Audi apparently plans to electrify the Quattro Concept it first revealed at the Paris Motor Show three years ago when it brings the Quattro Sport E-Tron Concept to the Frankfurt Motor Show next month.
Rumors of a new Quattro prototype have been making the rounds of the automotive circuit in recent months and what to be official Audi sketches have surfaced in news magazine Auto Zeitung and elsewhere in Germany, clearly through authorized leaks from the Volkswagen luxury subsidiary.
The basic design is quite similar to that of the 2010 Quattro Concept, harkening back to the long-nosed, angular-backed shape of the original, 1980 Audi four-wheel-drive model. In terms of dimensions, the 2013 Sport E-Tron will come in about five inches shorter than a production Audi S5.
The 2010 prototype shared some of the RS5’s high-performance underpinnings, with the concept weighing in at less than 3,000 pounds and with a 408-horsepower turbocharged 5-cylinder engine under its hood.
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The pony count takes a big jump in the Audi Quattro Sport E-Tron Concept which will reportedly use its plug-in hybrid drivetrain to churn out a full 700 horsepower. The Quattro designation would certainly suggest that this will be a multi-motor package driving torque to all four wheels.
The show car apparently pairs the bigger 4.0-liter V-8 from Audi’s RS6 and RS7 toolbox with an electric motor drive – specific details of the electric propulsion side to come – but the German reports do suggest the latest vehicle badged E-Tron will deliver nearly 22 miles in battery-only mode.
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Auto Zeitung also tells us the show car will hit a top speed of 205 mph while launching from 0 to 100 kmh – or 62.5 mph – in a blistering 3-plus seconds.
What’s in store for the Audi Quattro Sport E-Tron beyond a brief appearance on the auto show circuit?
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Back in Paris, three years ago, Audi CEO Rupert Stadler told TheDetroitBureau.com, the Volkswagen AG subsidiary is keeping an ear out for public reaction to models like the Quattro Concept and eTron sports cars.
While an earlier E-Tron supercar along the lines of a lithium-ion-powered Audi R8 has apparently been scrubbed, the maker is clearly pushing for more electrification packages. It showed off its first plug-in hybrid production model, the A3 e-tron, at the Geneva Motor Show last winter, and company officials promised there’d be more to come.
Could that include a new model bringing together the formidable Quattro and newer E-Tron badges? We’re likely going to have to wait for the Frankfurt Motor Show next month to find out.
This might be a fun drag car. The batteries should hold a charge long enough for a full power 1/4 mile run. /sarcasm