On Tuesday, at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Audi revealed the production ready A3 E-tron plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. The A3 E-tron Sportback combines a 1.4 liter, 150-hp engine with a 75 kW electric motor, for a total output of 204 hp.
The A3 E-tron has a top speed of 138 mph, and has a 0-60 mph time of 7.6 seconds.
Average fuel economy is estimated to be around 156 mpg on the European scale. Equipped with an 8.8kWh battery pack, the A3 E-tron has 31 miles of all electric range, and another 553 miles of gasoline range. Charging can be done in 2.5 hours with a 16 amp electrical outlet.
Priced at 37,000 Euros, that’s about $49,000 USD. However, when compared with other vehicles, it’s more likely that North America pricing on the Audi A3 E-tron pricing will be in the upper $30,000s range which would put it slightly above the Chevy Volt’s $34,995 starting price. Audi is the upscale brand of Volkswagen, so that makes sense to us at least.
The Audi A3 E-tron plug-in hybrid weighs 3,483 pounds and will hit dealerships in Europe in the spring of 2014. Plus, it looks like it actually has a normal amount of trunk space – this might be a first for an ICE vehicle platform that’s been converted to a plug-in hybrid? (If we’re wrong, let us know in the comments)
