First Drive: Audi E-Tron Spyder Concept

We got let loose with in the Malibu Hills of California with the one of a kind Audi E-Tron Spyder.

Transcript

00:00 Concepts and show cars are usually developed in under two years, and in extreme cases,

00:14 like the Audi e-tron Spyder, they can be developed and built in as little as five months.

00:20 This particular e-tron works because it's a one-off concept where price is no object.

00:26 Also the entire car was essentially designed around the drivetrain from the beginning,

00:30 so several concessions were made in advance.

00:34 To start with, it was stripped of heavy and superfluous accessories like a glove box,

00:39 air conditioning, or a roof.

00:41 It was also decided that batteries, fuel tank, a 300 horsepower twin-turbo diesel-burning

00:47 V6, computers, and two 44 horsepower electric motors could take up all the space in the

00:52 car that might normally be used for groceries.

00:56 Audi will tell you the e-tron is based around the R8 architecture, but in reality, the only

01:01 part of the chassis sourced from the production supercar is the floor pan.

01:05 The rest of the space frame is hand-built, wrapped, and stretched around the drivetrain.

01:11 Under the very modern, yet still familiar carbon fiber body, the one-off is pure race

01:16 car, made almost entirely of aluminum extrusions, die-cast lug, and stress-skinned sheets.

01:23 The e-tron has a nearly 50/50 weight distribution, with the majority of the weight located between

01:28 the two axles.

01:30 These factors alone would normally add up to a superior handling vehicle.

01:34 However, Audi has yet another trick up its sleeve.

01:38 Using two separate motors, one for each front wheel, means it can be used for continuously

01:42 variable torque vectoring of the front axle.

01:46 During our drive, the e-tron was set up to be safe and easy to handle.

01:50 In most situations, the front drive is nearly imperceptible.

01:54 Around the tighter corners in the canyon, the e-tron understeers slightly, and is exceptionally

01:59 normal for a one-off exotic.

02:03 Charging into an uphill left-hander, the car started to push just slightly.

02:07 With more scientific curiosity than common sense, the throttle was pinned.

02:12 Instead of breaking the rear tires loose into oversteer, or picking up the front end and

02:16 making matters worse, the two electric motors joined in and pulled the front end around,

02:21 killing the understeer and throwing the car out of the corner.

02:25 We will start seeing Audi hybrid sedans in the next few years.

02:30 Rumors are still circulating that something like this e-tron Spider may see production

02:34 soon too, but likely equipped with a turbocharged four or five-cylinder gasoline engine.

02:40 Those are rumors for now, but with the way Audi keeps cranking out the e-tron concepts,

02:45 we may not have to wait three years to find out.

02:48 [music]

02:53 (rock music)