Tokyo preview: Official leakage of the Audi A1
Click on the A1 concept to enlarge
Over the past couple of months, we've seen numerous rendered images of what the upcoming Audi A1 would look like and now we finally have the real thing. The A1 Metroproject Quattro is a concept that will appear next week at the Tokyo Motor Show previewing the production A1. This smallest Audi has a nose dominated by a grille that looks like it's sized for the big Q7 V-12 TDI. Propulsion comes from the 150hp 1.4L TFSI four cylinder that appears in several other VW group cars.
Power from the engine goes to the front wheels by way of a dual clutch gearbox. To earn the Quattro badge, the rear wheels are propelled by a 41 hp electric motor. The electrons required to get 200 Nm of torque out of that motor are stored in a lithium ion battery pack. The A1 has plug-in capability and can reportedly go 60 miles in pure electric mode. The 12.8 foot long A1 is rated at 48 mpg and has CO2 emissions of 112 g/km. The production A1 should arrive in 2009.
Gallery: Audi Metroproject quattro concept
[Source: MotorAuthority]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
scatter 8:42AM (10/19/2007)
Wow! is all I can say. Good work Audi!
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Domenick 10:16AM (10/19/2007)
60 miles in pure electric mode? I'm thinking it's performance in all-electric mode might be a little poky. Any performance numbers from Audi?
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pscs 10:30AM (10/19/2007)
the other 1.4l tfsi engine is 125hp though.
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/07/22/audi-adds-the-1-4l-tfsi-engine-to-the-a3-lineup/
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scatter 11:49AM (10/19/2007)
What type of hybrid would you call this? It's not series and it's quite different to the current breed of parallels. Sparallel?
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GoodCheer 12:08PM (10/19/2007)
scatter: There is an idea from a while back called a "Through the road" hybrid (though it is still a parallel hybrid). That would basically require that the two ends of the car have seperate drive trains: The front is a FWD car, the rear is a pure EV, except the batteries can be charged on the road by regen while power is being supplied by the front end.
The idea has a certain elegance, though I think the ability to charge the battery from the engine while the car is not moving is also a good idea. That would only require a larger than normal alternator/starter on the ICE and a power wire leading to the battery controller.
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GoodCheer 12:17PM (10/19/2007)
Domenick: Don't forget that electric "horsepower" feel much different from ICE horsepower. Tesla 'only' has about 250 hp but out-accelerates cars with twice that. That being the case, I would think a small car with 80hp would be perfectly adequate for around-town driving (despite what Road&Track would have you believe).
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Tim Russell 12:51PM (10/19/2007)
GoodCheer is correct, Honda showed a concept a few years ago of a "road linked" hybrid. It's a good idea in some respects as the engine/transaxel front needs no mechanical changes except for a start/stop. The rest is changes in the rear battery packaging etc. and the computer figures out how to supply/split the power.
"The A1 has plug-in capability and can reportedly go 60 miles in pure electric mode" too bad they don't give more details about at what speed it can attain before the engine kicks in etc.
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Domenick 2:29PM (10/19/2007)
@GoodCheer: I didn't forget. The source for this article speaks of using it's all-electric mode for residential driving. Maybe 80 hp from an electric motor might be good for around town driving but this one only has 41 hp.
So... any all-electric performance numbers from Audi?
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mike 4:22PM (10/19/2007)
The first serious challenge to the Prius.
Looks good, but that nose grille is ugly.
Is this another car the U.S. will never see? or does 2009 also apply to the U.S.?
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Jeff Needham 5:40PM (10/19/2007)
This is posted over at Audiworld.com as well...
This car looks very promising. I love my 2001 Audi A4, and have contemplated turning it into an EV. This is much better!
http://www.audiworld.com/news/07/audi-a1-metroproject-quattro-concept/
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Ryan 9:30PM (10/19/2007)
I like it! The grille makes it look menacing like something from a big ol' Dodge Ram truck. So was it coming to the U.S. or just Europe? Also, any word on price?
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Scatter 6:21AM (10/20/2007)
Thanks GoodCheer!
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frank78 11:36AM (10/20/2007)
If that comes to the US, I'm all over it. Even without the electric-only range, I'd want that car. Small cars are more fun, IMO.
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Ralph 4:33PM (10/20/2007)
This concept looks intriguing. AWD, plug-in capable, great mileage...this could be a big hit in Europe, Asia and the USA. Nice!
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