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Let’s face it; electric vehicles aren’t exactly selling well. There a lot of reasons for this, one of the biggest being the fact that electric vehicle cost significantly more than a comparable gasoline vehicle. Another major reason is range anxiety.

That hasn’t stopped some the world’s most popular luxury and sports carmakers from showing off pure electric concepts and production vehicles. One of the most interesting and sporty electric vehicles that we’ve seen was the Audi R8 e-tron. Of these vehicles for internal of valuation, but has canceled plans to make production versions for sale to the public.

Part of the reason the Audi has abandoned plans to produce a production version of the electric R8 comes in the form of changing priorities partially attributed to new R&D chief Wolfgang Dürheimer. When he took over the electric R8 e-tron is one the project is said to have made the cut with Audi.

Another major reason for the elimination of the electric vehicle is said to be a limited range of the vehicle. As a carmaker, Audi is shifting away from electric vehicles to plug-in hybrids. The plug-in hybrid makes a lot more sense for many consumers because it offers the same range as a gasoline vehicle with fuel savings. Audi currently plans to produce plug-in hybrids of several of its vehicle models including the A1, A3, A4, A6, and Q7.

[via Wired]

Audi abandons all electric R8 e-tron is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Audi‘s latest sports droptop, the RS 5 Cabriolet, has been officially revealed, a 450HP sun-lover capable of a 4.9s dash to 60mph while simultaneously getting you connected to the mobile web. The new four-seater convertible packs a V8 FSI direct injection 4.2-liter engine handmade in Audi’s Hungarian plant, routed through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission with paddles lurking behind the three-spoke, flat-bottomed wheel.

There’s also permanent quattro all-wheel-drive which can shift power between the front and rear (up to 70-percent to the front or up to 85-percent to the back) depending on road conditions. An optional sport differential can improve handling even more, with active power distribution between the rear wheels; meanwhile, if getting off the starting block is the most important thing for you, there’s a Launch Control mode.

Of course, a cabriolet is also intended to be looked at, and lower-speed swishing is made all the more eye-catching with a matt aluminum ringed single-frame honeycomb grille, LED and Xenon Plus lights, extra-large air intakes, and a matt carbon spoiler lip at the rear. The fabric hood drops in 15s and opens back up in 17s, is available in four colors – black, grey, red, or brown – and can be used at speeds up to 31mph.

Inside, there’s leather and metal aplenty, with power sport seats, an optional MMI navigation plu system with multifunction controls on the wheel, and a lap timer included in the info-screen system. Audi has used special leather pigments to avoid the seats getting too toasty in the sun – handy if you don’t like your legs to be burnt but refuse to give up those summer short-shorts – and there’s the option of integrated air-con funneled through perforations in the leather and Alcantara itself.

Standard equipment keeps much to the Audi A5, with adaptive cruise control, brake-assist, an optional reversing camera, integrated WiFi hotspot, and more, but there’s also a set of pop-up aluminum plates if the RS 5 flips over. The Audi RS 5 Cabriolet will go on sale in early 2013 in Germany, priced from €88,500 ($113k). International availability – and pricing – is yet to be confirmed.

Audi RS 5 Cabriolet pairs sun with sports performance is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Audi has announced that its upcoming R8 e-tron will be featuring a digital AMOLED rear-view “mirror” when it arrives later this year. This isn’t the first time Audi has implemented such a display in one of its cars, as we saw this same technology in its Audi R18 race car. This means that conventional rear-view mirrors are out – at least in the R8 e-tron – and are being replaced with a 7.7-inch AMOLED screen.

To get a little more specific, Audi says this is a color AMOLED screen that displays the feed from a small and very lightweight camera. The camera is placed in an “aerodynamically optimized housing” that can be heated when it gets cold outside, so you don’t need to worry about your rear-view video feed going dark when winter arrives. Audi says that the AMOLED screen will be provided by Samsung.

Of course, there are other benefits to having a camera and screen setup such as this, with Audi saying that the combination helps reduce glare from the headlights of cars behind you. The AMOLED screen doesn’t require a back light, as it is “self-illuminating at a low voltage.” Audi also promises that the screen will provide a “high-contrast, brilliant image” of what’s going on behind you, and even though the camera lens is only a few millimeters in diameter, it can provide a wider viewing range than conventional rear-view mirrors.

Audi said in its announcement that it is also looking into “incorporating additional information” on the screen at some point in the future, so when the Audi R8 e-tron first becomes available, it sounds like it will be lacking that extra functionality. It’s a excellent feature to be sure, but then again, we’ve come to expect excellent features from Audi. The Audi R8 e-tron is scheduled to roll off the line at the end of the year, so stay tuned for more details.

Audi announces AMOLED rear-view display for R8 e-tron is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Audi first unveiled its AMOLED video rear view system in May this year. Today, the German automaker has announced that its digital rear-view mirror will be going into a small-scale production on the Audi R8 e-tron at the end of this year. Fresh from the Le Mans 24 Hours, Audi touted its digital rear-view mirror for having successfully aided its R18 e-tron quattro and R18 ultra race cars. The manufacturer said that the new displays are more energy-efficient, thinner, and lighter than conventional LCD monitors.

Basically, the digital rear-view mirror has a lightweight camera that is housed in an aerodynamically optimized casing. Its lens has a diameter of just a few millimeters and it can pretty much cover a larger field of vision than other conventional rear-view mirrors. Inside will be a 7.7-inch AMOLED display that has been developed by Samsung. Audi said that the organic materials used in the display are self-illuminating and that they do not require backlighting. “During the hours of darkness the intelligent control system prevents dazzle from the headlights of other vehicles. The driver can dim or deactivate the display at any time,” the company added.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: In-Car WiFi for Audi A4 and A5 2013 models, Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro wins 2012 Le Mans endurance race,

If you’re shopping for your dream wheels, but hate poring over brochures, Audi’s got good news: you can now wave and touch to customize your prize ride. The experience starts at the Audi City showroom in London, where you kick off the process by choosing one of the German automaker’s 36 models. Then, you can browse the vehicle on a 210-inch HD display with a Kinect to read your gestures as you swipe around to take the tour. From there, a 32-inch 3M multitouch display helps you customize your machine, even letting you use physical RFID-equipped cloth and paint samples to dial in the specs. Once your Teutonic buggy is just so, you can save everything on a USB key, print out a custom brochure and even share the enthralling details on Facebook or Twitter. The company hopes to add 20 similar stores around the world, and if you’re near Picadilly Square you can try it out yourself — just keep one hand on that non-virtual wallet.

[Image credit: Wallpaper]

Filed under: Transportation

Audi dealership lets you gesticulate your way to a new car using Kinect and multitouch originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 05:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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