Audi to Unveil Hybrid A8 at Geneva Auto Show

A lot of the new production models and concept cars to be unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show will use some kind of green technology meant to reduce fuel consumption and save the planet. As the future seems to be electric or at least hybrid, car manufacturers need to get their technology on the market, as predictions say electric and hybrid vehicle sales will be quite important in the next few years.

Audi has been working hard to produce a hybrid power train and it’s finally here. At the Geneva Auto Show, the Germans will present the A8 hybrid for the first time as a concept car.

“We regard the full hybrid as we know it today primarily as a very specific technology for reducing fuel consumption. In due course plug-in hybrids will demonstrate their strong points when drivers expect to cover longer distances in the pure electric mode, in combination with a conventional engine,” says Michael Dick, Member of the Board of Management for Technical Development at AUDI AG.

The A8 hybrid will be powered by a 2 liter TFSI engine and an electric motor, which together will produce an output of 180 kW (245 hp) and a torque of 480 Nm (354.03 lb-ft). In the Hybrid version, the A8 will have an average fuel consumption of only 6.2 l/100 km (37.94 US mpg), equivalent to CO2 emissions of 144 g/km (231.75 g/mile).

The four-cylinder petrol engine can produce 155 kW (211 hp), while the electric motor can supply an extra 33 kW (45 hp) and 211 Nm (155.63 lb-ft). Both the gasoline and the electric engine can propel the car separately. In the electric mode the car can reach 65 km/h (40.39 mph) and cover a distance of more than two kilometers (1.2 miles).

The Hybrid version of the Audi A8 can be ordered from late 2011.