Audi debuts A1 Sportback with extra doors

The world's fashion capital turns its attention to models of a different kind this week, with the opening of the Paris Salon de l'Auto. Forget the empire line, the bubble skirt and the Mandarin collar, all the talk in France at the moment revolves around hybrid-drive systems, small-displacement force-fed engines and twin-plate clutches.

Audi will be there, presenting for the first time a five-door 'Sportback' version of its A1 concept. Developed on the back of the three-door concept revealed last year at the Tokyo Motor Show (more here), the A1 Sportback concept employs the same 1.4-litre TFSI engine in a hybrid-drive configuration.

The turbocharged petrol engine, which produces 110kW of power, is aided by a 20kW electric motor when additional performance is required. According to Audi, the electric motor can supply an extra 150Nm of torque, when needed. That's in addition to the 240Nm of torque the internal combustion engine develops from as low as 1600rpm.

Drive is via the S Tronic twin-clutch transmission to the front wheels, with electric motor mounted between the internal combustion engine and the transmission. The A1 Sportback will run in electric-only mode, capable of a range of up to 100km. Power for the electric motor is provided by a lithium-ion battery which can be recharged by both the internal combustion engine and from an AC/Mains power socket.

Audi estimates that running the car in just electric mode with recharging from the general power outlets at home, a production version of the A1 Sportback could save its owner up to 80 per cent over the cost of running a petrol-only car of equivalent weight and specification.

The A1 Sportback boasts auto-stop/start and regenerative braking facilities to reduce the nett electrical power (and fuel) consumption. According to Audi, the A1 Sportback will still knock over the 0-100km acceleration time in 7.9 seconds and reach a top speed of 200km/h, despite averaging a fuel consumption figure of 3.9L/100km in combined-cycle testing and emitting just 92g/km.

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