A new Audi Quattro all-wheel drive hybrid system is being developed similar to the Peugeot-Citroen HYbrid4 technology where a combustion engine and electric motor set-up is used to obtain four-wheel drive.
The new Audi hybrid Quattro will appear on the future E-Tron quattro model.
An A5 model is being used as a prototype for the new technology and French publication Automobile Magazine has tried it out in winter conditions on snow and ice.
The car was equipped with the 2.
0 TFSI engine with 211 hp, and two electric motors at the front and rear.
The front provided 45 hp and the rear another 82 hp.
Audi is clearly still aiming for its traditional offering of a performance car with a whole 320 hp, but the fuel consumption officially declared is a surprising 2.
7 l/100 km.
The French re-estimate that to be about 7 l/100 km, but it’s still a figure to be noted on a sports car with all-wheel drive.
Audi hybrid E-Tron Quattro Audi has also managed to mount the batteries along the length of the E-Tron Quattro, in the place of the transmission shaft, so that weight is kept as centrally as possible, giving the vehicle a more dynamic and well-balanced ride.
The electric mode can be used for a range of about 40 km.
Thanks to two electric motors, rather than just one, the E-Tron Quattro system uses energy recuperation and a more dynamic driving style is gained through the use of a Sport rear differential and torque vectoring.
According to the testers, an Audi S5 with the same diff wouldn’t be able to keep pace with this prototype.
The only problems with the system include increased weight.
The prototype uses aluminium and carbon fibre, but still can’t get below 1,600 kg.
The new Audi hybrid quattro won’t appear on the Audi range until about 2014 and we imagine any model featuring this technology will be pricey.