Sunday 12 January 2014

2-litre FSI powers new Audi Allroad

Audi has pooled the genes of its rugged allroad models and its forthcoming e-tron hybrids to create a striking and futuristic new crossover concept bound for this month‘s 2014 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The car is powered by a 2-litre FSI gasoline engine giving nearly 150bhp/litre, highlighting the trend to down-sizing, a trend that is likely to be followed in the future by down-speeding to reduce friction losses etc.

“The show car combines sex appeal, highly efficient e-tron-quattro technology that produces 300 kW of power yet only consumes 1.9 l/100 km of fuel (equating to 149 UK mile/gal) and cutting-edge electronic applications,” claims Professor Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, member of the board of AUDI AG, Technical Development. “We are offering very concrete glimpses of the near future in this show car.”

The outer body of the Audi allroad shooting brake is a material mix of aluminium and carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP). Dark grey rubbing strips are typical allroad elements, and they help reduce the volume of the body; they ascend dynamically from front to rear. Together with the large wheels and flared arches, they accentuate the car's offroad character.

                                      Plug-in hybrid drive

The plug-in hybrid drive delivers 408 PS of system power and a system torque of 650 Nm (479.42 lbft). The show car, weighing some 1,600 kg unladen, launches from a standstill to 62 mile/h in 4.6 seconds, and is capable of reaching an electronically limited top speed of 155 mile/h.

Fuel consumption is measured at 148.7mile/gas according to the relevant ECE standard, which equates to CO2 emissions of 45g/km. A total driving range of up to 510 miles is achievable.

The 2.0 TFSI in the Audi allroad shooting brake delivers 292 PS of power and generates 380 Nm (280.27 lbft) of torque. The transverse mounted 2-litre four-cylinder gasoline engine with a large turbocharger is a high-end engine. In part-load operation, indirect injection supplements direct gasoline injection to improve fuel economy; the exhaust manifold that is integrated in the cylinder head enables high-performance thermal management.                                      ∎