Audi showed a couple of new green energy power plants at the Frankfurt Auto Show - small and econ friendly cars where the major theme this year at the show.

Audi A4 E-concept Car

The The A4 e-concept features a 2.0 TDI engine returning a useful 58mpg and 129g/km CO2 via the usual Frankfurt 2007 fuel-saving measures: clean diesel engine, stop-start system, low-friction tyres and tweaked aerodynamics.

The e-concept also has detailed driver info: turn on the air-con or heated seats and it tells you how much extra fuel you’re using. For example Increase the cruise control by a few mph and it tells you how many minutes you’ll save for your journey, and how much diesel it’ll need. Maybe a bit too geeky , but it could make playing the mpg game an obsession - it could also be a safety risk if people pay to much attention to the gauges on the  dash board rather than road conditions around them.

Audi/Porsche Petrol Electric Drive Train

Audi also showed a full 4WD hybrid drive train, being co- developed with Porsche, involving a petrol engine, an electric motor powerful enough to drive the car alone and batteries in the boot. In an A6, with a 2.0-litre turbo, it would have the performance of a 3.0 petrol but use 30 per cent less fuel. The system will fit the A4, A5, the next A6 and A8 plus next year’s Q5 SUV.

One interesting historical snipit is that Porsche of course have a lot of experience with hybrid drive trains having developed a petrol electric drive for the Tiger tank back in the 40’s.

There have been persistent rumors of some new Audi announcements at next weeks Frankfurt Car Show for some time now

It now looks like one of the announcements was to have been  the new Audi RS6 - information has been leaked about the new audiRS6 model.

The new RS6 will be powered by a twin-turbo version of the S6’s 5.2-litre V10, which now develops 572bhp at 6,250rpm.

There’s 480lb ft of torque available from as low down as 1,500rpm, helping to shove the RS6 (in Avant guise) to 62mph in 4.6 seconds and on to an electronically limited top speed of 155mph.

Transmission is a six-speed Tiptronic auto gearbox, while Dynamic Ride Control and ESP ensure that all four driven wheels stay on the road.

A bulked-up Torsen diff divides torque with a 40:60 front/rear split, while huge ventilated all-disc brakes take care of stopping duties. Ceramics are a extra cost option.

It’s the tried-and-tested RS approach in the visuals department - nothing too extravagant but plenty of subtle pointers.
Wider wheel arches house 19-inch spokes - although 20s are available if you want them - while at the front there’s a meatier bumper and LED running lights.

The rear gets a full-width diffuser and a pair of chromed oval tailpipes, but all-in-all there’s not too much to indicate the power lurking within.