Audi To Unveil A1 E-tron Concept With Wankel Range Extender
The Wankel rotary engine returns to its native land at last. Since the NSU Ro 80 went out of production in 1977, Mazda has been the keeper of the flame. But Audi has announced that it will show an A1 e-tron concept at the Geneva show this week, and the pug-in will feature a single-rotor Wankel range extender (gen set). Rotaries and micro-turbines have often been suggested as the ultimate range extenders due to their compact size and low weight.
The “e-tron” will become a moniker for all electrified Audis, promises Audi chief Rupert Stalder to the German magazine Focus, “just like Quattro has become synonymous for four-wheel drive.”
Audi is claiming a 31 mile range in EV mode, before the rotary begins to spin juice. Rotaries are generally less efficient than piston engines, but the trade-off for weight and power density may make it worthwhile. According to Green Car Congress, the A1 e-tron will only have an additional 124 miles running on its single rotor Wankel range extender. Must be a mighty small fuel tank, or is the rotary really that thirsty?
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But back to Paul's original question: "Must be a mighty small fuel tank, or is the rotary really that thirsty?" I own a 2009 RX-8, and got 28 mpg on a long highway drive. So while it is a little more thirsty than a comparable V-6, it's not that bad. 124 miles from the engine for range extension??! Even allowing 20 mpg, that's a 6 gallon tank. Really? Or did they actually place an engine in this car that gets only 6mpg? Something doesn't add up here.
apparently the concept uses a .25 litre rotary engine and the fuel capacity is 3 gallons. This comes out to around 41 mpg from the range extending motor. Apparently the range extending motor operates at a constant 5000rpm and the driver alone controls whether it is on or off.
The Volt is indeed a conventional hybrid. We produce a single-rotor Wankel Range-Extender with 15 kw output since 2 years. Our system consumes less than 2 liters gasoline per hour at constant use.
e-cardriver: we are interested in your single-rotor engine. please send email to contact@milnermotors.com. thanks!