Audi Technology
All automobiles carrying the 4 rings of the Audi badge embody the rules of Vorsprung durch Technik, meaning 'progress thru technology '. Each part and fibre is conscientiously designed, assembled and tested according to these elements. Support the wheel of an Audi and you can see the difference it's a really special experience.
Bodyshells
Audi produces one hundred pc galvanised automobiles to stop corrosion, and was the 1st mass-market car to do that following advent of the process by Porsche, c.1975. With other protective measures, the full-body zinc coating has proven to be particularly valuable in preventing rust. The body's ensuing sturdiness even exceeded Audi's own expectancies, causing the maker to increase its original ten year guaranty against corrosion perforation to now twelve years (excepting aluminum bodies which don't rust). An all-aluminium automobile was brought forward by Audi, and in 1994 the Audi A8 was launched, which introduced aluminum space frame technology (called Audi Space Frame). Audi introduced a new series of autos in the mid-nineties and continues to follow leading-edge technology and high-performance.
Drive layout
In all its post Volkswagen-era models, Audi has forcibly declined to adopt the standard rear-wheel drive layout favoured by its 2 arch rivals Mercedes-Benz and BMW, favouring either front-wheel drive or all wheel drive. To reach this, Audi has often designed its automobiles with a longitudinally front mounted engine, in an "overhung" position, over the front wheels in front of the spindle line. While this allows for the straightforward adoption of all wheel drive, it is going against the perfect 50:50 weight distribution (as do all front wheel drive vehicles). Audi has just lately applied the quattro badge to models e. G the A3 and TT which don't basically use the Torsen-based system as in previous years, with a mechanical centre differential, but with the Swedish Haldex Traction electro-mechanical clutch AWD system.
Engines
In the 1980s, Audi, together with Volvo, was the champ of the inline five cylinder, two and a half L engine as a longer-lasting alternative option to more standard six cylinder engines. This engine was employed not merely in production automobiles but also in their race vehicles. The 2.1 L inline five cylinder engine was employed as a base for the rally autos in the 1980s, providing well over four hundred h.p. (298 kW) after alteration. Before 1990, there were engines part with a displacement between 2.0 L and 2.3 L. This range of engine capacity was a good mixture of good fuel economy (which was on the mind of each motorist in the 1980s) and, naturally, a good quantity of power.
Luxury rivals
Through the early 1990s, Audi started to move more towards the position of being a genuine rival in its target audience against worldwide luxury leaders Mercedes-Benz and BMW. This started with the releasing of the Audi V8 in 1990. It was essentially a new engine fitted to the Audi a hundred / two hundred, but with conspicuous bodywork differences. Most clear was the new grille that was now incorporated in the bonnet. By 1991, Audi had the four cylinder Audi 80, the five cylinder Audi ninety and Audi one hundred, the turbocharged Audi 2 hundred and the Audi V8. There had been also a coupe version of the 80 / 90 with both four and five cylinder engines. Though the 5 cylinder engine was a successful and really strong powerplant, it was still a touch too different for the targeted audience. With the arrival of an all-new Audi one hundred in 1992, Audi introduced a 2.8L V6 engine. This engine was also fitted to a face-lifted Audi eighty (all 80 and 90 models were now badged 90 except in the States), giving this model a selection of four, five and 6 cylinder engines, in tavern / sedan, coup and Cabriolet body styles.
Space frame
The Audi A8 replaced the V8 in 1994, with an aluminum space frame, called the "Audi Space Frame" (ASF), to save weight. The weight reduction was balanced by the quattro four-wheel drive system. It meant the auto had similar performance to its rivals, but superior roadholding. The Audi A2 and Audi R8 also use Audi Space Frame designs.
Audi A2
The Audi A2 was a hi-tech super mini born from the Al2 concept. It featured many new features that gave Audi the leading edge technology that had lacked for a long while like the aluminum space frame which was a 1st in production vehicle design. In the A2 Audi further expanded their TDI technology thru the employment of frugal 3 cylinder engines. The A2 was very aerodynamic, designed around a wind tunnel.
