ultra frugal Audi TDI sports coupé announced as category victor in leading industry magazine

• Audi TT 2.0 TDI ultra wins DieselCar’s Best Sportscar Award for 2015

• Performance
• Prices start from £29,810 OTR, available in Sport or S line specification
• CO2 as low as 116g/km, with the potential for 62.8mpg combined
• ultra engine now also available in new TT Roadster, which is available to order now priced from £31,995 OTR

Sports car desirability and agility with far fewer visits to the filling station – this is the genuinely winning formula which has just secured the frugal Audi TT TDI ultra the ‘Best Sportscar’ accolade in the 2015 DieselCar Magazine Awards.

“Despite evolving over the years, the shape of the Audi TT remains as one of the most instantly recognisable cars on the road, as well as being highly desirable,” explains DieselCar Magazine Editor and Publisher, Ian Robertson.

In the ultra version of the acclaimed aluminium and steel composite-bodied Coupé the impressive 184PS output from the 2.0-litre TDI engine is bolstered by peak torque of 380Nm available between 1,750 – 3,250rpm, accounting for impressive in-gear performance which is closely matched to its TFSI counterparts. Acceleration to 62mph is dealt with in 7.1 seconds on the way to a maximum speed of 149mph. The potential for over 62mpg is also combined with the added benefit of a BIK threshold of just 21 per cent – the lowest in the TT model range – and a VED rating in band C (free for the first year and only £30 thereafter).

The centrepiece of the cutting-edge TT interior is the Audi Virtual Cockpit, a 12.3-inch TFT screen which uses the latest NVidia Tegra 30 graphics processor to display crystal clear media graphics and infotainment menus in full-screen when required. The Virtual Cockpit is fitted as standard to all models, and crystal-clear navigation mapping can be optionally specified as part of the Technology Package, which also equips the system with a multitude of Audi Connect 4G Internet services.

Commenting on the award, Audi TT and A3 Product Manager Julie Salsbury said: “The new TT is now more focused than ever before, drawing on the huge success of its iconic predecessors and incorporating up-to-the-minute technology. Our jewel in our crown – the new TDI ultra model – encapsulates this sportscar DNA with the added advantage of remarkable efficiency, and it’s tremendously encouraging to have these attributes recognised by the go-to publication on diesel cars.”

Pricing starts from £29,810 OTR for the TT Coupé 2.0 TDI ultra Sport, rising to £31,995 OTR for the all-new Roadster version, and both are available to order in UK Centres now.

Article source: www.audi.co.uk

Using keyless access technology innovative ‘Audi connect easy delivery’ service enables parcel deliveries to be made directly to the boot of a car

• Development partnership for innovative logistics service
• Parcel deliveries to the boot using keyless access technologies
• Pilot project to start in May

Audi wants to put an end to the package tour – in a bid to eradicate the age-old problem of parcels being returned to the depot, left with a neighbour or earmarked for re-delivery when a designated recipient is out, the Vorsprung durch Technik brand has worked with its partners DHL Parcel and Amazon Prime to develop a system that enables delivery direct to the boot of a customer’s Audi.

‘Audi connect easy delivery’, a pilot project starting in May, will allow participants to use the service for the first time. Audi connect easy delivery will operate through temporary authorisation for keyless access to the car’s luggage compartment.

“With comprehensive connectivity, we are transforming the car into a service device and integrating it even more closely into the everyday lives of our customers,” says Luca de Meo, Member of the Board of Management for Sales at AUDI AG. “Audi connect easy delivery helps save time and offers more convenience and flexibility – advantages that are increasingly important for the target group of a premium brand.”

In the future, the new service is to provide customers with the option of entering their Audi as the shipping address for online orders. DHL Parcel is providing the dispatching service in the pilot project. Development partner Amazon is the first online retailer to offer customers delivery directly to their car’s boot.

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management for Technical Development at AUDI AG, emphasises the high security standards of the development project: “As with all of our connect services, the security of the car and of customer data has top priority for Audi. For us, Vorsprung durch Technik also means Audi customers should be able to use these kinds of innovative services with peace of mind and therefore enjoy true added value.”

If the Audi owner agrees to the tracking of their automobile for the specific delivery time frame, the DHL driver handling the parcel receives a digital access code for the boot of the customer’s vehicle. It can be used one time only for a specific period of time and expires as soon as the luggage compartment has been closed again. Similarly, Audi connect easy delivery customers will also be able to send letters and parcels from their own car in the future.

With this logistics service, customers will enjoy even more flexibility in controlling the delivery of their orders. In addition to this extra convenience, the service promotes efficiency as it avoids unsuccessful attempts to hand over goods to customers at the specified address and therefore reduces the amount of traffic on the roads.

AUDI AG will test Audi connect easy delivery together with DHL Parcel and Amazon under real conditions in a pilot project which is to start in May in Munich, Germany.

Article source: www.audi.co.uk

600ps audi tt concept gives a taste of future turbo power

First application of electric biturbo propulsion in a TFSI engine and 48v system power up the ante in Audi Wörthersee show car

• 600 PS and 650Nm (479.4 lb-ft), 0-62mph in 3.6 seconds and 192mph top speed
• Five-cylinder 2.5 TFSI fitted with electric bi-turbo for spontaneous response and torque boost of up to 200Nm
• quattro all-wheel drive, adjustable coilover suspension and manual transmission with open shift gate, 48-volt electrical system fitted
• Development chief Prof. Dr. Hackenberg: “Technology close to production readiness”
• Premiere at Wörthersee (May 13-16)

The atmosphere will be especially highly charged at this year’s Wörthersee Tour festival because it will play host to an Audi TT clubsport turbo concept delivering a colossal 600PS and 650Nm with the help of an innovative electrically driven biturbo compressor that is close to being production ready. With its stripped-out interior, wider stance and distinctive rear wing the most extreme TT to date is intentionally reminiscent of the thoroughbred Audi 90 IMSA GTO race car of the late 1980s, so it is guaranteed to make an impact at Austria’s annual meeting for Volkswagen Group enthusiasts.

“The electric biturbo signifies a new dimension in driving enjoyment; it boosts sprinting ability and torque and enables high peak power,” explains Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Audi Board Member for Technical Development. “In our TDI engines, we are close to production readiness with this technology. We are now presenting it in a TFSI – here too, we are the first automaker in the world to do this. For our fans at Wörthersee, we have packaged the electric biturbo in a very sporty show car.”

The Audi TT clubsport turbo has a power-boosted 2.5 TFSI engine with very impressive performance data. From 2,480 cc of displacement, the five-cylinder engine produces 600 PS of power and 650 Nm (479.4 lb-ft) of torque, the latter from 3,000 to 7,000 rpm. This means that it produces 240 PS and 260 Nm (191.8 lb-ft) per litre of displacement. Power is transferred via a manual six-speed transmission.

Thanks to systematic lightweight design, the TT clubsport turbo show car has an unladen weight of just 1,396 kg. The car completes the standard sprint from 0 to 62 mph in 3.6 seconds, with a top speed of 192 mph. The TT clubsport turbo plays out its big advantage over the first few metres of a sprint. Its electrically driven compressor lets it cover up to 16 metres within the first 2.5 seconds – which is six metres further than a comparable car without this innovation. That is a difference of around one and one-half car lengths.

Electric thrust: Additional compressor fills turbo hole

An electrically powered compressor offers significant advantages: It revs up to maximum rpm rapidly and without any perceptible delay, and it continues to boost charge pressure when too little drive energy is left in the exhaust gas for the conventional turbocharger. This operating principle makes it possible to design the conventional turbocharger more specifically for high charge pressures and consequently for high engine power – the e-turbo assures spontaneous response and powerful sprints from low engine speeds at all times.

The effect is impressive. The 2.5 TFSI engine builds up its tremendous power without any perceptible delay. This power is available in any situation – whenever the accelerator pedal is pressed. In an acceleration duel, the TT clubsport turbo effortlessly pulls away from a counterpart with an identically powered engine but no electric biturbo.

However, it is not just the power of the five-cylinder engine that is fascinating – so is its unmistakable throaty sound. The exhaust system is designed for minimal back-pressure; a side pipe to the ambient air is located immediately after the racing-type muffler. The 2.5 TFSI engine is cooled by a racing-type radiator. In the lower engine speed range, the electrically driven compressor boosts torque by up to 200 Nm (147.5 lb-ft).

Energy storage: the 48 volt electrical system

A dedicated 48 volt electrical sub-system – another key future technology from Audi – supplies electrical energy to the turbocharger. A compact lithium-ion battery in the luggage compartment stores the energy that is generated by recuperation when coasting. A DC/DC converter provides the connection to the 12 volt electrical system.

The power of the Audi TT clubsport turbo reaches the road impressively via a quattro permanent all-wheel drive system whose multi-plate clutch is mounted on the rear axle for better weight distribution. A coilover suspension system enables highly precise adjustment of the body’s ride height and the compression and rebound of the shock absorbers. An electric lifting function protects the equipment from damage by street kerbs. Electronic stabilisation control (ESC) and torque vectoring round out the dynamic qualities of the suspension ideally.

The show car’s wheels are size 9.5 J x 20. Their six twin-spoke design is finished in a bi-colour look – both gloss turn finished and matt black – and the tyres are size 275/30. Carbon-fibre ceramic brake discs are mounted behind all four wheels; they are very lightweight and wear-resistant. The front brake discs measure 370 mm in diameter.

Widened by 14 cm: spectacular add-on parts

The compact sports car takes a full stance on the road with track widths of 1,736 mm in front and 1,729 mm at the rear. The car is 4.33 metres long and 1.97 metres wide, including the side mirrors – 14 cm wider than the technical platform upon which it was based. Its angular wings contribute a separate additive shape to the car body. They take the characteristic design motif of the Audi TT to an extreme and emphasise the quattro drive.

The wings of the show car – painted in the exterior colour Ferro Titanium – are open at the front and rear. Air from the car’s slipstream flows through them to cool the brakes. The Singleframe grille and large air inlets – whose vertical fins form a continuation to the light signature of the Matrix LED headlights – are also optimised for maximum air throughput.

The manually adjustable rear wing is an advanced development of the Audi Sport TT Cup with which the brand very recently launched a dedicated race series. It is now 20 cm wider, and the side flaps, which feature the four rings, were given a new geometry. The wing consists of carbon-fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) as do all other add-on parts: the air inlets and the large splitter at the front, the side panels and side sill trims as well as the voluminous diffuser at the rear whose lateral segments reference the motif of the air inlets.

The interior: fully focused on the driver

A protective “cage” of ultra-high-strength titanium tubes makes the rear zone of the interior even more rigid and safe. In front, there are lightweight race car bucket seats with four-point harnesses. The display and operating concept with the digital Audi virtual cockpit focuses on the driver, who can control all key driving parameters via four satellite buttons on the multifunction steering wheel.

CFRP and black Alcantara define the interior of the Audi TT clubsport turbo. The race seats are upholstered in coral orange Alcantara and feature contrasting stitching and piping. In the doors and on the centre console, CFRP parts with their large surfaces create sporty accents, and the doors are closed by pulling on a tube-shaped grip with an Alcantara inlay. The air vents and gear shifter also have coral orange accents – the aluminium gear shift lever travels in an open shift gate.

Article source: www.audi.co.uk

Pilot plant in Dresden, Germany, delivers first consignment of high quality Audi e-diesel using CO2 from biogas and ambient air

• New synthetic fuel could make a significant contribution to climate protection 
• No need for mineral oil: e-diesel made from water, CO2 and green power
• Synthetic petrol (Audi e-gasoline) also in development

Ingolstadt/Berlin, April 22, 2015 – Audi has taken another big step in the development of new, CO2-neutral fuels: A pilot plant in Dresden, Germany, has started production of the synthetic fuel Audi e-d iesel.

After a commissioning phase of just four months, the research facility in Dresden started producing its first batches of high-quality diesel fuel a few days ago. The energy technology corporation sunfire is Audi’s project partner and the plant operator. It operates according to the power-to-liquid (PtL) principle and uses green power to produce a liquid fuel. The only raw materials needed are water and carbon dioxide. The CO2 used is currently supplied by a biogas facility. In addition, initially a portion of the CO2 needed is extracted from the ambient air by means of direct air capturing, a technology of Audi’s Zurich-based partner Climeworks.

Reiner Mangold, Head of Sustainable Product Development at Audi, sees Audi e-diesel and Audi e-fuels in general as an important component that complements electric mobility: “In developing Audi e-diesel we are promoting another fuel based on CO2 that will allow long-distance mobility with virtually no impact on the climate. Using CO2 as a raw material represents an opportunity not just for the automotive industry in Germany, but also to transfer the principle to other sectors and countries.”

Production of Audi e-diesel involves various steps: First, water heated up to form steam is broken down into hydrogen and oxygen by means of high-temperature electrolysis. This process, involving a temperature in excess of 800 degrees Celsius, is more efficient than conventional techniques because of heat recovery, for example. Another special feature of high-temperature electrolysis is that it can be used dynamically, to stabilise the grid when production of green power peaks.

In two further steps, the hydrogen reacts with the CO2 in synthesis reactors, again under pressure and at high temperature. The reaction product is a liquid made from long-chain hydrocarbon compounds, known as blue crude. The efficiency of the overall process – from renewable power to liquid hydrocarbon – is very high at around 70 percent. Similarly to a fossil crude oil, blue crude can be refined to yield the end product Audi e-diesel. This synthetic fuel is free from sulphur and aromatic hydrocarbons, and its high cetane number means it is readily ignitable. As lab tests conducted at Audi have shown, it is suitable for admixing with fossil diesel or, prospectively, for use as a fuel in its own right.

Construction work on the facility in Dresden-Reick kicked off in July 2013 and the plant was commissioned on November 14, 2014. The plant is set to produce over 3,000 litres of Audi e-diesel over the coming months. Audi is sunfire’s exclusive partner in the automotive sector.

Over and above the partnership with sunfire, Audi has been active in the development of CO2-neutral fuels – Audi e-fuels – since 2009. The Audi e-gas plant in Werlte, Lower Saxony, already produces Audi e-gas (synthetic methane) in a comparable manner to power the Audi A3 Sportback g-tron*, which is available in countries in which a suitable fuelling infrastructure exists. Audi is also conducting joint research into the synthetic manufacture of Audi e-gasoline with Global Bioenergies, of France. In a further project, Audi has joined forces with the U.S. company Joule, which uses microorganisms to produce the synthetic fuels Audi e-diesel and Audi e-ethanol.

Article source: www.audi.co.uk