HOW THE AUDI A1 E-TRON WORKS".

HOW THE AUDI A1 E-TRON WORKS".

THE A1 E -tron is a plug-in range extender. It works like this: up front, a transverse electric motor and single-speed transmission power the front wheels. The electric motor draws its power from a 580-volt lithium-ion battery mounted in front of the rear axle, and arranged in a T-shape. To fully charge, plug the E-tron into the mains for three hours, giving an emissions-free range of 50km. To supplement this, there’s a single rotor 254cc Wankel engine that weighs 70kg and is positioned at the rear of the car. Unless manually disabled, the range ex- tender runs constantly at its peak efficiency of 5 000rpm and doesn’t power the wheels. Instead, the range extender is used to recharge the battery, giving an additional 200 km between recharges, for a total range of 250 km, or T4 km more than the all-electric Nissan Leaf. An electric braking system also harvests braking energy, feeding it back to the electric motor. ' The E-tron’s provides 45kW/150Nm, but 75kW/240Nm is available in short bursts.