The Audi e-tron was first presented a few months before at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. And now Audi took the wraps off the second full-electric sports car concept at the Detroit show. The new two-seater concept is like the original e-tron and is also based on Audi’s ASF lightweight aluminum space frame. The vehicle comes with a carbon fibre reinforced plastic hybrid body that helps keep weight down to 1,350kg or 2,976 lbs.
Unlike the Frankfurt Show e-tron, the Detroit show version of the car is much more compact in size. It is 3.93 meters (154.7 inches) long, 1.78 meters (70 inches) wide and 1.22 meters (48 inches) tall.
The original Audi e-tron features four-electric motors, two at each axle, while the Detroit show car comes with two motors that drive the rear wheels and can operate independently. According to the manufacturer the twin-motors can deliver a combined output of 150 kW or 204 horsepower and peak torque of 2,650Nm or 1954.54 lb-ft. The vehicle is able to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62mph) in just 5.9 seconds. The top speed is limited to 124mph or 200km/h.
The production version of the e-tron will go on sale in late 2012.
