Report: Audi’s Future Plans Include Electric Supercar

Speaking at the recent Formula E Berlin e-Prix, Audi’s head of development, Peter Mertens, outlined the brand’s plans for its electric vehicles, which include an electric supercar and performance versions of the upcoming e-tron models.

“You can very well imagine that at some point we will have an electric supercar,” Mertens told Car and Driver. “The question is, ‘Would I like to make it happen sooner?’ and the answer is, ‘Yes, of course.’ It is part of our plan.”

Mertens also suggested that an electric supercar would be a great opportunity to introduce an 800-volt charging system, like the one planned for Porsche’s Mission E concept.

“800-volt puts a significant extra cost on the bill. We need to evaluate whether customers will be prepared to pay that,” Mertens told Car and Driver. “In segments like super sports cars, it will be yes, no doubt about it.”

a172946_medium-600x300

Performance versions of more affordable electric cars were also of interest to Mertens, who said that S and RS versions of e-tron models were on the horizon.

Audi’s last electric supercar, the R8 e-tron suffered a difficult gestation. Canceled once during planning, and then again 19 months after sales started, the short-lived electric R8 was RWD-only and fewer than 100 of the million dollar cars were sold.

Mertens’ latest comments suggest that future attempts at electric speed will come from dedicated electric cars, rather than retrofitted internal combustion cars.

[source: Car and Driver]

The post Report: Audi’s Future Plans Include Electric Supercar appeared first on VWVortex.

from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2sM6edx
via IFTTT

Comments

Watch: The Stig Drives (nearly) Seven Generations of Golf GTI

With Volkswagen announcing “major” updates to the Golf, it seems an appropriate time to look back on what we’ve had so far. And who better to guide us through the rich history of the most popular European car ever made than Ben Collins, the former Stig? Some say he’s never met a GTI he doesn’t love, and that he can’t grow any of his own facial hair. All we know is … Ben Collins is actually a pretty solid presenter. Working his way through seven generations of the GTI (skipping over the Mk6) Collins tells us a little bit about each one and matches each mark to its corresponding facial hair craze. The Mk1 GTI for instance, is light and quick, but can lose traction under hard acceleration (in heavy rain). Despite that, Collins calls the Mk1 a “pure gem.” The Mk4, meanwhile, is a powerful return to form after the perhaps too sensible Mk3. Collins ends in the only way he could, with the Mk7, which accelerates faster than a Lamborghini Countach and is all kinds of wonderful. Watch, ...

Watch: The Story of the Ads that Made VW Big in America

The ads for the original Beetle are almost as famous and well-loved as the Beetle itself. Looking back now it’s easy to forget, though, just how easily things could have wrong. A new short from Dial M Films tracks the history of those early Volkswagen ads that sold America on the people’s car. The story, of course, begins with the visionary agency that made the ads: Doyle Dane Bernach (DDB). As a popular agency for Jewish products, no agency was more aware of the implications of Volkswagen, and no one, it seems, was more skeptical of the brand than DDB. “Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?” from Dial M Films on Vimeo . William Bernbach, though, was adament that the firm take the client, probably as a way of attracting other lucrative automotive clients. Saddled with a client that he didn’t want, art director Helmut Krone says in the film that he originally came up with ads that were all wrong. Krone tried to do what other manufacturers did and was intent on selling the Beetle ...

Watch: The Zerouno Cruis’n USA

ItalDesign is drumming up excitement for its new supercar based around the same 5.2-liter Audi V10 that powers the R8. Naturally, it hit the road for a cruise around California last week to celebrate Monterey Car Week. There isn’t much in the way of V10 noise—which is a real shame given the sound it makes—but you do at least get a good look at the car inside and out in this video. With a body made entirely of carbon fiber and designed to be as aerodynamic and light as possible, ItalDesign figures that it will be good for a 0-60 time of just 3.2 seconds. “We put it our best skills into the production of the first car,” said Massimo Bovi, head of pre-series production, when the Zerouno was first unveiled in Geneva earlier this year. “Using some of the finest productions methods and engaging our high-skilled workers.” The car features clever aero tricks gleaned from single-seat racing, like a y-duct up front to improve downforce and turn-in. Available in a number of trim levels, the...

Vorderman Volkswagen

Search This Blog