Audi’s electric Urban Concept says that less is more, really means it

Audi urban concept study – in both Sportback and Spyder forms – unveiled on the Frankfurt Motor Show

Sleek 1+1 seat cockpit produced from CFRP, free-standing wheels with protective plates
Elaborate suspension design, compact electric drive system for sporty performance
The Spyder version has one low, continuous window and doors that open diagonally upwards
Ingolstadt, September 13, 2011 – Audi is breaking new ground with its urban concept technology study, a 1+1 vehicle for city driving. The electrical-powered show car has four wheels, but doesn’t fit right into any current automobile category. Weighing just 480 kilograms, the Audi urban concept combines elements of a racecar, a roadster, a fun car and a city car into a radical new concept. It has the capability to set the fad for a brand new style of mobility.

Concept
The question “How much car is critical to deliver driving pleasure and concrete mobility in a wholly new way?” was the place to begin for the Audi urban concept. A model of a glider was kept inside the studio through the development process for instance of lightweight construction, efficiency and reduction – of the primary of ‘less is more.’

The result’s a vehicle that defies pigeonholing; a vehicle that redefines the term ‘driving pleasure’ and is totally free from the luggage of conventional concepts. The design of the Audi urban concept concentrates at the pure essence and freedom of driving in a premium form. While, it offers the relaxation and safety of a closed automobile, a massive advantage over a motorised scooter. With its sleek body and free-standing wheels, the technology study is progressive and dramatic while being extremely agile and comfy.

The cabin of the Audi urban concept offers slightly offset seating for 2. The roof slides back to permit the motive force and passenger in. This innovative solution makes the Audi urban concept much more fun to drive as the canopy may be left open in good weather. It also allows the cabin to be aired out in no time. The fit and finish of the show car is characterised by the same old Audi attention to detail, while its technology is indicative of the brand’s wide-ranging expertise, particularly in ultra-lightweight construction.

The emblem with the four rings has created a completely new class of premium vehicle with the Audi urban concept, which now marks a brand new entry point to its future array of electrical vehicles, including the diversity-topping R8 e-tron high-performance sports car.

The technology study is focused at those who find themselves inquisitive about technology and are interested in new approaches to mobility, regardless of their age and standing. Particularly, it appeals to urban drivers whose lifestyles embrace the car’s modern concept and the driving pleasure related to it. The urban concept is additionally a great fit for a potential innovative leasing system.

Exterior design
The Audi urban concept features an all-new design that evokes design parallels with the car Union racecars of the 1930s. They were well earlier than their time conceptually: they were extremely lightweight and their engines were mounted within the rear. Their large, open wheels also stood out from the chassis – another parallel with the fashionable show car.

Painted in Electric White, pearl effect paint, today’s technology study – 3,219 millimetres (126.73 in) long, 1,678 millimetres (66.06 in) wide, but just 1,189 millimetres (46.81 in) high – has a body on which your entire lines surge forward. The greenhouse is very flat, and the roofline drops down like a wedge while the side window rises upward. The average Audi tornado line gives the urban concept a robust shoulder.

An upright, forward-leaning blade in front of the rear wheel accentuates the side view. The velocity Red contour line gives the arrival of a roll bar and evokes the Audi R8 high-performance sports car. The flanks of the body flare outward toward the lowest to enlarge the ground. This serves two purposes: It generates downforce at higher speeds and it may be used to charge the battery via induction – an especially convenient way of recharging the battery.

The characteristic Audi single-frame grille, which sports the four rings, appears as a closed surface at the Audi urban concept. It tilts forward to give access to the charging socket. The narrow LED headlights project three-dimensionally from the body.

The indicator signals are LED strips running along the wings. These closely encircle the free-standing wheels, and front wings turn with the wheels when steering. The 3-dimensional tail lamps with the tail light and brake light are integrated into the vehicle body and wrap across the top of the rear window. In the back of the automobile is a small luggage compartment that attracts out like a drawer.

Front segment of the greenhouse is movable – another innovative concept that is exclusive to the Audi urban concept. Mounted on rails, it is usually slid back by quit the fixed rear segment.

The driving force can decide whether to shut the cover or leave it open. The technology study is a roadster-on-demand that has neither roll-down windows nor a heavy aircon system. When closed, the cover provides protection against inclement weather. Audi has also developed a second body variant instead to the urban concept: a Spyder with a flat window strip wrapping round the cockpit and doors that open upward at an angle.

Interior
Entry to the Audi urban concept is feasible when the cover have been slid backwards. The motive force and passenger step over the brink of the vehicle as though they were moving into the bath – there aren’t any doors. This doesn’t require any great flexibility; a handle at the windshield frame and special cutouts at the seats make entry simple.

The show car offers room for 2. The motive force and passenger sit next to each other, with the fitting seat offset to the rear by 30 centimetres (11.81 in) to present more shoulder and elbow room. The seats are fixed, integral components of the monocoque, which ends up in significant weight savings. The seats are upholstered with materials which have been made to the measurements of the driving force, kind of like in a racecar. The seat belts run through cut-outs within the seat backs.

Sitting inside the Audi urban concept is like sitting within the cockpit of an aeroplane. The seating position is extremely sporty. The driving force can precisely adjust the positions of the aluminium pedals and the steering column. The pedals may be moved a complete of twenty-two centimetres (8.66 in), while the steering column may be moved 14 centimetres (5.51 in) for less complicated entry and one more six centimetres (2.36 in) for a custom driving position.

The steering column is exposed – a thick, elegantly designed section, open within the centre and mounted almost horizontally. On the far end of the steering column is a display of a very powerful driving information. The small, hexagonal steering wheel includes buttons and roller switches for controlling various systems, including the Audi drive select modes for the electrical drive system.

The whole interior of the technology study is designed to fulfill the stern dictates of ultra-lightweight construction. Running below the windscreen around the entire cabin is a wing-shaped section it truly is open inside the middle. This new form of dashboard includes satellite controls for the heater and two large air vents.

Instead of carpeting, an innovative mat covers parts of the ground. That is created from a fabric originally developed for athletic shoes this is water repellent and really durable. The seats are covered with cloth, with the sides framed in kangaroo leather. Aluminium applications accentuate elements at the dashboard.

Technology
The outer skin of the show car is fabricated from carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP); the occupant cell is a mixture of CFRP monocoque and an aluminium structure. This ultra-lightweight construction is the basis for the technology study’s extremely low kerb weight of just 480 kilograms.

The delicate chassis underscores the distinctively sporty personality of the Audi urban concept. Wishbones made out of a mix of aluminium and CFRP locate the free-standing, 21-inch wheels.

Manufactured using cladding technology, the wheels are very light and have a variant of the blade design from the Audi e-tron models. The tyre sizes are as unusual because the car – 125/60 on the front and 145/50 on the rear.

The Audi urban concept uses pushrod technology borrowed from motorsport. As in a racecar, the struts mounted within the interior of the monocoque are nearly horizontal. Four disc brakes provide the stopping power. The turning circle measures not up to nine metres – ideal for a city car. Owing to the vehicle’s low weight, the rack-and-pinion steering doesn’t require any power assistance. Crumple zones within the front and rear plus two airbags offer for a high degree of passive safety. An innovative assistance system helps the driving force to bypass collisions with pedestrians.

The battery is mounted transversely behind the seats. The lithium-ion battery, which weighs around 90 kilograms, stores 7.1 kWh of usable energy. The study’s two electric motors together produce 15 kW (20 PS) of constant power and 47 Nm (34.67 lb-ft) of torque. The motors are mounted between the rear wheels, which they drive via a single-speed transmission.

The Audi urban concept accelerates from 0 to 62mph in 16.9 seconds. It reaches 37mph in around six seconds. The show car steps off from traffic lights smartly because of the torque of the electrical motors, that’s fully available from standstill. Top speed is governed at 62mph.

The action radius inside the European driving cycle is barely over 45 miles. The battery recharges completely in about 20 minutes with 400-volt, three-phase current, and in approximately one hour with 230-volt household current.

Audi Wireless Charging
Audi is developing a substitute for charging at an influence outlet – Audi Wireless Charging (AWC) is contactless induction charging. The infrastructure side, comprising a coil and an inverter (AC/AC converter), can be built into the ordinary parking zone of the Audi urban concept and connected to the flexibility grid. The three.6 kW primary coil set into the plate generates a high-frequency alternating field.

The charging process begins automatically when the urban concept is driven onto the plate. The alternating magnetic field of the infrastructure side induces an alternating current around the air gap within the secondary coil, that’s integrated into the vehicle. This current is rectified and fed into the vehicle’s electrical system, where it charges the battery or powers systems including the heater. The alternating field is purely generated if the vehicle is parked over the plate and so poses no danger to people or animals.

Charging stops automatically when the battery is fully-charged, and will be interrupted by the driving force at any time. The efficiency of AWC is similar to that of alternative charging technologies. It’s not laid low with rain, snow or ice. The brand new technology makes charging electric vehicles easy and intensely convenient. A future version of the technology may be suitable for integration into the transportation infrastructure as a retrofit for car parks or residential streets, for instance.