[Jean-Charles_Jacquemin2]

Dave K. : If Audi can price this car right it should be a solid winner for them. The typical 8 cylinder Audi will be selling in much lower volume as the years push forward. This gives Audi engineering time to rework the A1 e-tron with advanced battery technology. I like this plan.=D-Volt  
Hi Dave, and this car is made in Brussels (the capital of my country) in the old VW car building facility that Audi has revamped for the A1.

Regards,

JC NPNS

 

[sudhanan]

looks like a rip off of fiat 500

 

[Koz]

Matthew B : It is always less than a conventional engine. At idle it is a lot less but at load it is closer. In an EREV, the engine is cargo most of the time. The weight savings of the engine when it isn’t being used may outweigh the loss in efficiency.   (Quote)

Exactly! The less one uses the range extender the more advantage a lighter genset gains.

The NVH development savings along with improved packaging etc make it a very enticing choice.

 

[John_C._Briggs2]

Spell check
"vehilce"

 

[John_C._Briggs2]

One small nit-pick. I don't think "a car for idiots" should be in quotes. I don't think that is precisely what he said. In discussing the price, Mr De Nysschen said that at that price they would soon run out of idiots.

Granted, this implies "a car for idiots" but I don't think that is what he said.

Of course, given the price of Audi cars in the USA, all Audi drivers are idiots according the Mr. De Nysschen's logic.
John C. Briggs

 

[nucboy]

This thing has a tiny engine/generator. I like it. It surely won't keep up with the Volt going up pikes peak with 4 - 220 Lb adults in the car but it does make for a lighter vehicle. 99% of the time, this engine should provide enough power on average to keep the car going at an adequate speed.

 

[Papiscott]

Given that the Wankel is run at a constant RPM it proably takes advantage of a highly tuned exhast and intake - in that case its' efficency is likely higher that a standard ICE running at variable RPMs.

 

[Tagamet]

Rob posted a link to an article yesterday about the Audi and it's sister vehicle. From yesterday -


Rob: Check out this one – it is better news than Cadi. It looks like the reception of Volt by the public will determine future development of the industry. What I was saying all along – it is new technology; if people adopt it in five years nobody in industrialized world will want to buy “traditional” internal combustion cars. (no halo effect!) http://rumors.automobilemag.com/6647271/green/geneva-2010-audi-a1-e-tron-and-a8-hybrid-details-photos-revealed/index.html

Tagamet: Wow, thanks for that link. By *my* reading of the article, it really shows how far ahead the Volt is! Both Audi’s looked vastly inferior, and they were still concept cars (though described as “near production level”). I chuckled when I read the range of the smaller version, after all the hubbub yesterday about the Volt’s range (Hint: the small Audi had a 3 gallon gas tank!). Even the “better” model (larger) only ran in all-electric mode up to 40 mph – then the genset kicked in to help out. The one feature I’d “steal” for the Volt is the button that manually allowed the driver to kick in the additional ICE power at will.
Nice to see them refer to the Volt as a measure of success – if the Volt does well, they’ll think about producing the Audi’s.
Be well and believe,
Tagamet

Let’s Just Get The VOLTS ‘ Wheels On The Road!!****No More “Stay Tuned”!

 

[Papiscott]

I think that my ideal car could be this one but with a 60 mile AER. I understand why the range extender in the Volt is the size it is, but have always felt that a higher AER at the expense of a smaller range extender made sense. The driving factor here, of course, is the cost of the battery. Hence the design decision made by the GM Volt team. I like the way these people think!

 

[Jim I]

"Based on the compact A1 platform, the Audi A1 e-tron is a 4 seat 2-door premium class vehilce"...

Based on that statement, I wouldn't expect to see this as an entry level priced car.

Should we start the guessing game for pricing?

OK, I'll start:

I think it will be priced higher than the Volt, so I'll say $45K in the USA.

So what do you think?

 

[Al122]

Gsned57 : Johan de Nysschen must have known nothing about this concept car. Amazing how the president of US ops is so far removed from where mother Audi is looking to take the company. Pretty sweet little commuter car.No volt but I’d take it over the leaf. Seems like a lot of “borrowing” from the volt design.  

I'm sure the Volt has many patents and if any company infringes on them, they will have to pay GM.

 

[Xed1]

With it being Audi I would have thought that it would have been a tiny diesel engine and not gasoline.

The limitations of this car don't fit well for the typical NA family's primary car but it looks like an excellent fit for a secondary car (i.e. "dad's" commuter car not "mom's" grocery getter and long trip vehicle).

So a GM Volt for mom and an Audio A1 e-tron for dad.

 

[DaveG]

Another concept car with no production date...

 

[mark_yates]

I think in a few years EVERY car manufacturer will have an extended range electric car. GM I think responded very well to the "Who killed the electric car" doc, especially the end of the doc that shows that batteries have ALREADY come a long way in the Plugin Prius that was shown.
Great news for car fuel efficiency - the electric car (with a tiny backup engine) is the best way to go! The pure petrol car is going to look like a fuel hungry f***** dinosaurs when these come out!!! I'm curious which one is allowed to collect the X prize for having a 100mpg car on the road?
I'm sure they're all going to be very very big hits.
I'm also still curious why nobody has used a Smart car 0.7? 60mpg litre engine as their generator... or a small diesel engine... maybe that'll be the next announcement?

 

[mikeinatl.]

VOLT-LITE.

I like it.

Wonder what the price point will be.
You would think less than VOLT.
And then deduct the $7,500 in Fed credits.

But at this point, prices being similar, I would tend to trust VOLT because of all GM's research and testing. Plus VOLT will probably get twice the gas mileage.

But a very good idea, with a definite appeal for urbanites.
And I bet the average driver in Europe travels less than 40 miles per day so it could work really well over there.

 

[JohnK]

Odd that we are getting negative news from GM and positive news from other companies lately. BTW, the Hamtramck Volt line is supposed to start up this month. I'm guessing that they are working feverishly right now to get things ready to actually build vehicles. Anybody know any details?

 

[George_S._Bower]

Leave it to the Germans to come up with an interesting and different design. Someone else also mentioned that the range extender should be smaller and lighter than the volt's and I agree.

I especially like the button for the range extender. That would work for me as my first leg of my commute is a 2500' rise and 37 miles distance. I would like the option to run the ICE on the first leg of the trip. I would get better round trip mileage then if it runs down hill on the way home as the ICE would running at full load and lower SFC part of the engine map.

I also wish GM would give us better flexibility on battery usage. Tesla does that, with 2 or three different modes that effect the max power you can draw but most notably the % amount of the pack you can use. GM to be conservative has opted with a constant 50%.

This option could easily be accomplished to GM's satisfaction by including an Algorithm in the software that would adjust the battery pack warranty.....So with judicious use the owner could squeeze a little more out of the pack when needed.

 

[Nelson1]

That's what I call a "Smart Car".
I hope it has a "Smart Price".

NPNS!

 

[Exp_EngTech]

An excellent idea to use that small Wankel at fixed RPM.

Now....double the energy density of that battery pack (for 100 km EV range) and you have a car that people will line up to buy. 50 km of EV range is just not enough for consumers (research shows).

For a first attempt though, this has a LOT OF THINGS RIGHT. I've said this many times here before....in the Volt, I have no need for a car with a 105 MPH top end. 80 MPH will suite me well.

2600 lbs ? ..... Great ! .... Unbelievable !

 

[volton1]

Audi makes some of the nicest looking cars and IMHO this is much nicer looking than the Volt. I also wish the Volt was offered as a hatchback. But even with all that I would buy the Volt just to reward a forward thinking company.