Are four pistons enough; no quattro in A8 Hybrid???

[Old Dog]

http://www.montrealgazette.com/cars/...442/story.html

[xradman]

Originally Posted by Old Dog

http://www.montrealgazette.com/cars/...442/story.html

It seems as if it would be sort of all wheel drive with electric motor driving the front wheels and conventional gas engine driving the rear wheels.

[doctorharrison]

"...The Hybrid badge on the rear trunk lid adds the legitimacy of an electric motor driving the front wheels and a big graphite-cathode lithium ion battery in the trunk."

Oh joy! And I already have so much trunk space to spare. Are you kidding me??

[derfA8L]

Originally Posted by xradman

It seems as if it would be sort of all wheel drive with electric motor driving the front wheels and conventional gas engine driving the rear wheels.

Actually, it looks like it'll be FWD only...Here's the press release info:

The Audi A8 hybrid
Scheduled to launch this year, the Audi A8 hybrid combines the best of two worlds. The drivetrain has many features in common with the A6 hybrid. The gasoline engine, a 2.0 TFSI, produces 155 kW (211 hp) and 350 Nm (258.15 lb-ft) of torque while the electric motor produces 40 kW (54 hp) and 210 Nm (154.89 lb-ft) of torque. Peak system power is 180 kW (245 hp) and 480 Nm (354.03 lb-ft) of torque.

The two powerplants are mounted one directly behind the other and connected via a clutch. They deliver their power to the front wheels via a highly-modified eight-speed tiptronic. Energy storage is provided in the form of a lithium-ion battery with a nominal capacity of 1.3 kWh mounted in the back of the vehicle.

The luxury sedan can travel up to a speed of 100 km/h (62.14 mph) on electric power alone, and covers around three kilometers (1.86 miles) with zero local emissions at a speed of 60 km/h (37.28 mph). In the standard cycle it consumes just 6.3 liters of fuel per 100 km (37.34 US mpg), which corresponds to only 147 grams of CO2/km (236.57 g/mile).