Audi release A3 e-tron electric concept

The recent Shanghai Motor Show saw the first appearance of Audi’s latest electric concept car, the A3 e-tron.

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Audi has used the body of the notchback A3 concept which was shown in March, but has equipped the car with a plug-in electric drive system, with a 60 kW (82 PS) electric motor linked to lithium-ion battery packs. For overtaking, the power output can be boosted to 100 kW (136 PS). The drive is taken to the front wheels via a single-ratio transmission.

The A3 e-tron can be plugged into a standard 240V domestic electrical supply and will then be fully charged in about nine hours. If a three-phase electrical system is available, this can be reduced to four hours. With a fully charged battery, the e-tron’s range will be up to 88 miles (140 km).

Visually, the e-tron concept is a close relative of the notch-back A3 seen at Geneva and clearly shows what the third generation A3 will look like. One change, though, is a much more prominent front grille with heavily emphasised horizontal bars.

You can find out more about the e-tron in the May issue of Audi Driver, and we’ll be bringing you full technical details in the June issue.

Unveiled at the Geneva Show in early March, the A5 is the car which so many Audi enthusiasts have been waiting a decade for, a true coupé.

When the Nuvolari concept was first shown back in 2003, there were plenty of Audi enthusiasts who said, ‘That’s the car I want’. Well, now they will be able to have it, or at least something very similar to the Nuvolari, although some features and aspects of the styling have, inevitably, been altered for the full-scale production car.

The introduction of the A5 is covered in the April issue of Audi Driver and, in the May issue, we will be reporting on driving it for the first time.

The Cross Coupé quattro – a new concept SUV from Audi with more compact dimensions than the forthcoming Q5. Read all the details in the September issue of Audi Driver, on sale on 5th September 2007.

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Audi release A3 e-tron electric concept