Audi 2007 Annual Report Download - page 67

s the two Audi A3 cars drive into the court-
yard of Abbaye de la Chambre, the mist has
just lifted. It is a beautiful fall day. Great condi-
tions for a sporting encounter with a “green”
feel. One of the world’s best-known racing drivers, six-time
Le Mans champion Jacky Ickx, competes against his daughter,
who has also caught the motor racing bug. But today is not
about speed and seconds, but efficiency and fuel consumption
– during a city tour in everyday conditions, complete with rush
hour, the battle for parking spaces, and stop-and-go traffic.
The scene of the eco-duel: Brussels. The destination is
Audi’s new plant in the district of Forest, where thousands of
A3 models have rolled off the line since May 2007, and where
the forthcoming Audi A1 will be built from the end of 2009.
“I often used to play near Abbaye de la Chambre,” remembers
Jacky. As a child, the Brussels-born driver lived just a stone’s
throw away. The wooded area and parkland surrounding the
abbey is now part of the “green lung” of Brussels.
The test cars are two extremely energy-efficient Audi A3
models. Under the hood purrs a 1.9 liter four-cylinder diesel
engine, turbocharged to offer high torque even at low revs.
The power plant is optimized with a specially configured
manual transmission system, with a slightly longer ratio for
third to fifth gears. The A3 1.9 TDI e* with 77 kW (105 hp)
is also the perfect partner if you want to get the most out of
every last drop of fuel.
The Ickx family now prepare their efficiency cars for the
start, and set the fuel consumption gauge to zero. Over the
TEST ROUTE
01 ABBAYE DE LA
CHAMBRE
Start: The former
Cistercian monas-
tery in the green
lung of Brussels.
02 PLACE DU GRAND
SABLON
Shopping: The
chocolates for the
winner will be
bought in the his-
toric downtown.
Looking for a park-
ing space costs fuel.
03 PLACE JOURDAN
Lunch break: The
best French fries in
Belgium can be
found just behind
the European Par-
liament.
04 BOTANIQUE
Stop and go
through downtown
Brussels.
05 ATOMIUM
A pause for sight-
seeing, then on to
the ring road. Away
from the city traffic
at last.
06 AUDI PLANT
FOREST
Finish: And
the winner is?
Efficiency test:
Through Brussels
in an Audi A3 1.9
TDI e. The tank is
full, and all in-
struments are
zeroed.
BRUSSELS
Route: 40 km
01 Start
02
03
04
05
06 Finish
A
Ickx against Ickx
Two professionals in an ecological head-to-head, battling to see who
can use less fuel. Racing legend Jacky Ickx and his daughter Vanina, also
a racing driver, line up against each other in their home city of Brussels,
behind the wheel of an Audi efficiency car – the Audi A3 1.9 TDI e.
COPY Gert Verhoeven PHOTOGRAPHY Enver Hirsch
*Fuel consumption and emission figures at the end of the annual report.