Audi e-tron Concept - Detroit Auto Show

If you follow concept car announcements at major international auto shows, you may be slightly confused that Audi has created two electric sports car concepts called the e-tron. But here at the Detroit Auto Show (NAIAS), Audi's concept is smaller than the e-tron shown in Frankfurt last year (and in LA), only with more similarity to the Audi TT with techno lighting, modern accents and fiber reinforced plastic instead of metal.

Audi unveiled the R8 V12 TDI at last year's Detroit show. Many car fans were wondering if a diesel production model of that car was next, but it looks as though the company is instead thinking of jumping into the high end electric sports car world along with Tesla and Fisker. If the Audi e-tron ever sees the light of day, it will be an impressive and expensive competitor with four electric motors and a lithium-ion battery pack that makes 313 horsepower, but a neck-whipping 3,319 lb-ft of torque. To get to 62 from zero takes 4.8 seconds, but when you get up near 37 mph, accelerating to 75 mph is done in an almost effortless 4.1 seconds.

Battery technology being what it is today, the room and weight of the battery is still substantial. The liquid cooled battery itself, located just in front of the rear axle, takes up 1,036 pounds out of the total 3,525 pounds of the entire car. The top speed is limited to around 124 mph, because as Audi says, the amount of energy required by the electric motors increases disproportionately to speed, but the car will have a range of approximately 155.34 miles.

Audi has tackled the problem of cold and hot temperatures and their negative effect on the battery systems by creating a unique "heat pump." Borrowed from a system commonly used in buildings, the heat pump controls the temperature of the high-voltage battery when the vehicle is connected to a charging station.

Although Audi admits that a pure electric sports car is an expensive prospect, the concept is proof that the company is moving toward electric and hybrid technologies along with many others.

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About the Author
Joni Gray is a long-standing member of the automotive industry and has worked on both the corporate and publishing sides of the business. Over the past 20 years, she has managed advertising and marketing programs at Mazda, Hyundai and Honda and has been an editor at both Kelley Blue Book and the Los Angeles Times.