Skip to main content

1,200 HP Electric A3 Beats 911 GT2 RS… In Reverse

Remember last week when we shared a video of a 1,200 hp A3 beating a Lamborghini Huracan and a Porsche 911 GT2 RS in a drag race? Well, it turns out it’s not just good at accelerating going forward.

It’s a popular refrain from automakers, that since EVs don’t really need gears, they can conceivably hit their top speed in reverse. Whereas in gas-powered cars, whose reverse gear tends to be even lower than first gear, EVs just make the prop shaft go in the opposite direction. Meaning that any speed it can hit going forward, it could conceivably hit in reverse.

Now, there are a few limitations. Cars tend not to be as aerodynamic going backward (a few alleged exceptions notwithstanding) so that could hamper the top speed. The biggest limitation, though, tends to be that running in reverse at high speeds is super dangerous.

With the wheels that do the steering now at the back, even the smallest corrections can send you veering off course and can start a fish-tailing disaster of a situation. It’s also best practices to look where you’re going when driving at speeds, something made not a little bit harder when you’re backing up.

So don’t expect to be able to do this with your e-tron, because Audi will limit its reverse speed.

But if you’re a race car driver whose team is partners with a company that made a high-power A3 for seemingly no other reason than capturing silly stunts on camera, that just about qualifies you to have the reverse limiters lifted.

And, indeed, Daniel Abt is just such a person and has set a reverse driving record at 130 mph in the 4ePerformance. Proving that both he and the 4ePerformance are quick in any direction.

Just a quick warning, Abt’s language gets a little blue near the end of the video, so maybe be careful around sensitive ears.

The post 1,200 HP Electric A3 Beats 911 GT2 RS… In Reverse appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex https://ift.tt/2IOV1ON
via IFTTT

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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 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, ...

Volkswagen Golf GTE Wins Top Honor at the 2015 Business Techies Awards

Golf GTE wins Green category in the 2015 BusinessCar Fleet Technology awards Judges praised the Golf GTE for its performance, ease of use and economy Golf GTE launched earlier this year with plug-in hybrid technology – priced from £33,755 204 PS performance combined with CO 2  emissions of just 39 g/km Volkswagen has added to its growing list of 2015 automotive industry accolades by winning the Green category in the annual BusinessCar Fleet Technology Awards – the Techies. The prestigious title was awarded to Volkswagen for the Golf GTE, an innovative plug-in hybrid that combines sporty dynamics with exceptional fuel economy and low CO 2  emissions. Now in their seventh year, the Techies are judged by both BusinessCar’s experienced editorial panel with help from TRL’s technology expert. The industry’s only technology-specific awards, the BusinessCar Techies reward the use of technology to make business car fleet operations easier, cheaper, cleaner, safer and more straig...