Audi R8 Spyder 5.2 FSI quattro: Emotional Trailer Released

Audi e-tron

Audi e-tron Concept

Future In Progress

FRANKFURT — Audi is into electric cars after all.

The German automaker has been one of Europe’s most strident champions of diesel technology and has repeatedly voiced its doubts on battery electric power and hydrogen fuel cell technology. But at the Frankfurt Motor Show on Tuesday, Audi unveiled the e-tron, an electric-car concept.

The e-tron, which looks to be a cross between a TT and an R8, carries four electric motors, one at each wheel (which makes it four-wheel drive, of course) and a horsepower equivalent rating of 313.

The e-tron uses lithium-ion batteries developed with Sanyo, and Audi says the car will be able to travel nearly 150 miles on a charge, even with the air-conditioning — actually, a heat pump — running. Accelerating from zero to 60 miles an hour will take 4.8 seconds.

Audi says the car is very much a concept, although some prototypes are expected to be on the road next year and there will be “a small build” of series production models in 2012.

Audi R8 Spyder: First pictures found!

The all new Audi R8 V10 Spyder:

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Yet its stunning design is unbelievable compared to her inspiring cousin, Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder.

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Without any official information to go off of, we can't comment on weights and measures, but we do know Audi will only be offering the Spyder with the Lambo-derived 5.2-liter V10, putting out 525 hp and 390 lb-ft of torque. On the styling side, there's not much to report. Along with the removal of the roof, the sideblades have been dispatched in favor of a duo of scoops ahead of the rear wheels, while the windshield gets framed in brushed aluminum and a set of vented bulges trail off from the seats.