Will Audi A9 E-tron become the technological light of Volkswagen Group when it goes on the market in 2024?

In the field of D-class electric luxury cars, in addition to Tesla models that have been on the market for many years? Except for S, most traditional luxury car manufacturers have actually begun to prepare.

Mercedes-benz EQS concept car

Jaguar pure electric XJ imaginary map

For example, Mercedes-Benz will use a dedicated electric platform to build the EQS flagship sedan, BMW also has plans to launch the pure electric 7 Series, and Cadillac, a subsidiary of General Motors, has prepared the flagship pure electric sedan Celistiq. Jaguar's new generation pure electric XJ is scheduled to be released for the first time at the end of this year.

As a luxury brand owned by Volkswagen, Audi will naturally not be indifferent. In the early days, we heard rumors from foreign media that Audi originally planned to develop a pure electric A8 car, aiming at a group of D-class luxury electric opponents who are about to land on the market and realizing the "ambition" of its electric luxury car leader.

But now Audi seems to realize that whether it wants to become the head brand of luxury electric vehicles or attract more high-end users to buy them, if it is difficult to achieve it only by electric A8, it is better to directly launch a brand-new flagship electric luxury car, so Audi will directly hand over this work to its Artemis working group.

According to Audi's description, this high-efficiency electric flagship car is scheduled to go on the road as early as 2024, and it is a derivative of the Aicon concept car exhibited by Audi at the 20 17 Frankfurt Motor Show.

Aicon concept car has a length, width and height of 5444/2 100/ 1506mm, and a wheelbase of 3470mm, which is 240mm higher than that of Audi A8 long-axis version.

Although the car adopts 2+2 seat layout, because it is equipped with L5 automatic driving system, all the controllers and displays on traditional vehicles, such as steering wheel, pedals, various buttons and instruments, are cancelled, and a more pure passenger compartment is provided.

In terms of power and electrical technology, the concept car is equipped with four motors, with a combined maximum power of 257kW and a torque output of 550Nm. The vehicle supports 800V charging and induction line charging technology, and it only takes 30 minutes to charge the battery to 80%.

Because the car body of the concept car is made of lightweight composite materials and aerodynamic settings are optimized, its cruising range can reach 700 to 800 kilometers.

Although the production version of the electric car will not completely copy the design of the Aicon concept car, nor will it inherit all its sci-fi genes, Audi promises that the car will be equipped with the latest electric powertrain, battery and autonomous driving technology when it goes on the market.

It will also have 5G connectivity, including the "car to X" function, reality enhancement and wireless upgrade that will be popularized in the future.

The internal code of the new model is E6, which is still in the early development stage. According to industry insiders, it will adopt the style of sports car or hatchback. It is said that the exterior dimensions of the car are similar to those of the current Audi A7, but its interior will provide the space level of A8 sedan. According to Audi's headquarters in Germany, A9 may be used? E-tron's car name was put into production.

After listing, the car will become the technical display platform for Volkswagen passenger car brands, including Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche, Seat, Skoda and Volkswagen. These brands have planned to launch as many as 75 electric vehicles and 60 plug-in hybrid vehicles. This is also part of the electrification strategy of the Volkswagen Group with a huge investment of 60 billion euros before 2029.

Marcus, chairman of Audi? Duesman

Develop A9? The Artemis working group of e-tron electric's new flagship is Markus duesman (? Duesmann) is the core of the plan, and his current focus is to regain Audi's reputation as a technology leader.

Artemis will cooperate with Audi's regular development department and more engineers and software experts of Volkswagen Group to "create electric vehicles and highly autonomous driving technologies quickly and without bureaucracy".

The department is headed by Alex Haissinger (Alex? Hitzinger), a 49-year-old German, is currently the head of the automatic driving research and development department of Volkswagen Group. He once worked in Red Bull F 1 team, and then Porsche 9 19, which he was in charge of, won the Le Mans Grand Prix? Development of LMP 1 racing car.

He also worked for Apple's cancelled project? Titan electric vehicle project has been effective, and a brand-new ID has been developed in cooperation with Volkswagen's commercial vehicle department. Buzz-this car is considered as a contemporary electric replica of Volkswagen T 1.

Under the leadership of Alex, Artemis will learn from new brands that have achieved leading position in the electrical field, and improve the agility and execution speed of the team. Duesman, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said that the new working group will gain "great freedom and will work all over the world".

In addition to Audi's own InCampus technical center, the Artemis working group will also accept the digital service of the newly established cars of Volkswagen Group. Software division, focusing on five major areas: operating system and interconnection, intelligent body and cockpit, autonomous driving, vehicle and energy performance, service platform and travel service.

Audi also plans to cooperate more closely with Porsche through Artemis, especially in platform development. They have already cooperated on the J 1 platform, namely Taycan and the upcoming E-tron? GT laid the foundation.

In addition, they jointly developed an undisclosed PPE platform, which is expected to be used for the second generation Porsche Macan electric version for the first time in 2022.

Audi AI:ME concept car

Audi AI:Trail? 4x4

Except A9? In addition to e-tron, according to foreign media, Artemis is also responsible for promoting other existing projects of Audi, including the production version of the AI:ME concept car launched on 20 19, which is expected to become the spiritual successor of Audi A2, in addition to the AI:Race electric sports car and AI:Trail? The proposal of 4x4 production version.

In fact, in addition to providing technical solutions for the brand-new Audi flagship car and promoting the research and development of other new pure electric vehicles, Artemis is also responsible for introducing new technologies into the whole brand, which is crucial for Audi to remain competitive in the ever-changing automotive field (including competitors such as Tesla, Rivian and Lucid, and many new electric brands in China).

"The current electric vehicle program has brought all our capabilities into full play," said duesman, who is also the R&D director of audi ag's board of directors. "The question is how we can carry out more high-tech projects without destroying the existing project plan, and at the same time grasp the new opportunities in the market."

Audi has announced that it plans to launch as many as 20 pure electric and 10 plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2025 to cover all market segments. To this end, Audi is prepared to allocate 37 billion euros of R&D expenditure as high as 654.38+0.2 billion euros.

This time, is it a brand new A9? Both E-tron electric flagship car and Artemis project team, as pioneers, are the positive efforts made by Audi to break through the predicament when the wave of electrification strikes, and also the proof of Audi's determination to deepen the pure electric market.

As for whether Audi can surpass other traditional brands or even Tesla in the next electrification journey through Artemis, only the market will verify it.

This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.