory race driver, to helm the machine throughout the event.

If you rack your brain a bit, you just might recall that the e-tron uses a total of four electric motors to put power to the ground. The company is still standing by its claim that the machine puts out a total of 3,319 pound-feet of torque, even though it was eventually settled that the figure came from torque at the wheels, not at the output shaft. Even so, it should be plenty quick with the joy of all-wheel drive and a little over 300 horsepower to scoot the car around.

Look for the car and its crew to show up at the race starting this weekend. Click the jump for the press release.

[Source: Audi]

Continue reading Audi R8 e-tron entered in road rally

Audi R8 e-tron entered in road rally originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Jul 2025 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Hybrid, Geneva Motor Show, Hatchback, Audi, Electric

After teasing us with a few goodies yesterday, Audi has just released technical details on its new A1 e-tron concept that debuts later today at the Geneva Motor Show. As we already knew, the A1 uses an extended range electric architecture like the Chevrolet Volt, but with a compact and power-dense Wankel rotary engine/generator to keep the battery alive after power from the grid is depleted. The diagrams released by Audi show that the Wankel is mounted in the car’s rear behind the T-shaped battery pack that sits mostly under the rear seat.

The lithium ion battery pack has a capacity of 12 kilowatt-hours, which is claimed to provide about 30 miles of range on a charge. Unlike the 1,000+ pound pack in the original e-tron concept, this unit weighs in at just 330 pounds. The electric motor provides a standard output of 45 kW or 61 horsepower, though peak power of 75 kW or 102 hp is available in short bursts and keeps the car’s 0-62 mile-per-hour time around 10 seconds. The motor and all of the power electronics reside in the car’s front where the internal combustion powerplant of a conventional A1 would normally be found.

The Wankel weighs in at just 154 lbs and displaces just 254 cc of volume in its single rotor. The whole unit is small enough to sit below the cargo floor of the A1. Running at a constant 5,000 rpm, the rotary motor can extend the A1 e-tron’s range to 130 miles. Why not longer? The fuel tank holds only 3.17 gallons. With the Wankel running, Audi says the A1 e-tron will return about 124 miles per gallon U.S.

Of historical note, the first ever production car with a Wankel rotary engine was introduced by NSU back in 1964. NSU later merged with Auto Union, which also included Audi, the sole surviving brand of the group.

[Source: Audi]

Continue reading Audi A1 e-tron runs like Volt, advances ER-EV concept

Audi A1 e-tron runs like Volt, advances ER-EV concept originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 01 Mar 2026 23:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Audi will finally show off its new A1 minicar this week in Geneva. As usual, it’ll be available in Europe with an array of gas and diesel engines, but a French website reports that the A1 will also form the basis for a third e-tron concept. If Audi sticks with the pattern it started last month in Detroit, this one will be dubbed the e-tron Geneva Concept. The idea isn’t without merit; reports that Audi plans to build a roadgoing electric version of the A1 have circulated for some time.

While Audi plans to build a limited run of the R8-based e-tron that it unveiled in Frankfurt, an electric car based on the new A1 is most likely to be the brand’s first volume plug-in vehicle. Small, limited-range, urban commuters like the A1 will likely dominate the electric car arena for the foreseeable future until battery costs come down. A tip of the hat to Adam!

[Source: Le Buzz Auto]

Report: Audi A1-based e-tron concept headed to Geneva originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 27 Feb 2026 14:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Audi called “Shotgun” on Playstation Home, and is so far the only automaker to take its case to those gamers with its Audi Space. First came the e-Tron Vertical Run racing game, which has lured more than 700,000 players into running more than a million races.

As of last week, you can also find the Audi A1 showroom, which doesn’t have much more going on for it than an actual showroom does, but you can look forward to an A1 game next month as well as more info on the e-Tron. And hey, there’s always that Audi Corporate Sound Concept to chill out to in the meantime.

Filed under: Convertible, Audi, Alternative Fuel

At last month’s Frankfurt Motor Show, Audi board member Michael Dick confirmed that a production version of the electric eTron sports car concept would be produced by late 2012. Following the show, Audi NA president Johan de Nysschen confirmed that announcement and now AutoExpress has produced a rendering of a production model. However, there appears to be some details lost in the translation. The eTron is based on the aluminum space frame of the R8 while AE says the R4 will be a smaller roadster with a chassis shared with the next generation Porsche Boxster/Cayman.

An Audi R4 has been speculated for some time, with the rumors flaring up after VW showed off the concept BlueSport in Detroit this year. It’s not clear if Audi will move ahead with the larger R8-based EV sportster or a smaller machine, or perhaps both. If they do, something like this rendering would be welcome, combining elements of the BlueSport, the eTron and even the top and flying buttresses of a Lotus Elise.

[Source: AutoExpress]

Rendered Speculation: Pondering what an electric Audi R4 roadster would look like originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 Oct 2025 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Coupe, Performance, Audi, Alternative Fuel

Even though we knew it was coming, the Audi e-tron concept still caught us by surprise. After all, who would have expected an electric sportscar with over 3,000 lb-ft of torque? But if that wasn’t enough of a shock, reports now suggest that Audi is actually preparing to put the green beast into production.

Although clearly based on the R8, the e-tron concept unveiled just a couple of weeks ago at the Frankfurt show is actually sized in between the range-topping supercar and its kid brother, the TT. In that frame, however, are packed four electric motors and a lithium-ion battery pack pumping out the equivalent of 313 horsepower and an unfathomable 3,319 lb-ft of torque.

According to a report from Automotive News, Audi’s North American chief Johan de Nysschen says the company is proceeding with plans to put the e-tron into production, and hopes to start testing working prototypes within the next two years. So if you were disappointed that Audi didn’t produce the V12 TDI version of the R8, you’ve now got something else on which to feast your imagination.

[Source: AutoWeek]

REPORT: Audi plans to produce e-tron, begin testing prototypes within two years originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 05 Oct 2025 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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