Audi 2009 Annual Report Download - page 95

COPY/MICHAEL KIRCHBERGER
delicate hum fills the air. The selector
lever clicks into the “Forward” position
and a gentle jolt causes the body to
tremble. And then the pressure on the accelerator
in the footwell dials up the thrust that quickly
brings the car up to speed from a standing start.
The high-tech drive system accelerates the car,
which weighs around 1,600 kilograms, from
0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 4.8 seconds.
The pressure pushing your upper body back into
the contoured seat must be similar to that in a su-
personic jet. Yet all you can hear is the mumbling
of the passenger. Isolated words like “unbeliev-
able” or “amazing” can be plainly heard because
the drive keeps the noise down to a subdued whis-
tle hardly louder than when a computer fan is
switched on. At higher speeds the only sounds are
the rolling noise of the tires or the tempestuous
rush of the slipstream. There’s no multi-cylinder
V engine screaming under the sloping rear hatch
of the vehicle – the heart of this car is a battery.
The drivetrain puts out 230 kW (313 hp) and
4,500 newton meters of torque. For comparison:
Among the ranks of the supercars and muscle en-
gines, torque values greater than 1,000 newton
meters are considered to be physically difficult to
contain. Audi therefore drew upon long-standing
virtues. The wheels are powered directly by elec-
A
92
Explosive accelera-
tion, an amazing
4,500 newton me-
ters of torque – and
all you hear is a
light humming.
High-voltage on
the asphalt
The Audi e-tron concept car gives you a foretaste of the
sports-oriented future of electromobility. A test drive with
watts, volts and emotions.
A CAR FOR THE ROAD
Come along on the maid-
en outing on the Pacific
Coast Highway near Los
Angeles:
www.audi.com/ar2009/
e-tron