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The new Audi
Sportback concept has Detroit in a spin this week with a seamless blend
of sports coupe desirability and five-door hatchback practicality that
has made it one of the undisputed stars of the 2009 North American
International Automobile Show. The sleek five-door GT is the latest in a
long line of Audi design studies, many of which have transferred
virtually unchanged to the production line, and not only offers a
glimpse of Audi’s future design vocabulary, but also raises the stakes
technologically with a new 47mpg-plus TDI engine featuring the world’s
cleanest diesel technology.
As its name
suggests, the Audi Sportback concept is a variation on the theme first
defined in the Audi range by the A3 Sportback with its combination of
sleek sports hatch styling and five-door versatility, and signals the
brand's intention - as previously demonstrated by the A1 Sportback
concept – to dramatically expand its line-up of Sportback models.
Power for the
striking new coupe comes courtesy of a new version of the acclaimed
3.0-litre V6 TDI. In its latest guise this advanced unit can lay claim
to offering the world’s cleanest diesel technology thanks to numerous
new efficiency optimisation measures that give it the potential to
provide up to 47.8mpg.
The Audi
Sportback concept’s average fuel economy according to the European ECE
standard is 47.8mpg, and its CO2 emissions no more than 156 g/km. These
sensationally low figures for a car of this size have been achieved by
extensive efficiency-optimizing measures covering not only the engine
but also its ancillaries. |
