quattro is Audi and Audi is quattro – the brand and the technology are indelibly linked. In celebration of the 30th birthday of the Sport quattro, Audi will present its legitimate successor at the 2013 IAA in Frankfurt am Main. The Audi Sport quattro concept show car continues the grand quattro tradition, with a stunning coupe design and plug-in hybrid drive with a system output of 515 kW (700 hp).
Exterior design: powerful and eye-catching
With the Audi Sport quattro concept show car, Audi is bringing this grand tradition into the present and taking up ideas again that were first seen in the Audi quattro concept study three years ago. The coupe combines the DNA of the 1980 Ur-quattro with dramatic elegance. It has a powerful, intense road stance, its body tautly perched over the 21-inch wheels. The overhangs are short, the proportions sportily balanced. With a wheelbase of 2784 millimeters, it is 4,602 millimeters long. With 1964 millimeters, the two-seater is unusually low-slung.
The front of the show car is characterized by the hexagonal single-frame grille with a new, sculpted grille insert, a typical element borrowed from racing. Its lower section is virtually vertical; the upper section follows the line of the engine hood. The low grille emphasizes the width of the car. Two large, vertical blades divide each of the large air inlets, and their form is taken up by the creases in the engine hood. The carbon fiber splitter is shifted far to the front, as on a race car. The grille is part of Audi’s new design philosophy and provides a first glimpse at the future design of the sporty production models.
Interior: racing meets elegance
The interior is focused on the driver. The steering wheel, digital instrument cluster and head-up display are all in the direct field of view. A line running below the windshield encircles both the driver and passenger and integrates all ergonomic functions such as the door openers.
The lightweight construction typical for Audi is reflected both in the design and in the choice of materials. Viewed from above, the slim dashboard is reminiscent of the wing of a sailplane. The support structure of the interior is a carbon shell that also serves as a storage compartment in the side doors. Elements like this make lightweight construction visible.
The control concept is also focused on the driver. All important information is displayed in the fully digital instrument cluster, another show car feature. The multifunction sport steering wheel is used to switch between a number of virtual 3D displays.
Powerful performance: the plug-in hybrid drive
The plug-in hybrid drive makes the Audi Sport quattro concept a breathtakingly dynamic coupe. System output is 700 hp; system torque is 800 Nm. Power flows through a modified eight-speed tiptronic to the quattro powertrain, which features a sport differential on the rear axle. According to the applicable standard, the show car consumes on average 2.5 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (40 km/liter).
The combustion engine is a four-liter, twin-turbo V8. It produces560 hp) and 700 Nm of torque. The cylinder on demand (COD) system, which deactivates four cylinders under part load, and a start-stop system make the sonorous eight-cylinder unit very efficient.
Located between the 4.0 TFSI and the transmission is a disc-shaped electric motor producing 110 kW and 400 Nm. It draws its traction energy from a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery in the rear with a capacity of 14.1 kWh. The show car is charged via an Audi wall box, which uses intelligent charge management to ensure the optimal feed of energy to the lithium-ion battery. The Audi Sport quattro concept can cover up to 50 kilometers (31.07 miles) on electric power alone. An intelligent management system controls the interplay between the two drives as needed, and the driver can choose between various operating modes.
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