Winterkorn also announced that Group companies would introduce 20 more electric cars and plug-in hybrids by 2020—from compact cars to the next Phaeton and Audi A8. “No commitment to electro-mobility can be any clearer than that.” He said the Group already had the broadest plug-in fleet in the automobile world.

Audi e-tron quattro. Audi will present an all-electric, luxury-class sport SUV in early 2018. The Audi e‑tron quattro concept provides a preview of the production battery electric SUV planned for early 2018, said Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Audi Board of Management for Technical Development.

The Audi e‑tron quattro concept uses three electric motors: one electric motor drives the front axle, the two others act on the rear axle. Total output is 320 kW. The driver can even mobilize 370 kW and more than 800 N·m (590.0 lb-ft) of torque temporarily while boosting. The Audi e‑tron quattro concept sprints from a standstill to 100 km/h (62.1 mph) in 4.6 seconds and quickly reaches the electronically governed top speed of 210 km/h (130.5 mph).

An intelligent drive management system controls the interplay between the motors as appropriate for the situation, with a focus on the greatest possible efficiency. The driver decides on the degree of recuperation, the driving program S or D and the mode of the Audi drive select system.

The large lithium-ion battery is integrated into the floor of the passenger compartment. It gives the Audi e‑tron quattro concept a balanced axle load distribution and a low center of gravity – prerequisites for its dynamic handling. The 95 kWh battery—integrated into the floor of the passenger compartment—enables a range of more than 500 kilometers (310.7 mi). The Combined Charging System (CCS) enables charging with DC or AC electrical current. A full charge with DC electrical current at a charging column with an output of 150 kW takes just around 50 minutes.

As an alternative, the study is equipped with Audi Wireless Charging technology for contactless induction charging. In addition, a large solar roof provides electricity for the drive system battery on sunny days.

The adaptive air suspension, which features controlled damping, lowers the body at higher speeds to reduce drag. The dynamic-all-wheel steering combines a dynamic steering system on the front axle with a steering system for the rear wheels. Depending on speed and the driving situation, they steer either opposite or in the same direction as the front wheels. The Audi e‑tron quattro concept thus reacts even more spontaneously and stably, and is also very maneuverable at low speeds.

The car’s drag coefficient measures just 0.25—a new best for the SUV segment, where figures are usually considerably over 0.30. At speeds from 80 km/h (49.7 mi), electrically actuated aerodynamic elements on the engine hood, the flanks and at the rear end direct the flow of air as needed to improve the flow through and around the vehicle. This is one example of the intensive development work in the wind tunnel. Wind noise is low on board the car, and there are no engine noises in an electric car in any case.

The vertical separating edges on the side panels and the fully enclosed floor pan with its newly designed microstructures contribute to reducing drag. Cameras replace the exterior mirrors—another contribution to the excellent aerodynamics and also a foretaste of the future of driving.

The concept study is equipped with all the technologies that Audi has developed for piloted driving: radar sensors, a video camera, ultrasonic sensors and a laser scanner. The data these supply come together in the central driver assistance controller (zFAS) in the luggage compartment. (Earlier post.) It computes a complete model of the car’s surroundings in real time and makes this information available to all assistance systems and the systems for piloted driving. These technologies are also nearly ready for use in production vehicles.

Porsche Mission E. Mission E is a four-door, four-seat sport car that delivers more than 600 hp (440 kW) system power and more than 500 km driving range. Features include all-wheel drive and all-wheel steering; zero to 100 km/h acceleration in under 3.5 seconds and a charging time of around 15 minutes to reach an 80% charge of electrical energy. Instruments are intuitively operated by eye-tracking and gesture control, some even via holograms—highly oriented toward the driver by automatically adjusting the displays to the driver’s position.

The drive system of the Mission E is entirely new, yet is proven in motor racing. Two permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM)—similar to those used in this year’s Le Mans victor, the 919 hybrid—accelerate the sports car and recover braking energy.

Together the two motors produce over 600 hp, and they propel the Mission E to a speed of 100 km/h in less than 3.5 seconds and to 200 km/h in under twelve seconds.

The need-based all-wheel drive system with Porsche Torque Vectoring—which automatically distributes torque to the individual wheels—transfers the drive system’s power to the road, and all-wheel steering gives precise, sporty steering in the desired direction. This makes the Mission E fit for the circuit race track; its lap time on the Nürburgring Nordschleife is under the eight-minute mark.

Porsche is a front-runner in introducing innovative 800-volt technology for the first time. Doubling the voltage—compared to today’s electric vehicles that operate at 400 volts—offers multiple advantages: shorter charging times and lower weight, because lighter, smaller gage copper cables are sufficient for energy transport.

A moveable body segment on the front left wing in front of the driver’s door gives access to the charging port for the innovative “Porsche Turbo Charging” system. Via the 800-volt port, the battery can be charged to approximately 80% of its capacity in around 15 minutes. As an alternative, the technology platform can be connected to a conventional 400-volt charging station, or it can be replenished at home in the garage via convenient inductive charging by simply parking over a coil embedded in the floor of the garage from which the energy is transferred without cables to a coil on the car’s underbody.

The battery is mounted in the car’s underbody and runs the whole length between the front and rear axles. This distributes its weight to the two drive axles uniformly, resulting in exceptionally good balance. In addition, it makes the sports car’s centre of gravity extremely low. Both of these factors significantly boost performance and a sports car feeling. The body as a whole is made up of a functional mix of aluminium, steel and carbon fibre reinforced polymer. The wheels are made of carbon: the Mission E has wide tire mounted on 21-inch wheels in front and 22-inch wheels at the rear.

Tiguan GTE. Click to enlarge.

Tiguan GTE PHEV. The Volkswagen brand is showing four versions of the new Tiguan simultaneously at Frankfurt. The production versions are the very sporty Tiguan R-Line, the classic on-road model and a special off-road version. Meanwhile, the Tiguan GTE concept vehicle that has a 160 kW/218 PS plug-in hybrid drivetrain shows how the best-selling compact SUV could further develop.

This Volkswagen, which is being presented as a concept vehicle, can cover a distance of up to 50 km in “E-Mode” driving as an all-electric zero-emission vehicle. Its average fuel consumption (combined) is 1.9 l/100 km (124 mpg); this equates to a co2 emissions figure of 42 g/km. The relatively long electric driving range not only benefits from the externally chargeable lithium-ion battery with an energy capacity of 13.0 kWh, but also from a solar module that is integrated in the roof. Under ideal conditions, the energy that it generates annually is sufficient to add up to 1,000 km of driving range (Germany 500 km, Southern Europe 800 to 1,000 km), depending on the regional solar radiation power.

The concept car is driven via its front axle by a direct-injection turbocharged gasoline engine (1.4 TSI with 115 kW) and an electric motor. The lithium-ion high-voltage battery supplies the electric motor with energy. The Tiguan GTE operates with a 6-speed dual-clutch gearbox (DSG) that was specially developed for hybrid use. The electric motor was integrated into the gearbox housing.

Additional components of the hybrid drive include the power electronics (converts DC power from the battery to AC power for the electric motor) and a charger. The Tiguan GTE can be driven in the described E-Mode or in one of the three other modes Hybrid, Battery Charge, or GTE.

After starting the drive system, the concept vehicle automatically drives off in

“E-Mode”. When a minimum charge level of the battery has been reached or when there is very high demand for power, the drive system automatically switches over to the “Hybrid” mode. This means that “E-Mode” is deactivated, and the Tiguan GTE now behaves like a classic full hybrid vehicle. It charges the battery regeneratively during deceleration and automatically uses the TSI and/or electric motor according to the driving situation. By pressing the “E-Mode” button, the driver can manually switch to zero-emissions operation if necessary. Exclusively driven by electric motor, the Tiguan then has a top speed of 130 km/h.

The driver presses the GTE button to switch to GTE mode, which activates the sporty side of the concept car. This GTE mode is an exclusive feature of all Volkswagen vehicles with a plug-in hybrid drive system. The characteristics of the accelerator pedal, gearbox and steering are made noticeably more dynamic, and the tuning of the TSI is more performance oriented. In addition, in the GTE mode the TSI and electric motor work together for boosting which makes the full system power and the maximum system torque available. The Tiguan GTE then has a top speed of 200 km/h and accelerates to 100 km/h in 8.1 seconds.

Audi of America is hosting Green Car Congress at IAA.