PARIS — For the most part, the world of electric and hybrid vehicles can be split into two hemispheres: cars that get your pulse racing, and the ones that don't.
Audi's e-tron family — an electric coupe concept unveiled at the Frankfurt auto show in 2009 and a more refined version of the same idea shown at Detroit in January — is firmly in the former group. Both foreshadow Audi's green-vehicle plan for the next decade, and both are knee-quakingly awesome. As if that weren't enough to get your heart racing, now there's a spyder — a plug-in hybrid that boasts a rear-mounted, twin-turbo diesel V-6 and two electric drive motors.
Be still our hearts.
The e-tron Spyder isn't a direct representative of a future production model, but elements of its styling and powertrain should find the way into real cars. The relatively short (95.7-inch wheelbase, or almost nine inches shorter than Audi's R8) platform is a combination of extruded and die-cast aluminum and carbon fiber. At 3197 pounds, the complete package is slightly heavier than the Detroit e-tron but still several hundred pounds lighter than the Frankfurt car. Weight distribution is claimed to be 50-50 front to rear.
But that's not the most interesting part. The Spyder's drivetrain is a cram-everything-in-there marriage of Volkswagen Group buzzwords: A 300-horsepower, 479-pound feet, turbocharged diesel V-6 drives the rear wheels through a seven-speed, twin-clutch transmission. Two asynchronous electric motors motivate the front wheels, torque vectoring directs power to the front wheels for optimum traction, and Audi claims the Spyder offers a 25:75 front-to-rear torque split in normal conditions. Combined, the motors offer 88 horsepower and a healthy 260 pound-feet of twist.
There's a lot to get excited about here, but like most hot drop-tops, the Spyder's glory comes down to performance. Audi says that the car is capable of 107 mpg and a 600-plus-mile range. The sprint to 62 mph is accomplished in a claimed 4.4 seconds, and the car can operate in electric-only mode for 31 miles at speeds of up to 37 mph.
Also, it's pure eye candy. We stood in front of it for fifteen minutes and had to repeatedly pick our jaw up off the floor. Maybe something like this gets built and sold to the public, maybe not. Regardless, Audi could charge people to look at it and make a fortune.
UPDATED 5 p.m.: There was some kind of technical glitch with the photos; we've fixed it and added a couple of full-frontal shots courtesy of Audi.
All photos unless otherwise noted: Sam Smith / Wired.com
See Also:
- Audi's Testing a Volt of Its Own
- Audi Brings a 'Premium Compact' To the EV Party
- Audi's Electric Car Gets Even Hotter
- Audi's Electric e-tron Spotted In the Wild
- Audi's Electric E-tron Is Real, And Coming Soon
Now that you've drooled over some of the details, here's the fully monty, courtesy of Audi:
