The Audi E-tron Spyder is a four-wheel-drive, plug-in diesel-electric-hybrid concept car first displayed at last year's Paris motor show.
The one-off open-top car, built at Audi's prototype workshop in Ingolstadt over a period of two months in mid-2010, previews a mid-engine roadster expected to join the Audi lineup as part of ongoing efforts to provide the German carmaker with a more sporting profile.
Nothing is official just yet, but Ingolstadt officials suggest a production version of the E-tron Spyder with a conventional gasoline engine could sit above the Audi TT both in position and price, acting as junior Audi R8.
Decisions are being made on what structure the new car, tipped to wear the name R4, will be based on and which Volkswagen Group company will be responsible for its engineering. Suggestions are that the R4 will be twinned with the rumored baby Porsche--the so-called 550--with development likely to be shared between Audi and Porsche. The two are working together on a Q5-based SUV for Porsche known under the internal working name Cajun.
In concept-car form, the E-tron Spyder is based around a unique aluminum spaceframe, gets an all-carbon-fiber body and borrows chassis components from the TT RS (double-wishbone front suspension) and the R8 (double-wishbone rear suspension). Together with the layout of the new model, Audi is also using its latest concept to showcase a new diesel-electric-hybrid powertrain tentatively set to appear as one of several engine options on the replacement for the Q7 due out in 2015.
At 159.8 inches long, 71.3 inches wide and 43.7 inches tall, the E-tron Spyder is 14.6 inches shorter, 8.6 inches narrower and 5.6 inches lower than the R8. By comparison, the TT roadster is 164.5 inches long, 72.5 inches wide and 53.3 inches high. The original target weight of 3,197 pounds was overshot by 441 pounds, with the concept car tipping the scales at 3,638 pounds.
For a one-off concept car, the E-tron Spyder boasts truly impressive levels of build quality--on the outside, at least. Open up its rear bodywork, though, and you're reminded it is a prototype. Nestled within the engine bay is a sea of electric cables and plumbing for the engine. Among various makeshift measures is the employment of two door latches to hold the rear bodywork in place.
Power comes from a mid-mounted, twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 diesel engine producing 300 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque. Additional performance is provided by a pair of brushless electric motors set up front that provide 88 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque. Together, the E-tron Spyder's diesel engine and electric motors produce a combined 388 hp and a mighty 739 lb-ft of torque, but that latter figure is a little misleading as it is not all available at once, depending instead on engine revs.
The reserves of the diesel engine were originally planned to be channeled to the rear wheels via a seven-speed, dual-clutch gearbox located behind the engine. However, packaging concerns meant it was replaced by Audi's stepless Multitronic CVT. The pair of electric motors, meanwhile, drive through a single-speed transmission to the front wheels, a layout which gives the new Audi part-time four-wheel drive.
Power for the motors is supplied by a 9.1-kilowat-hour battery mounted above the electric motors in the nose of the car. It is claimed to give the E-tron Spyder an all-electric zero-emissions range of about 31 miles at speeds up to 37 mph. Recharging of the battery occurs via regeneration under braking and trailing throttle, and by plugging in to a wall socket.
In combined diesel-electric mode, the E-tron Spyder is theoretically capable of hitting 62 mph in just 4.4 seconds and reaching a top speed limited to 155 mph--figures that place it between the TT RS and the R8.
However, the E-tron Spyder not only majors on straight-line speed. It is, in theory at least, also incredibly frugal, with a combined city/highway fuel economy of about 107 mpg. With a 3.5-gallon fuel tank wedged in between the cabin and the engine, Audi suggests the car could travel more than 600 miles on a combination of both diesel and electric power.
See it up close away from a motor-show stand for the first time, and the one thing that really hits home is the E-tron Spyder's aggressive stance. With little in the way of overhangs and considerable width relative to its length, the car has a wonderfully confident appearance that is enhanced by the 245/35 (front) and 265/35 (rear) tires lurking underneath its huge wheel houses. It might be a concept, but apart from a couple of design elements, it looks ready for the showroom.
You enter the cabin through conventional front-hinged doors, stepping over a wide sill and dropping down into narrow, low-set seats boasting only a minimal amount of padding but a good deal of side support. The dashboard is a horizontal plane of leather-bound aluminum and carbon fiber. It is terrifically simple in design, eschewing a monitor and switchgear for a clean and inviting appearance that project leader Uwe Haller says will be reflected on upcoming Audi models.
There's not a lot to signal the E-tron Spyder's potential when you push the starter button--a momentary whir of electrics from somewhere ahead, then silence again. Release the hand brake, lightly brush the accelerator and you're away--quietly, smoothly and on electric energy alone. A more determined stab on the pedal then prompts the diesel engine to fire with a startling rush of induction noise followed by a gruff blare of exhaust out back.
It feels like a concept, which is a nice way of suggesting there's still a way to go before the E-tron Spyder could be considered production-ready. The steering, an electromechanical arrangement from the A1, is devoid of much feel. The carbon-fiber body creaks in concert with the camber of the road, the front tires rub against the inside of the wheel arches when you apply more than a turn and half of lock, and even innocuous-looking driveways need to be approached with caution for fear of wiping the ultralow front splitter clean off.
The top lip of the cut-down speedster-style windshield, which tapers well around the sides of the car, also obstructs the view down the road. The suspension, while controlled, lacks the pliancy to cope with even the smallest of bumps. Still, there's something about the E-tron Spyder, even at 30 mph. The elements around which the car was conceived are sound. Its relatively compact size and lack of overhangs allows you to confidently place it in corners. The feet-out-in-front driving position, modeled on that of the larger R8, also endows it with a satisfyingly sporting feel that is enhanced by a near-vertical steering wheel.
Urged to press a bit faster, we give the accelerator a more thorough nudge, at which the E-tron Spyder feels a lot less like a brittle concept and more the sports car Audi clearly wants it to be. It picks up pace effortlessly once you've wound some meaningful revs into the diesel engine--anything beyond 2,000 rpm is enough to clear the early lag from the pair of turbochargers. But with a CVT sending drive to the rear wheels, there's no rise and fall in the revs as new ratios are introduced, merely a constant drone. As you come off the power, there's also loud vacuumlike noise from the turbo wastegates. Nonetheless, it feels fast. And the sensations are almost exclusively sporting.
Even so, we're not about to go and push too hard. First, there's only one E-tron Spyder in existence, and we drove it on the first day of a two-week presentation. Second, it's insured for $2.75 million. But from a conceptual point of view, the low-slung two-seater feels convincing. The basics are sound--just like those of a junior R8, in fact.
