All about Audi the German Electric & Hybrid Car manufacturer
Audi a German automobile manufacture was founded in June 1932. They design and manufacture a range of cars from 11 production facilities in nine countries that are distributed worldwide. Audi has been majority owned by the Volkswagen group, since 1966 where the Audi brand was re-launched with the Audi F103 series. Along with BMW and Mercedes-Benz Audi is a member of the German Big 3 luxury vehicle manufacturers, forming the best three luxury automakers in the world.
Audi produces 100% galvanised cars to prevent corrosion and was the first mass-market vehicle manufactured to do this. This has led to Audi offering an unprecedented 12 year anti corrosion warranty on galvanised vehicles only. In the mid-1990s Audi introduced a new series of vehicles and in 1994 launch the Audi A8 with the introduction of an aluminum space frame technology improving torsion and rigidity. With exceptions of the A3, A1 and TT models Audi tended not to adopt the transverse engine layout which is typically found in economy cars. In its design Audi has favored either front wheel drive or all-wheel drive, the majority of Audi’s line-up now features all-wheel drive and Audi has recently applied the Quattro badge to models such as the A3 and TT.
More recently Audi has focused some of its intentions on creating a range of electric and hybrid vehicles, these are classed as the Audi e-tron family. In 2012 Audi revealed it's plug-in hybrid, the Audi A3 sport back e-tron which was released in Europe in August 2014 and is planned to be released in the US in 2015. The first electric concept car was shown in 2009 at the Frankfurt motor show, with the initial attention focusing on producing an electric version of the R8, called the R8 e-tron, this was a high-performance four wheeled drive vehicle producing 4500 NM of torque, and a 0-62 mph in 4.8 seconds. The R8 e-tron made brief appearance in the Iron Man 3 movie by Marvel Films. After developing around 10 prototypes for research and development, Audi decided to cancel production of the electric car due to its limited all electric range as the battery technology had not advanced as Audi had expected. In March 2014 Audi announced that it would build the R8 e-tron on request a the new all electric range was now up to around 134 miles.
Audi has also shown some intent in creating an electric version of the A1, other concept cars include a Spyder Roadster which is a plug-in hybrid powered by 221 kW twin turbo TDI 3 L V6 diesel engine driving the rear wheels, us two electric motors producing 86 BHP on the front wheels that could achieve 0-60mph in 4 seconds and potentially compete with the BMW i8, Audi also have designs for a pure electric version of theA3 e-Tron and are expected to push the future depending on the success of the hybrid version in 2015.
To find a range of eco Audi’s for sale follow this link, we also have further information regarding the Audi A3 e-tron here.
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