Audi’s new concept the 2009 e-tron is a pure electric drive sports car. The 2009 e-tron concept runs on four motors, one each on all four wheels. The motors are powered by a lithium-ion battery that provides a stunning energy content of 42.4 kilowatt hours that runs for approximately 248 Km.

PERFORMANCE
Its amazing how much of power the 2009 e-tron concept can produce; it produces 313hp(230kW) and 4500Nm of torque. These figures undoubtedly place the e-tron in the major list of sports cars in spite of its electronic nature. The designers of this car have managed to put the battery just behind the passenger cabin for the optimal center of gravity and load distribution.

DESIGN
The 2009 e-tron concept stands wide showing off its true caliber. The single frame grille shows what the Audi designers are capable of and the headlights will undoubtedly take your attention immediately. In addition to the stylishness of the headlights the technology that has been implemented is simply amazing: the lights change and adopt according to the weather conditions. To assist with the headlamps is a camera that works in line with a fast computer to detect oncoming traffic, measure lanes and visibilities.

Another unique design feature for the 2009 e-tron are the two intake vents in the single-frame grille and in front of the rear wheel wells; flaps open the vents as required providing more cooling air when needed.

It is crucial that electric cars are built with very light material, in this case Audi engineers have minimized the weight of this electric car systematically. The structure of the 2009 e-tron is based on Audi Space Frame (ASF) technology. the doors, covers, sidewalls and roof – are made of a fiber-reinforced plastic. With this combination of carbon fiber-reinforced composite material the cars total weight is only around 1,600 Kilos.

THE HEAT PUMP
It is important to talk about the e-trons heat pump because this is the first time in automobile history that a heat pump is used. The primary goal of using this pump is to not use the power from batteries to heat the car. This heat pump is similar to pumps used in buildings that use minimum energy to effectively heat the car’s interior. Read the rest of this entry »