Not to be a one-trick pony, Audi has more than a few more realistic cars up its sleeve for the near future. Most important for consumers' immediate future will be Audi's Q5 hybrid, set to go on sale late 2010 or early 2011.
It's touted as "the first Audi with a combination of gasoline engine and electric motor". Cool, but far from thrilling. Next up, for the executive hippie segment, is the world debut of the marque's A8 hybrid "engineering study" at the Geneva Show on Tuesday. People will be able to order Audi's green luxo-cruiser sometime come late 2011.
Considered a full hybrid (meaning either of the propulsion systems - combustion engine or electric motor - can operate independently of its partner), the A8 hybrid will make use of a parallel system which places the electric motor in the drive line between the 2.0 TFSI four-cylinder petrol engine and 8-speed transmission.
With the electric motor (providing 33kW / 45 hp and 211 Nm / 156 lb-ft when necessary) hooked up to the 2-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder (155 kW / 211 hp), output is somehow pegged (is it limited, are the numbers screwy, or what?) at 180 kW / 245 hp and 480 Nm / 354 lb-ft of torque.
Limited output or not, Audi says the A8 hybrid's performance should live up to the high standard of V6-powered 4,400 lb barges while being able to drive an all-electric 2 kilometers / 1.2 miles and reach a top speed of 65 km/h / 40 mph. Official pics are just a short wait away.
*Standard 2011 Audi A8 pictured here - pre-production study to be revealed on Tuesday
-By Phil Alex
4 Comments:
If you are considering the purchase of an Audi A8 at around £60,000, why would you buy a 2.0 litre version with a hybrid powertrain? Another silly german car plugging a niche that nobody wanted filling in the first place.... Likewise the A5 hybrid; it might pretend to save the planet but you'll still have to rob a bank to buy even a modest version of this dullest of suvs and your fillings will be dislodged by anything less than velveteen tarmac.
Certain EU countries base car taxation on their engine size. So trust me, there's a big market for this car
great point
Pretty fucking simple.
If you base your car purchase on the cost of displacement taxes, you shouldn't be buying an A8.
SRSLY. If I had 100k euros to spend on a car, fuck the environment.
I'd never consider a huge luxury sedan with a 200hp 4-cylinder engine, unless I were a raving idiot celebrity trying to prove I was 'green'.
You know, like all the celebrity tools who buy Priuses now..
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