The Audi A2 concept

The Audi A2 concept is just 3.80 meters long, 1.69 meters wide and 1.49 meters high; even so, it makes an elegant, powerful and sporty impression on the street. Its clean appearance concentrates on the essentials; all details are subtle but shaped for visual impact. The dark glass roof of the white-painted show car switches to transparency with the push of a button.

With its headlights, Audi is presenting the next phase in LED technology, known as matrix beam. A package of LEDs and microreflectors generate a high-resolution and non-glaring high-beam light. Delicate daytime running light fibers frame the highly efficient LED low-beam light module. Intelligent tail lights adapt their illumination to the visibility conditions. The rear fog light, produced by laser diodes, is seen as a beam of light in fog and projects a red triangle onto the road as a warning.

The dynamic light runs below the edge of the window from the front to the rear of the A2 concept – a band of light that contains a multitude of innovative, dynamic light functions. Integrated approach sensors detect the owner and unlock the doors via gesture control. While driving, the dynamic light functions as a continuous side marker light. If the car’s indicator is activated, light impulses run throughout the entire band of light. In addition, a red bar of light flows forward from the tail lights when braking and demonstrates the strength of the brakes intuitively for other road users.

The interior also reflects the philosophy behind the Audi A2 concept. It is light, clean, open, and spacious with intuitive controls. When the driver pushes the button to activate the electric drive the Audi dynamic light runs along the edges in two separate arcs from the doors to the cockpit and welcomes the passengers in a manner similar to the light band on the exterior. Two touchpads fold up to the right of the steering wheel. The retractable console between the seats includes an additional touchpad for entering letters and numbers and for secondary functions – a further development of today’s MMI touch.

The driver manages many important features via touch-control areas on the inside of the steering wheel. The two large horns pointing inward have touch-sensitive surfaces used to control key functions, with only the turn signals and windshield wipers still controlled via the traditional steering column stalks. If both touchpads are touched at the same time, the A2 concept switches into a semi-autonomous driving mode. With this convenience feature the driver maintains full control of the vehicle at all times, exactly like with today’s ACC stop & go system on which the new technology is based.

The architecture of the interior takes advantage of the possibilities afforded by the electric drive system. There is no center tunnel; the console between the front seats can be lowered to allow free passage through the vehicle. Folding the rear seats forward reveals a fixture for the fork of a special city bicycle.

The Audi A2 concept is a purely electric vehicle. The lithium-ion battery mounted in the sandwich floor stores 31 kWh of energy, 24 kWh of which are usable. The electric motor is transversely mounted in the front of the vehicle. It delivers 85 kW (116 hp) of peak power (60 kW continuous) and 270 Nm of torque (160 Nm) to the front wheels via a single-speed transmission.

The Audi technology study has a range of 200 km in the European driving cycle. It takes roughly 1.5 hours to fully recharge the battery with 400 volt three-phase current and approximately four hours with 230 volt household current. The Audi A2 concept is also designed for the new contactless charging technology (Audi Wireless Charging). It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 9.3 seconds; top speed is limited to 150 km/h in the interest of range. The steering and brake systems are purely electric (steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire), requiring no mechanical or hydraulic connection to the steering wheel or the pedals, respectively.

The show car weighs less than 1,150 kilograms featuring the most advanced state of Audi’s ultra-lightweight construction. The A2 concept marks the first time that the ASF has been combined with hybrid multimaterial construction. In this case, the superstructure is made largely of aluminum components and is complemented by add-on parts of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP).