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audi e-tron concept

Fleet-Footed Greenery: Audi to Cap e-tron Sales At 1,000 Units?

Filed under: Wheels, Green

Audi e-tron concept - Click above for high-res image gallery

Audi may not be positioning itself as a "green brand," but it's still putting a rather big toe into the environmentally-friendly waters of electric sportscars with its R8-based e-tron, which is reportedly headed for production in 2012.

As a refresher – as if you needed one – the e-tron debuted as a concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September with some truly impressive statistics: four separate electric motors with 230 kW (313 horsepower) and 4,500 Nm (3,319.03 pound-feet) of torque (sort of), which is enough to push it to 62 mph in a mere 4.8 seconds.

So, um... want one? The line forms at the rear, and you'd better not dawdle as Audi says its only planning to build 1,000 of them. Naturally, pricing has yet to be set, but it's reportedly expected to be "above R8 levels." Regardless, with all those lithium ion batteries and their associated electronic gadgetry, we don't imagine that Audi plans to make much of a profit when it finally goes on sale in two years.



[Source: Autocar]

Audi Tipped to Put E-TRON Concept Into Production

Filed under: Wheels, Green



If you still think that electric cars have to be small, weird, uncouth modes of transportation for tree-hugging hippies, may we suggest you look to Germany's latest. At the recently-concluded Frankfurt auto show, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz all took the wraps off exotic supercars that will at some point arrive on the market with electric power.

The BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept, unveiled in Frankfurt, is tipped to give birth to a new hybrid sportscar from the Bavarian automaker. The new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, also unveiled in Frankfurt, is confirmed to breed an electric version. And the Audi e-tron concept, debuted in – you guessed it – Frankfurt – showed the way for what an all-electric version of the company's popular R8 sportscar could look like.

Now reports indicate that Audi is preparing to put the e-tron into production, with working prototypes expected to begin testing within the next two years. Packing four electric motors and a lithium-ion battery, the electric R8 produces a modest 313 horsepower but an absolutely bonkers 3,319 lb-ft of torque, firmly leaving those little electric city cars in its clean wake.



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