Audi will start producing the all electric, four-wheel drive sports car E-tron. Audi aims to build around a thousand of these and will start selling them by the end of 2012. The model is based on the Audi R8. Production of the E-tron will be the first step towards producing a range of different E-tron badged models.

The performance of the R8 E-tron is impressive, sprinting from 0-100 (km/h) in 4.8 seconds. The torque is an astounding 4500 Nm available from 0 rpm (thank you electro motor), ripping away your tyres when accelerating. On a fully charged battery the action radius is 250 km and recharging costs 2.5 hours. The price of the car is still unknown.

Audi also introduced the A1 E-tron. This car is a special type of hybrid, it runs on an electrical engine and has a 'range extending' second engine. This second engine is a wankel engine which kicks in when the battery is low. It runs at a stable 5,000 rpm extending the action radius on a full battery + full tank to 250 km. The action radius of the battery is a mere 50 km.

According to Audi, this hybrid construction will bring the fuel usage of the car down to 1.9 l/100km and the CO2 emission to 45 gram/km. As a comparison; the train in Holland produces an average of 42 gram CO2 per passenger per km.

Carpooling with an A1 E-tron seems pretty constructive :)