At the ongoing 2015 International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt am Main (Sept. 17-27), Audi is presenting many different new products. The main focus is on the new A4 model line and the near-production Audi e tron quattro concept car – a sporty SUV with an all-electric drive. The company is also offering a multimedia experience space instead of a traditional convention booth to give visitors glimpses of the future in four of the brand's focal themes – Audi Sport, quattro, Audi Technologies and Audi ultra – and is presenting the entire range of its drive system concepts. In the SUV segment, the purely electric Audi e tron quattro concept car is celebrating its world premiere. Also to be seen at the motor show are the Audi Q7 e tron 3.0 TDI quattro as a plug-in hybrid with up to 56 km of all-electric range and the new Audi A4 g tron. The latter consumes less than four kilograms of natural gas per 100 km in the standardized cycle. For customers, this means extremely low fuel costs with a total driving range of up to 950 km. In addition, the new Audi Q7 and the new Audi A4 offer the broadest array of assistance systems of all production automobiles. They illustrate a preliminary stage of piloted driving. Audi is promoting the development of all of these technologies with great vigor – always with the goal of uniting maximum efficiency and safety with strong performance. The new generation Audi A4 impresses with a balanced and sporty driving experience, a large selection of infotainment solutions and highly intelligent assistance systems such as adaptive cruise control including traffic jam assist. Up to 30 optional systems assist drivers. The mid-class model also attains top figures in efficiency. The A4 Sedan is extremely aerodynamic with a best-in-class Cd figure of 0.23. Its efficient overall concept is supported by lightweight and efficient engines such as the 2.0 TDI ultra with 150 hp. Also launched at the show were the A4 range's top models - the new S4. Ahead of the competition, the new S4 comes with intelligent lightweight design, powerful engine and an extensive package of the latest technologies. The heart of the S models is a newly developed V6 engine with petrol direct injection and turbocharging. The 3.0 TFSI has an output of 354 hp, accelerating the Audi S4 from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds. The engine outstrips its predecessor in terms of power and torque, while simultaneously offering significantly lower fuel consumption and weight. At Audi, the mobility of the future is sporty, charged with emotion and highly efficient – the Audi e tron quattro concept technology concept car offers an outlook on the brand's first large-scale production electric car that will arrive on the market in 2018. It is based on the second-generation modular longitudinal platform, which offers considerable degrees of freedom in configuring the drive system and package. The design of the sporty SUV is based in large part on aerodynamic requirements – with a Cd figure of 0.25, the car sets the benchmark in the SUV segment. The electric drive – with three electric motors that output up to 370 kW – follows the e-tron quattro concept. The lithium-ion battery in the car's floor enables over 500 km of driving range and thereby full everyday practicality. Innovative technical solutions in the areas of controls and infotainment also deliver a high level of convenience and user friendliness. The Audi e tron quattro concept comes equipped with the technology for piloted driving. Visitors to the 2015 IAA experience all of these new models and innovations in Audi's specially built temporary three-story building in the exhibition grounds. “We've never developed an exhibition presentation that was as thematically stringent as this one. Never before have we been able to describe the innovations from Audi in such great detail. At the 2015 IAA we will be offering our visitors more of an experience than ever before. This is a unique combination,” says Luca de Meo, Board Member for Sales and Marketing at AUDI AG. The entrance to the Audi building is the starting point for the so-called “experience walk”, a corridor encircling the car exhibition in the building's interior. The roughly 100-meter course leads visitors through Audi's four key themes: the motorsport genetics of the Audi Sport sub brand, the portfolio of innovations under the title “Audi Technologies” ranging from the Audi virtual cockpit to laser light, the efficient technologies of Audi ultra and the quattro all-wheel-drive success story. Innovative presentation formats in the experience walk appeal to all senses, from the quattro ice room at 21 degrees below zero Celsius to a holographic window that uses augmented reality to connect digital information about the Audi technologies with the physical automobiles on display. — SG
