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Audi TT offroad concept wirelessly charges E-Tron quattro powertrain

Audi has been diving deep into the concept ideas pool for a while now, with out-there auto-show-only vehicles like the off-road Nanuk Quattro Concept (last year's Frankfurt Show) and the TT-previewing Allroad Shooting Brake (Detroit earlier this year). The automaker has also been hinting at wireless charging through its work with WiTricitiry and the Urban Concept Sportback from Frankfurt 2011. The latest evolution of these ideas is the brand-new Audi TT offroad concept show car, which makes an appearance at the Beijing Motor Show this weekend after being teased earlier this month. Putting wireless charging into an off-road body makes little sense at first glance - after all, if you're heading out into the wild, you'll be lucky enough to find a standard outlet - finding an in-ground induction pad will be near-impossible. Thankfully, we don't need to worry ourselves with this sort of logical conflict, since this is once again an auto show study. The powertrain is capable of 408 hp and 479.2 lb-ft of torque as well 123 MPGe. And that means interesting powertrain details, like a plug-in hybrid E-Tron quattro powertrain that uses two electric motors (one rated at 40 kW for the front axle, the other at 85 kW for the rear) and can even dispense with the plug part thanks to Audi Wireless Charging technology. The powertrain is capable of a total system output of 408 horsepower and 479.2 pound-feet of torque as well as a provisional fuel efficiency of over 123 miles per gallon equivalent. All with the ability to hit 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) in 5.2 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph. All-electric range is pegged at 31 miles thanks to a 12-kWH lithium-ion battery. More details than you can shake a stick at are available below. Audi says the TT offroad concept, which blends both coupe and compact SUV, could be a preview of "a new model in a future TT family," so if you've been hoping for another entry in the growing crossover coupe segment, tell Audi you'd like to see this in the real world some day. The Audi TT offroad concept show car Study combines the sportiness of a coupe with the utility of a compact SUV Powerful and efficient e-tron quattro drive with Audi Wireless Charging technology Prof. Dr.

Audi following Tesla with 280-mile EV family car

The press days are finished at the LA Auto Show, but things said there are still making news. While in California, Audi technical development chief Ulrich Hackenberg told reporters that his employer plans to release an electric car with a range of 280 miles "around 2017." Hackenberg wouldn't say what kind of car - or crossover, perhaps - it will be, but one report said it would be "a large car, fitting five large people with ample luggage space." Most observers expect it to be a sedan to take on the Tesla Model S. It's no secret that Audi respects Tesla, and there have been hints that The House of Quattro is ready to really flex its progress-through-technology muscles in Tesla's direction. Audi will be applying lessons learned in the development of the coming R8 E-tron to the future electric car, after it managed to double the range of the electric sports car thanks to new battery technology to 450 kilometers, or 281 miles. This puts another tentative all-electric Audi in the mix and another Tesla competitor, after rumors of a possible electric Q8 from February of this year. If an electric Q8 does happen, it's expected to be a challenger to the Tesla Model X. And that might not be all: Bloomberg reported in June that Audi had "devised blueprints for several high-performance electric saloons and sport-utility vehicles." News Source: AutoExpress Audi Technology Electric audi e-tron

Mercedes may be working on a new electric car dubbed 'Ecoluxe'

Automobile has a lengthy piece this month on how the four German mass-market luxury manufacturers each plan to go after Tesla with their own electric vehicles. It was written by Georg Kacher, the magazine's European bureau chief, and the English version came a month after he wrote the German-language original for Autobild. Tesla isn't exactly a threat to the Germans, but, according to the report, the Model S is planting the right kinds of seeds in niches that are important to the luxury players. The thinking is that - in addition to needed electric vehicles anyway for stricter US regulations - it's better to start designing the machinery now. The article posited Porsche's attack would rest on the coming Panamera platform, but a big hurdle would be battery placement. Unable to find one large space for a lithium-ion pack, engineers would instead put batteries everywhere they could, for a supposed tally of some "108 battery pouches" throughout the body. A few days after the Automobile piece, however, Porsche publicly said it had no intention of challenging the Model S, because the enthusiastic driving the brand is known for doesn't jive with useful range. In Kacher's retelling, Mercedes' plans are even more ambitious, supposedly taking aim at the Model S and the coming Model X. It would do this with an investment in excess of $2 billion in a program called "Ecoluxe" – Mercedes has no brand division akin to BMW's i and Audi's e-tron. The new brand would create a four-strong family of bespoke electric vehicles: a smaller platform with a wheelbase around 106 inches and a larger one with a wheelbase around 118 inches. In addition, the range would have "provisions for rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive, and rear-wheel steering." The numbers are impressive: seating for seven in the larger vehicles, both longer than 16 feet, front and rear storage areas, ratings of up to 610 horsepower and production capacity of 80,000 units per year. When would we see such creatures? Perhaps as soon as 2019. We do know that if Tesla can knock the Model X over the outfield fence, automakers are going to have to do something. We don't know what the chances are that Ecoluxe is Mercedes' first move - but such a plan could help explain the weird Mercedes concept spied in October.