The new Audi Urban Sportback and Spyder concept cars have already been previewed by several sketches and official photos, but now Audi has also released more detailed info about the two new vehicles that will be one of the carmaker’s highlights at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.
The first one, the Audi Urban Sportback is a compact vehicle, with a total length of only 3.2 meters, a width of 1.68 meters and a height of 1.19 meters, but keep in mind that this is not a car from the mini segment, like the Smart ForVision concept, for example, instead it’s more of a fun car that was inspired from Audi’s racing history. A perfect example for that are the car’s wheels, inspired from the Audi Union racing cars from the ’30s, while the red stripe on the rear part of the body is a clear reminder of the current Audi R8 supercar. And if you still it’s not 100 percent Audi, just look at the car’s large front grille.
The car also features several new design ideas, like the wheel fenders, which are attached to the wheels and feature a LED stripe, which gives the Audi Urban the look of a futuristic open-wheel car. The rear part is more pragmatically designed, even featuring a small windshield framed by the taillights.
The concept’s brother, the Urban Spyder, looks even more exclusive thanks to the disappearance of the roof, the frameless windows’ upper line going down towards the rear, just like classic spyder sports cars. Also, the convertible concept is equipped with black wheels and fenders, unlike its Sportback brother’s white ones.
The two concepts’ interior is designed for two passengers, but the seats’ configuration is not ordinary. They are parallel, like all conventional cars, the difference being the passenger’s seat, which is placed 30 cm to the back. According to the Audi press release, this solution’s advantage is that it allows for a little more interior space than the conventional “side-by-side”.
Under the bonnet, the Audi Urban Sportback and Spyder concepts feature two electric motors mounted between the rear wheels, that deliver 20 hp (15 kW) and 47 Nm of torque, being powered by a 7.1 kWh battery pack that weighs only 90 kg (almost 200 lbs). With a total weight of only 480 kg (1,060 lbs), the Audi Urban sprints from 0 to 60 km/h (37 mph) in 6 seconds, from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 16.9 seconds, this also being the car’s top speed. As for the driving range, the car can drive for up to 73 km (45 miles) on one charge. Using a regular power outlet, the battery charges in about one hour, while the time significantly reduces to 20 minutes if a 400V power source is used. Besides these, Audi engineers have also developed a wireless charging system called AWC.