Audi may be heavy in the diesel game, but for the future of their high performance cars, it seems they're hedging their bets on electric drive. We thought the R8 V12 TDI was going to shine as Audi's green performance contender, but at the '09 Frankfurt Auto Show, they showed off their R8 based e-Tron concept: An all-electric sports cars with more torque than three Bugatti Veryon's! Nothing will replace the experience of driving a regular, gas burning sports car, but if Audi actually builds this thing, we just may change our tune. Read on to find out why...
EXTERIOR: It's obvious upon first glance that the e-Tron is based on Audi's two-door sports car, the R8. If the R8 had never come out, this thing would be futuristic as all hell, but now, we wouldn't be surprised or shocked to see it in front of a San Francisco Starbucks. That said, there are major differences. The seams and ends are nipped and tucked to give it a more slick look: since it's all electric, there's no need for all the vents and air ducts, making it appear more streamlined.Then there's the wire grill that matches the multi-spoke wheels that really gives the car an iRobot look. The coolest part to us, though, is the adaptation and advancement of Audi's LED lighting system. Not only do they look sick, they're loaded with special features. Say you're driving and it starts to rain heavily, the lights will automatically adjust their angle and brightness to help you wade through the rain. Or, if, for whatever reason, you're turning into a dark alley, the lights will reconfigure themselves to light the corner before you turn around it.
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INTERIOR: Removing all the components of a conventional internal combustion engine frees up a lot of space. The Audi engineers took advantage of all that extra space by making the two-door sports coupe way more spacious inside. Less is more with the Audi e-Tron. There are no extraneous switches and buttons on the dash—all you see is the knob control for Audi's Multi Media Interface (MMI) and some buttons on the steering wheel. Everything is built to center around the driver. In place of the dials and gauges now rests a screen that will display all the info a driver needs, while a traditional speedo sits to drivers right and a battery/energy gauge sits to left. Audi intends for you to keep your eyes right where they should be.
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DRIVETRAIN: The big news about the e-Tron is its all-electric drivetrain. Comprised of four electric motors—one attached to each wheel—that puts out a combined 313 hp and an unreal 3318 lb-ft of torque! (the Bugatti Veyron, the most powerful road car only has 922 lb-ft of torque) All that allows it to hit 60 mph in around 4.8 seconds (est). However, if you attempt to hit that zero to 60 mph time and you're trip will be much shorter than the claimed 154 miles. To slow this e-beast, it's been outfitted with ceramic brakes that, like many hybrids and other electric cars, reuse energy lost when braking.
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