Audi's E-Bike (latest news)

Audi Shows Off Performance 

E-Bike Concept

Audi is presenting, starting today, the Audi e-bike Wörthersee – at Wörthersee in Carinthia, Austria.

Wörthersee is the location of a sizeable Volkswagen-Audi culture show being held every year in the region of this Austrian town. This year marks the show’s 31st year.

“When developing the Audi e-bike Wörthersee we drew on motor racing design principles for inspiration,” explains Hendrik Schaefers, one of the designers at Concept Design Studio Munich. “The e-bike appears incredibly precise, highly emotional and strictly functional. Indeed, the design effort focused on its function as a sports machine. All design elements are thus firmly aligned to the technical features.”

The airy frame boasts a low center of gravity and a compact overall volume. In this way, the e- bike is said to be superbly agile at the sporty handling limits. The lithium-ion battery is incorporated into the frame and needs 2.5 hours to fully charge. On long trial tours, only a few simple steps are required to remove the battery and replace it with a charged one.

The electric motor is located at the lowest point on the frame and drives the bottom bracket shaft directly. The maximum torque delivered to the rear wheel is 250 Nm (184.39 pound-feet). The electric motor generates a maximum output of 2.3 kilowatts. The complete bike excluding electrical components weighs in at 11 kg (24.25 pounds), equivalent to a power-to-weight ratio of 9 kg (19.84 pounds) per kilowatt, or 7 kg (15.43 pound) per horsepower.

The frame and the swingarm that holds the back wheel are made of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP). The same material is used for the 26-inch wheels, which feature an innovative “Audi ultra blade” design with broad flat spokes for an optimized transmission of pedal power. “We were able to demonstrate with the choice of materials just how closely design goes hand in hand with expertise in ultra lightweight construction,” Hendrik Schaefers comments.

Homogeneous LED light strips round out the frame and create the immediately recognizable Audi light signature. For extreme tricks and stunts the seat can be lowered to run flush with the frame itself. At the press of a button, the seat then rises up and the biker can adopt a comfortable position.