Most people think that electric engines and, by extension, electric cars are ’silent’ or just ‘too silent’, and they are right. The fact they do not make enough noise is seen as a problem in terms of road safety as pedestrien, cyclistand and other people mught not detect the presence of such vehicles when out of sight.

This is an issue that Audi has been trying to address for quite some time, and not only for safety reasons. In fact, a supercar that doesn’t roar is kind of missing the point, meaning that the ’sound’ of a car is something that simply defines it, just like its design, and every proper motorist knows that only too well. The video above just shows how the house of the four rings is working on the problem, and what they are doing is giving their new electric sportscar R8 e-tron a pre-recorded sound, coming from a studio.

Rudolf Halbmeir is the sound engineer which is in charge of giving the Audi R8 e-tron a ‘voice’, and he’s doing that with keyboard and a PC. The video is pretty self-explanatory and is quite indicative of where the automotive industry seems to be hading for. Pretty interesting watch indeed.

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Audi has just released the first pictures of the new R8 E-Tron, an electric super coupè that will hit its production stage by the end of 2012. Quite similar to its petrol versions, the Audi R8 E-Tron will be able to reach a remarkable 200 Km/h and to go from 0-100 Km in 4.8 seconds thanks to four electric motors, one for each wheel, providing a total system output of 230kW (313hp) and maximum torque of 4,500Nm. In addition, an abundant use of light fibres has allowed this vehicle not to compromise its weight balance and to keep the overall mass under the 1500 Kg mark.

The lythium batteries’ weight is of 550 Kg while their capacity is of 53 kwh. Located behind the passenger compartment, they enable an autonomy range of 250 Km - measured according to the standard NEDC cycle - with recharging times of 6-8 hours when using 230V plugs, shrinking to 2 and an half hours when charging through a system providing an higher voltage. Other features include a single-speed transmission and the ability to recover energy while braking.

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The Audi R8 e-tron should be on the market by 2012 and it will start Audi’s campaign to be the world’s top electric vehicle producer in the premium brands by 2020. In this R8 e-tron video we see the car being built and the good looks and performance of the R8 aren’t being sacrificed - the e-tron version has 313 hp and can get to 100 km/hr in 4.8 seconds. Top speed is 250 km/hr.

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Audi is using the e-Tron badge for different electric vehicles in its range and will bring its Audi R8 e-Tron to market before the A1 e-Tron. We’ve already seen the former model with its four electric motors on each wheel producing some impressive performance numbers, and production plans are for it to get to market in late 2012. As an electric supercar it will compete with others like the Mercedes SLS AMG E-cell and its technical stats should be nothing short of revolutionary: 308 hp and 1,600 kg.

Audi is also performing testing on its other e-Tron family member - the Audi A1 e-Tron. It might sound odd, but while the A1 e-Tron will never be as exclusive as the R8, we’re more excited by it. Why? Because Audi’s hot minicar in an electric version will be all the more accessible than the R8 and therefore a more useful innovation.

The A1 e-Tron is not strictly speaking an all-electric vehicle. It’s a range-extending one which includes both a tiny Wankel 250cc rotary engine with 20 hp, and an electric motor fed by 12 kW lithium ion batteries that produces between 61 and 102 hp. Torque is measured at 150 Nm in normal conditions, reaching 240 Nm in maximum performance. Videos after the jump.

Continue reading: Audi e-Tron videos and production news

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