Volkswagen group’s Audi is planning to regain its crown as the manufacturer of the most streamlined cars on the road as part of its plan to reduce fuel consumption and emissions by 25% before 2020.
It will build a third wind tunnel dedicated solely to the premium brand which will also help it keep pace with development work on its ever-increasing range of new models.
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In the early 1980s the Audi 100 was the first road car with a coefficient of drag (Cd) of less than 0.30 but, in recent years, Mercedes-Benz has become the streamlining champion with a series of models which undercut that by a significant margin. The lower a car’s drag figure, the less fuel it uses at speed. Audi’s focus has meanwhile mainly been on lowering weight and developing highly efficient powertrains.
“With the next generation of models we will increase the aerodynamic features,” said technical development head Ulrich Hackenberg.
“We are investing in more wind tunnels because we are developing more cars, and spending more money to cover the underfloor. Next year you will see cars with a lower Cd figure.”
Hackenberg said, if Audi wants to hit its CO2 targets it will “have to look at all resistance forces” – aerodynamics, weight, internal friction and rolling resistance.
There is still a great deal that can be done with petrol and diesel engines to lower consumption and emissions, he said.
“We are working on concepts which will improve this a lot – mechanical solutions with combustion.”
These include variable combustion and electromechanical turbochargers. In future, there will also be electric condensers to supply more air to the engine, improving combustion during the warm-up phase.
With the European Union planning stringent fines for manufacturers who fail to hit CO2 targets, Hackenberg said it is “better to use money on technology than to use it to pay governments”.
He believes 50% of the improvements necessary to hit economy and emissions targets will come from the development of combustion changes, 20% from reducing weight and drag and developing more efficient vehicle systems, with the remaining 30% to be contributed by electric, hybrid and – eventually – fuel-cell powertrains.
