Audi EV

[vfx]

No update to his LinkedIn page:

Director, Electric Vehicles
Volkswagen Electronics Research Lab
2009 – 2011 (2 years)

But this article in Wired says he was leaving VW at the end of 2010...

Thanks. Wonder why he's keeping on the DL?

 

[JRP3]

I think the idea of buying the car and leasing the battery pack is genius. Then the consumer can compare the car price to its ICE equivalent and compare the battery lease (+ electricity) to what they spend per month on gas.

Or they can just compare total lease costs between an ICE and EV. If you want to lease you might as well lease the whole vehicle. Seems to be a cultural divide where Europeans generally favor the battery leasing concept and Americans generally don't.

 

[jerry33]

Agreed. I predict that when people see the Model S on the road in numbers, and read about it in well-balanced articles it will start a sea-change of opinion. The large manufacturers will first rubbish Tesla and then rush to compete inadequately.

+1 That's what happened with radial tires and small cars. I don't see any reason to doubt it will happen with EVs too.

 

[TEG]

Audi pulls plug on A2 electric car | Automotive & Motoring News | Car Magazine Online

 

[domenick]

Audi spells out A3 e-tron pilot project in Colorado

Though they're scaling back on EV models, they haven't left the building. Yet, anyways.

 

[ManuVince]

Based on my experience with VW, that's probably a good thing for the electric car community.

Based on my experience with Audi, I disagree. Audi makes good cars.

But sadly, it really reflect the trust of the German car industry in EVs.
I'm quite amused to see that the French car industry might actually show them the way (for a change) ;-)

 

[VolkerP]

It hurts my pride to agree!

But they're really going to miss the boat, the harbor and the ocean.

 

[vfx]

http://www.cartalk.com/content/driving-audis-electrifying-e-tron

 

[tdelta1000]

It hurts my pride to agree!

But they're really going to miss the boat, the harbor and the ocean.

I second that.... Audi is just dragging its feet.

 

[dpeilow]

Having just seen two e-tron quattro R18 race cars beat the competition at the world's greatest endurance race - including against two otherwise identical lightweight diesels, which made for a good controlled experiment - I predict Audi will now firmly get behind e-tron road cars. They have always flowed down technology from their racers (quattro, TFSI, high performance diesels, magnetic dampers, etc).

 

[ManuVince]

Having just seen two e-tron quattro R18 race cars beat the competition at the world's greatest endurance race - including against two otherwise identical lightweight diesels, which made for a good controlled experiment - I predict Audi will now firmly get behind e-tron road cars. They have always flowed down technology from their racers (quattro, TFSI, high performance diesels, magnetic dampers, etc).

+1
I have no doubt Audi will do it right eventually, but it's just too bad it is taking them so long...

 

[Adm]

The R8 e-tron has set a world record for a production vehicle with an electric drive system on the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Racing driver Markus Winkelhock piloted the high-performance, all-electric-drive sports car around the demanding 20.8-kilometer (12.92-mile) track in 8:09.099 minutes. With this Audi has achieved yet another milestone in its history, following overall wins at the 24-hour races at the Nürburgring and Le Mans.
“The R8 e-tron has given a magnificent demonstration of its potential on the toughest race track in the world,” said Michael Dick, AUDI AG Board Member for Technical Development. Dick, who completed a fast lap himself in the R8 e-tron, added: “The record-setting drive confirmed that we are on the right track. To us, electric mobility has never been about sacrifice, but rather is about emotion, sportiness and driving pleasure.”

http://www.electric-vehiclenews.com/2012/06/audi-r8-e-tron-sets-new-ev-record-at.html

 

[JRP3]

Longer Ring video:

 

[JRP3]

E-tron ride along video at the Ring:

 

[dpeilow]

New version of the e-tron PHEV

Audi A1 e-tron Dual Mode – Nouvelle version hybride rechargeable à l’essai

 

[dwegmull]

An Audi A3 E-tron test vehicle showed up at our local event part of National Plugin Day:

I never got a chance to talk with the driver, so all the information I have is from this:

 

[Grendal]

ABG article on the e-tron A3:

Audi A3 E-Tron

 

[Robert.Boston]

OK, this is clever; Tesla could steal this idea to good effect:

On traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, a quick tug on the left paddle shifts the transmission down one gear while the right is used for shifting the gearbox up. However, nearly all battery-electric vehicles (BEV) have but a single-speed transmission. Paddle shifters are completely unnecessary. The engineers at Audi, likely not wanting to leave gaping holes on the back of the trick sporty steering wheel, gave the two plastic flaps a new role – to control the intensiveness of regenerative braking.

 

[vfx]

OK, this is clever; Tesla could steal this idea to good effect:

BMW is serious about regen too. I hope Tesla wakes up on this for mountain / city driving.

 

[PRJIM]

OK, this is clever; Tesla could steal this idea to good effect:

The Fisker Karma has this feature.

Learn about Hill Mode on the 2012 Fisker Karma - YouTube