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Audi creates new diesel fuel from carbon dioxide and water

What if you could power cars of the future with pollution created by the cars of the past? That's what German automaker Audi is hoping to achieve by creating a new synthetic fuel using renewable energy to turn water and carbon dioxide gas into a new kind of fuel they call "e-diesel." The new diesel is being produced at Audi's pilot plant Sunfire in Dresden, Germany. Only a few gallons were created, which the German Federal Minister of Education and Research Johanna Wanka put into her Audi A8 to prove the fuel's bonafides. The base fuel is known as "blue crude" and begins from a green source. Audi uses electricity from wind, water or solar power sources to separate hydrogen from oxygen in water. The hydrogen is then mixed with carbon dioxide which has been converted in carbon oxide. The blue crude is then further refined to create the e-diesel. The carbon dioxide is currently supplied by a biogas facilities, but some of that CO2 was captured from the air. "The engine runs quieter and fewer pollutants are being created," says Sunfire CTO Christian von Olshausen. The fuel can be combined with conventional diesel fuel, as biodiesel fuels already and would be competitively priced against regular diesel, according to Gizmag. Sunfire can produce about 42 gallons of e-diesel a day. That seems like barely a drop in the bucket in terms of Europe's energy use, but Audi is ready to commercialize the technology with plans to expand production with a bigger facility in the future.

Next Audi R8 caught on the 'Ring

Now that we're kinda-sorta-maybe-slowly thawing out from this horrible winter, automakers are moving away from the harsh extremes of winter testing and taking their new wares for laps around the infamous Nürburgring. What better way to kick off the sports car testing season than some fresh shots of the next-generation Audi R8 supercar?
Despite the slick coupe's shape not changing too much, details under that camouflage reveal styling elements that are more squared off and angular - similar to what Audi has done with its 2015 TT coupe. Don't be fooled by those square taillamp holes in the camo out back, either - look closely and you'll see a stylish LED lamp design.
Expect some 100 to 200 pounds to be shaved off the next R8's curb weight.

Is this the Audi C-BEV Concept?

The head of R&D at Audi, Ulrich Hackenberg, used part of his comments at the company's annual conference to broach the subject of an all-electric SUV. He didn't give many details, but he said it would be based on the same MLB 2 platform as the Q7, would have a range of more than 311 miles, and perhaps use a battery rated at 90 kWh. German publication Auto Motor und Sport has just published sketches of what that SUV, supposedly codenamed C-BEV internally, will look like when we see it in concept form at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Autocar's sources say this is a five-seat, "production-relevant zero-emissions concept" that offers hints about the coming Q6 and how Audi plans to battle the BMW X6 and Tesla Model X. Autocar says the lithium-ion battery, placed inside the platform, could hit that 90 kWh number, and power three electric motors. One of the motors is mounted in the transmission, two more at the rear axle, and combined output is reportedly 500 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. Styling will aim for something coupe-ish, the company expecting it to be so sleek that it will have a coefficient of drag under .30. For comparison, the Audi A6 has a Cd of .28. All-out luxury is the word here, with interior architecture shared with the next A8, and "Range Rover rivaling ride quality." We're not sure if this has anything to do with Audi's announcement that it will show a concept with OLED matrix lighting at Frankfurt, but the production vehicle that the Frankfurt concept leads to will go on sale in late 2018.