Audi has just unveiled a significantly updated version of the E-Tron electric sports car concept that originally debuted at the Frankfurt Auto Show last year and the new look is much improved. Looking far more like a street car, this E-Tron is smaller, rear-wheel drive and a little less powerful.

The rear-drive E-Tron uses two electric motors (versus four driving all four wheels on the previous concept), making a total of 204-hp and 1,954 ft-lbs of torque. Let it be known, however, that Audi isn’t measuring this electric car’s torque like a normal gasoline engine. Still, acceleration is impressive, with a 0-62 mph time of just 5.9 seconds. This is due, in part, to the car’s low curb weight of just 2,976.24 lbs. Impressively, that low curb weight is possible, even when the electric battery weights almost 900 lbs.

In total this revised concept isn’t nearly as large as the last E-Tron with a wheelbase of 95.67-inches, compared to 102-inches for the original E-Tron.

As for the sports car’s range, Audi claims a distance of 155 miles on a single charge, with a charge time of 11 hours through a conventional household outlet.

Audi has said it will build an electric sports car, possibly named the R4, and this new model certainly looks ready for the road.

GALLERY: Audi E-Tron Concept Debut in Detroit

Audi is continuing to demand the auto industry focus on it’s E-Tron electric sports car, with a revised version of the concept on display at the Detroit Auto Show. First unveiled at the Frankfurt Auto Show and then paraded in front of the media in brilliant tangerine at the LA Auto Show, this new E-Tron not only gets a revised look but also a new powerplant.

The rear-drive E-Tron uses two electric motors (versus four driving all four wheels on the previous concept), making a total of 204-hp and 1,954 ft-lbs of torque. Let it be known, however, that Audi isn’t measuring this electric car’s torque like a normal gasoline engine. Still, acceleration is impressive, with a 0-62 mph time of just 5.9 seconds. This is due, in part, to the car’s low curb weight of just 2976.24 lbs. Impressively, that low curb weight is possible, even when the electric battery weights almost 900 lbs.

In total this revised concept isn’t nearly as large as the last E-Tron with a wheelbase of 95.67-inches, compared to 102-inches for the original E-Tron.

As for the sports car’s range, Audi claims a distance of 155 miles on a single charge, with a charge time of 11 hours through a conventional household outlet.

GALLERY: Audi E-Tron Concept Debut in Detroit

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Alongside its new flagship R8 Spyder sports car, Audi also unveiled the E-Tron Concept for the first time on U.S. soil at the LA Auto Show today. And we have to say, it looks much cooler in its new orange paint.

Living up to its “Tron” name the oddly shaped E-Tron appears to be part Audi TT and part R8, with plenty of strange body work including a front grille that features air intakes than open when necessary to cool the electric motors. The same goes for flaps in front of the rear wheels. The headlights are original units too, with LED lighting that illuminates the entire field of vision (as opposed to having high beams and standard beams). When the car detects an oncoming vehicle, the angle of light in that car’s way is simply shut off.

The E-Tron is powered entirely by electricity with four individual motors. In total they produce a modest 313hp and a ridiculous 3,319 ft-lbs of torque. With all that power you would think this electric exotic could muster up a better 0-62 mph time than 4.8 seconds. The car’s total weight is 3527 lbs, although over 1,000 lbs of that is the battery pack situated behind the passenger compartment but ahead of the rear axle.

Like a true Audi, the E-tron is a quattro car with the four individual electric motors positioned at each wheel, ensuring power can be distributed to each corner individually.

A final piece of innovation on the E-Tron is what Audi calls car-to-x communication that allows the car to communicate with traffic lights or to know if traffic is slowing ahead or if an emergency stop of maneuver is needed.

Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen has said that a car based on the E-Tron concept will be built and rumors have suggested it will wear the R4 badge. He expects fully functional examples to be ready in two years, but a production version may take slightly longer.

GALLERY: Audi E-Tron Concept Debut in LA

Audi’s E-Tron electric R8 has been given the green light and should be on the road in two to three years. Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen has said that a car based on the E-Tron concept, which debuted at the Frankfurt Auto Show last month, will be built. He expects fully functional examples to be ready in two years, but a production version may take slightly longer.

The E-Tron concept uses three electric motors (one for each wheel) to deliver true all-wheel drive quattro performance. Together the motors make 313hp and a ridiculous 3,319 ft-lbs of torque. Surprisingly, despite that giant power output, the car’s 0-62 mph time is just 4.8 seconds. The car’s total weight is 3,527 lbs, although over 1,000 lbs of that is the battery pack situated behind the passenger compartment but ahead of the rear axle. The E-Tron is capable of traveling 154 miles on a single charge.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated as progress on the E-Tron is made, especially as Mercedes is working to bring an electric version of the SLS supercar to market in the near future as well.

[Source: AutoWeek]