1994 Audi S4 Quattro Turbo 5 Spd. 5 Cyl. Dark Green & Ecru, Low Miles, 2nd Owner on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Audi is working on a suspension that gets power from bumpy roads

Regenerative brakes aren't new. They're on virtually every hybrid and EV, and they're even starting to pop up on traditional gas-powered cars, like with the i-ELOOP-equipped Mazda6. But even with these systems, cars can get more efficient, and Audi thinks it found yet another source of wasted energy. The source? The suspension. The idea is to turn the kinetic energy that goes into the dampers into usable energy instead of as waste heat. Audi isn't the first auto company to come up with regenerative suspension – nearly three years ago, ZF introduced its GenShock technology, which used a valve attached to traditional, oil-filled hydraulic shocks to recapture kinetic energy from movement caused by bumps in the road. Audi's prototype technology, which it calls eROT, replaces traditional dampers with horizontally oriented electromechanical rotary dampers. eROT is apparently short for electromechanical rotary damper. Neat. In testing, eROT recovered an average of 100 to 150 watts on a typical German road, three watts from a fresh piece of pavement, and 613 watts on a rough stretch of tarmac (wattage is calculated as power over time, so this is actually the rate at which the system harvests energy). The dampers channel that energy to a tiny, 0.5-kWh, 48-volt battery. The prototype is claimed to cut CO2 emissions by three grams per kilometer (4.8 grams per mile), while the company believes a future production version could save up to 0.7 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers of driving. Converting the savings to American miles per gallon isn't easy, so we'll use a practical example. In the US, the Q7's supercharged 3.0-liter V6 returns a combined rating of 21 miles per gallon, which works out to 11.2 liters per 100 kilometers. Apply eROT's 0.7L/100km savings, and the Q7's economy would improve to 10.5L/100km, or 22.4 mpg, a 1.4-mpg improvement. That's not huge, but because math, 0.7L/100km is more dramatic on a more fuel efficient vehicle – taking an A3's 27-mpg combined rating and adding eROT would drive efficiency up 2.4 mpg, for example. There are a few other big benefits beyond fuel and emissions savings – Audi claims eROT provides a more comfortable ride than traditional active suspensions, because engineers can tune the compression and rebound strokes independently of each other. Beyond that, the horizontally oriented rear suspension geometry means more cargo space, since the dampers don't poke up into the cabin like they normally do.

Audi teases E-Tron Sportback concept for Shanghai

Auto Shanghai is just around the corner, and Audi will be there with a new electrified vehicle concept. Audi isn't saying much about the car, called the E-Tron Sportback, but it has released a couple teaser shots as well as a handful of design sketches to give us a glimpse of what to expect later this week. In one image, Audi design boss Marc Lichte lifts up a corner of the sheet to show part of the E-Tron Sportback's front fascia. We see an illuminated Audi logo glowing through the fabric, and detail shots show that feature duplicated on the rear of the vehicle. The car's large wheels are pushed far to the corners, adding a squat, muscular look to its coupe-like silhouette. The slender side mirrors in the sketch mimic the slim look of the headlights. Rear lighting stretches across the back of the vehicle below the liftgate. While the "E-Tron" moniker clues us in to the car's green sensibilities, it doesn't necessarily mean that it will be purely powered by electricity – recall the A3 E-Tron PHEV. The lack of a visible tailpipe in photos or sketches, though, suggests that a proper battery electric vehicle is a likelihood for this concept. That would fit with Audi's plans to release more EVs in the future, following the launch of an E-Tron SUV. Hopefully we'll get more details about the luxury brand's electric future when the E-Tron Sportback concept gets its debut later this week. Related Video: Featured Gallery Audi E-Tron Sportback Concept Teaser News Source: Audi via Electrek Green Audi Green Automakers Concept Cars Electric e-tron

Autoblog Podcast #413

Episode #413 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Chris Paukert, and Brandon Turkus recap all of the big debuts that took place this week at the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Of course, the podcast starts with what's in the garage and finishes up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the rundown with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #413 The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics 2015 Detroit Auto Show In The Autoblog Garage 2015 Chevrolet Trax 2015 Audi RS 5 2015 Ford F-150 Long-Term 2014 Jeep Cherokee Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Paukert, Brandon Turkus Runtime: 01:xx:xx Rundown Intro and Garage - 00:00 2015 Detroit Auto Show – 37:49 Q&A - 01:32:48 Get The Podcast UStream – Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes