Audi Archives

Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback Concept

Audi launched its electric offensive with the all-electric Q4 e-tron SUV in September 2018 and by 2025, the carmaker aims to offer more than 20 vehicles with electric drive and achieve roughly 40% of its sales with electrified models.

To date, Audi has grown its electrified range to six models and the seventh will be the Q4 Sportback e-tron SUV coupe will be launched next year. Previewing the second e-tron SUV model as a concept study for now, Audi’s aim is to give potential Q4 customers the opportunity to start thinking about which version they prefer roughly a year before the first vehicles will be delivered.

MEB and its importance
The technology of the Q4 e-tron concept is provided by the modular electrification platform (MEB), which will be used for numerous electric vehicles produced by the Volkswagen Group in the future. This platform serves as the basis primarily for electric cars in the high-volume A segment. It allows the best technology available to be developed jointly across brands and used in many different electric cars. The MEB thus also helps electric mobility to break through even in the particularly price-sensitive compact segment.

The dimensions of the two Q4 models are almost identical. With an exterior length of 4.6 metres and a height of 1.6 metres, the Sportback is just 1 cm longer and flatter. They are identical in terms of their width and wheelbase.

They will also have the same drive technology using two electric motors with 225 kW of system output. Claimed acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h is 6.3 seconds, with the top speed restricted to 180 km/h.

Audi Q4 e-tron — *The Q4 e-tron which was launched in 2018 (left) and the Q4 e-tron Sportback concept which previews the next electric SUV model to go on sale in 2021.*

Electric quattro
The quattro all-wheel drive system sends the power to the road but there is no mechanical connection between the axles. Instead, an electronic control ensures that the torque distribution is coordinated optimally, and it does so in fractions of a second.

In most cases, the Q4 Sportback e-tron concept mainly uses its rear electric motor in order to achieve the highest efficiency. For reasons of efficiency, the drive torque is generally distributed with a rear-axle bias. If the driver requires more power than the rear electric motor can supply, the electric all-wheel drive uses the front asynchronous motor to redistribute the torque as required to the front axle. This also happens predictively even before slip occurs in icy conditions or when cornering fast, or if the car understeers or oversteers.

A large battery pack with a capacity of 82 kWh takes up almost the entire space in the underbody area between the axles. The range claimed from a fully charged pack is over 450 kms. Versions with rear-wheel drive can go further, with a range of over 500 kms. The battery is charged with a maximum of 125 kW, requiring little more than 30 minutes to reach 80% of the total capacity.

Sense of spaciousness
With its dimensions, the Q4 Sportback e-tron concept takes its position in the upper third of the compact class. By contrast, its wheelbase of 2.77 metres puts it at least one class higher. As there is no transmission tunnel restricting the space, there is generous legroom at the front and even more in the rear.

The colour scheme in the cabin emphasizes the sense of spaciousness. Sustainability is the top priority not only in terms of the electric drive but also materials used. The floor covering, for example, is made of recycled materials.

The Audi virtual cockpit displays the main elements for speed, charge level, and navigation, while a large-format head-up display with an augmented reality function is a new feature. It can display important graphical information, such as directional arrows for turning, directly on the course of the road.

As the centre console does not need to hold functional elements such as a gearlever or handbrake lever, the area is used for a more spacious stowage compartment that includes a cell phone charging cradle. In addition to the conventional lower storage compartment, the doors now provide the possibility to store bottles in the specially molded upper section, where they are easy to reach.

Audi electrification strategy — *By 2025, Audi aims to offer more than 20 vehicles with electric drive and achieve roughly 40% of its sales with electrified models.*

The gripping story of Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive system

Secrets of the Audi V10 engine

At its 8,700 rpm limit, each one of the pistons found in the 10-cylinder Audi R8 engine is traveling approximately 27 metres every second. Or you can put it another way: adding up all 10 cylinders’ worth of work, the engine’s pistons can cover more than 950 km/h. That’s about as fast as your standard domestic commercial aircraft. Each piston outpaces those found in today’s Formula 1 cars.

The 90° 5.2-litre V10 Fuel Stratified Injection (FSI) engine was born from the necessity that its performance exceeded the greatest expectations of a supercar customer while still providing refinement and smoothness. Its FSI system was refined through development in Audi’s original Le Mans endurance cars.

Compared with a V8 engine of similar size, the V10 has smaller, lighter pistons, allowing it to rev more freely. Compared with a V12, it has fewer moving parts, reducing complexity and internal friction.

For the US market, the current street-legal R8 V10 Performance is able to generate up to 602 ps at 8,100 rpm and 560 Nm of torque at a 6,700 rpm. That speed and the firing pattern of the cylinders – 1 – 6 – 5 – 10 – 2 – 7 – 3 – 8 – 4 – 9 – give the R8 a hissing tenor exhaust note that builds to a crescendo. Where in turbocharged engines, a turbocharger can act as a sound muffler in the engine, the naturally aspirated V10 wails, with its exhaust baffles opening at higher rpm for full effect.

The V10 engine went into production in 2009, initially making 525 ps and serving as a higher engine option for the R8. Like the entry 4.2-litre V8 engine at the time, which made 420 ps, it was developed by what is now Audi Sport GmbH, the performance sub-brand of Audi.

Like the V8 of the era, the basis of the V10 engine could be found in other Audi models, such as the S6 and S8 sedans. Unlike its sedan counterparts, however, the V10 in the R8 had a different engine crank, designed for a lighter weight, freer-revving engine and adopted dry-sump oil lubrication, which eliminated the need for a traditional oil pan.

In its place, the R8 had and continues to have a baffle plate below the engine that collects outgoing oil and serves as a reservoir for cycling oil through the engine. The oil pump module consists of a suction and feed pump for filling the oil reservoir and a suction and pressure pump for supplying oil to the engine.

This allowed engineers to mount the engine lower, which drops the centre of gravity of the car. It also allows the engine to withstand higher lateral forces as the oil pump will never be starved from cornering too aggressively. An oil cooler is run from the left-side air intake blade to keep the engine running cooler.

The dry-sump lubrication system is identical from the road-going R8 to the R8 LMS GT3 racing car, which can see much higher G-forces on tracks like Daytona and the Nurburgring due to extreme banking, slick tyres and aerodynamic changes increasing downforce.

Extensively re-engineered from the first to the second generation, the current R8 V10 performance engine still retains 40 valves (two intake and two exhaust valves per cylinder), but its springs and the roller-type rocker arms are now made of ultralight and ultra-high-strength titanium, versus steel alloys in previous applications, among other modifications.

The latest V10 also features cylinder on demand (COD) technology, which also contributes to the engine’s efficiency. Under low to intermediate load conditions – when one of the four upper gears is engaged – it shuts down the cylinders of one bank by deactivating their injection and ignition processes. The driver does not notice the transition; at stronger acceleration, the cylinder bank is activated again immediately.

The gripping story of Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive system

Covid-19 — *Fighting COVID-19 is our joint responsibility. Protect yourself and others: make these 6 simple precautions your new habits.*

Take a Tour of Audi’s Ingolstadt factory in Germany – free of charge

Many car factories around the world offer the public tours of their facilities. These tours typically highlight the company’s advanced manufacturing processes and technology. However, at this time when there is the coronavirus pandemic, production at most factories has stopped, so there’s no point in having tours.

At Audi, however, the tour of its Ingolstadt factory in Germany is still on – in virtual form. Visitors are invited to explore the high-tech production of Audi vehicles with the online AudiStream Tour Experience. This is obviously a much cheaper option to visit a factory since you do not need to fly to Germany, and you can do it from the comfort of your home. The livestream service is available until October 25, 2020.

Click here to go to the AudiStream page

Guides to answer questions
This online alternative with AudiStream brings visitors into the huge factory with experienced guides to provide information and explain the state-of-the-art production processes. With the use of video sequences, participants learn how an Audi is made, from the first production steps in the press shop to the final manual operations along the final assembly line.

Among other things, the processes in the body shop of the A3 model and videos from the A4 assembly line can be seen. In addition, the tour guides present technical highlights from the Audi world and answer questions in dialogue with participants.

With their knowledge acquired from numerous tours at the Audi plant in Ingolstadt, the tour guides determine the route for the roughly 20-minute livestream according to the individual interests of the international participants. Users select the desired stream and a suitable time slot in German or English online. Unlike the physical tour which costs 7 euros (about RM33), there is no charge for the Audistream tour other than what you have to pay for your own internet service.

Audi Ingolstadt — *The Audi manufacturing complex in Ingolstadt.*

About the Ingolstadt factory
Audi’s main factory for more than 70 years is at its home base in Ingolstadt, Germany. It is one of ten factories around the world (some shared with other brands of the Volkswagen Group) where the brand makes its vehicles. The second largest factory in the Volkswagen Group with over 40,000 employees, its total output in 2019 was 441,608 vehicles. These consisted of the Q2/SQ2, A3/RS 3 A4/RS4 and A5/RS5 models and related variants.

How plastic bottles provide Audi with seat upholstery for the new A3

Volkswagen and Audi modify their logos to create social distancing awareness

Social distancing is important during this COVID-19 pandemic. By being at least 1-metre (more more) apart from each other, the possibility of the transmission of the virus can be reduced. It’s a difficult thing to do but it is something we have to learn to do automatically if we are to defeat COVID-19.

To help spread the message, Volkswagen and Audi have modified their logos to show ‘distancing’. The move is being done through animations and images on social media channels and other media.

In the case of Volkswagen, the logo which has the smaller ‘V’ right over the ‘W’, the revised logo now has the ‘V’ moved further up, creating a bigger gap. The simple message is that we need to keep our social distance.

The German carmaker adds that ‘at Volkswagen, we traditionally stand together in all crises and support each other. We are convinced that together we will find new ways and solutions that will enable us to overcome this crisis. Right now, it is particularly important that we follow the rules of conduct and hygiene with a lot of discipline’.

Audi’s logo consisting of the familiar four rings, which has its origins going back to 1932, likewise depicts separation by having the rings set apart. In their usual configuration, they are interlinked, like the logo of the Olympics which, incidentally, have been postponed to 2021.

*In Thailand, Isuzu has also used a similar idea to create awareness of social distancing.*

Social distancing is one of the measures that can help to break the chain of virus transmission. Once this can be achieved, the virus will not be able to infect more people and eventually, its threat will be reduced. That’s the reason why the government has the Movement Control Order which now extends until April 14, 2020. It aims to limit the gathering of people so that the virus cannot spread.

How plastic bottles provide Audi with seat upholstery for the new A3

Use of recycled materials in car parts has gone on for a long time as carmakers have tried to contribute to sustainable manufacturing processes. However, cost has also to be considered and with new technologies, recycling processes have been cost-effective enough to use.

Many disused items are recycled – from old jeans to coffee beans to coffee bean skins – and PET (commonly abbreviated from Polyethylene tErephThalate) bottles are popular for such use. In fact, the fashion industry produces jewelry, clothes and bags from PET bottles.

Audi is also using recycled material for its new fourth generation A3 for the first time as it continues to follow the corporate strategy of sustainability. The A3’s seat upholstery is made from secondary raw materials are being and up to 89% of the textile used comes from recycled PET bottles.

From old to new
In Germany, there are machines which accept PET bottles from the public, for which they get 0.25 euro (around RM1.20) per bottle. The bottles are then compressed for truck transport in order to save space. Once they have arrived at the recycling plant, they are sorted by colour, size and quality. Foreign matter such as the caps are separated.

A mill then crushes the bottles into flakes, which are washed, dried and melted down. Nozzles shape continuous plastic strands out of the mass. Once they have dried, a machine chops them into small pieces. This results in granulate, otherwise known as recyclate, and this undergoes extrusion to create threads. Wound onto coils, these are used in the final stage to manufacture materials.

In Audi’s case, they are transformed into yarn for the seat fabrics. The company says that in terms of look and feel, the quality standards are the same as conventional textile upholstery.

More than 100 PET bottles in a single A3
Up to 45 PET bottles with a capacity of 1.5 litres are used per seating system. On top of this, an additional 62 PET bottles are recycled for the carpet in the new A3. Other components in the interior are also increasingly made of secondary raw materials, eg insulating materials and absorbers, the side panel trims of the luggage compartment, the loading floor and the mats.

At present, the seat upholstery is not yet made completely of recyclable material. “The lower layer of woven material, which is connected to the upper material with adhesive, is what poses the challenge. We are working on replacing this with recyclable polyester,” says Ute Gronheim, who is in charge of material development in the textiles division at Audi. “It is our goal to make the seat upholstery completely from unmixed material so that it can be recycled again. We are no longer very far away from this.”

2020 Audi A3 — *The latest 4th generation Audi A3*

In the long term, all seat upholstery across all model series will be made of recycled material. The goal is clear: the percentage of recycled material in the Audi fleet is to rise considerably in the coming years.

All-new Audi A3 gets more advanced quattro drive

All-new Audi A3 gets more advanced quattro drive

An all-new Audi A3 will make its world debut at next month’s Geneva Motor Show and to give selected media a preview of its dynamic capabilities, the carmaker held a test-drive in the Azores islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a place where volcanoes once created a whole chain of islands and where there is a high level of volcanic activity,

Although the island location presents less of a challenge to keeping the new model out of general public view before the unveiling, Audi nevertheless had it camouflaged. The tight winding roads and varied mountain and valley stretches around the island were perfect for showing off the highlight of the new A3 and core of Audi’s DNA: quattro drive.

The all-wheel drive system fittingly makes its first appearance in one of the most emotive versions of the fourth generation A3, and represents the latest stage in the evolution of this successful technology, which in Audi models with transverse engine installations is based around an electro-hydraulic multi‑plate clutch.

Intelligent regulation
Managed by precisely tuned software and supported by the adaptive suspension and the progressive steering, the system not only maximises stability, grip, and driving pleasure, but is also extremely efficient. The clutch is located at the end of the propshaft, in front of the rear axle differential – a position that benefits the axle load distribution in particular. Inside is a package of plates that operate in an oil bath. Its metal friction rings are arranged behind one another in pairs – one ring of each pair is rigidly meshed with the clutch housing, which rotates with the prop shaft; the other ring is meshed with the short output shaft to the rear axle differential.

Tailored electronic torque distribution
Audi tailored the electronic torque distribution control specifically to suit the new A3 and integrated it in the Audi drive select dynamic handling system. It takes the data of the suspension sensors into account and detects not only the driving conditions and road properties but also the driving style. The control unit uses this data as a basis to calculate a torque distribution that provides optimum efficiency and passes the value on to the clutch.

The all-wheel drive distributes the torque with full variability between the front and rear axles. During normal driving operation, most of the engine’s power is transmitted to the front wheels. When driving off or when the front axle has little traction, the clutch diverts the torque at lightning speed. In this case, an electric axial-piston pump is activated, which applies up to 44 bar of hydraulic pressure to the clutch plates. The more the clutch plates are pressed together by this pump, the more drive torque is transmitted to the rear axle – the maximum is 100%.

The clutch can already transmit part of the torque to the rear axle when the driver begins to make quicker turns of the steering wheel during more challenging driving. As soon as the driver accelerates, the torque presses the A3 into the corner. During load changes, the distribution of torque allows precise turning into the bend, which further increases driving dynamics.

Full control ESC
The wheel-selective torque control, a software function of the Electronic Stabilization Control (ESC), perfectly complements the latest quattro system. When the new A3 negotiates a corner at high speed, the program applies the brakes slightly to the two wheels on the inside of the bend. The difference in drive forces on both axles turns the car into the bend, allowing it to follow the steering angle precisely. This makes the handling even more agile, fluid, and safe.

New damper technology
Comfortably soft or sporty and taut? Both are possible with the suspension with adaptive damper control which will be available for selected models in the new A3. Three damper settings ensure that the driver can experience the spread of the driving characteristics and enjoy particularly agile handling. Sensors measure the vertical acceleration of the body structure and the relative movement of the individual wheels in relation to it.

The dampers include electromagnetically actuated valves that can be regulated extremely quickly and in a highly energy-efficient way. Depending on their position, they allow the hydraulic fluid to flow faster or slower, which changes the characteristics of the dampers between a soft setting for long distance ride pliancy and a firmer footing for faster A and B-road driving.

Audi predictive active suspension

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Audi

Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback Concept

Secrets of the Audi V10 engine

Take a Tour of Audi’s Ingolstadt factory in Germany – free of charge

How plastic bottles provide Audi with seat upholstery for the new A3

All-new Audi A3 gets more advanced quattro drive

Audi designs first animated virtual car for movie

2020 Audi e-tron Sportback unveiled – all electric, all-wheel-drive, all awesome (w/VIDEO)

2020 Audi S8 revealed – 563hp, 800Nm torque!

Audi has virtual PC robots working for them

Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback Concept

Secrets of the Audi V10 engine

Take a Tour of Audi’s Ingolstadt factory in Germany – free of charge

How plastic bottles provide Audi with seat upholstery for the new A3

All-new Audi A3 gets more advanced quattro drive

Audi designs first animated virtual car for movie

2020 Audi e-tron Sportback unveiled – all electric, all-wheel-drive, all awesome (w/VIDEO)

2020 Audi S8 revealed – 563hp, 800Nm torque!

Audi has virtual PC robots working for them

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