2014 Audi Allroad Shooting Brake Concept - Review

Sporty, compact and versatile: It is with these attributes that the Audi allroad shooting brake makes its debut at the 2014 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. The two-door car is a crossover and so it is not limited to paved roads. Its high level of functionality makes it ideal for recreational sports. Its hybrid drive, which is as powerful as it is efficient, makes a new form of quattro drive possible - the e-tron quattro.

"The show car combines sex appeal, highly efficient e-tron-quattro technology that produces 300 kW of power yet only consumes 1.9 l/100 km (123.80 US mpg) of fuel and cutting-edge electronic applications," says Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of AUDI AG, Technical Development. "We are offering very concrete glimpses of the near future in this show car". The brand with the four rings is extending its design language in the Audi allroad shooting brake. The compact two-door show car combines a host of visual elements of future sports car models with the Audi-typical allroad concept and "shooting brake" car body form. Its user interface strategy also offers an outlook on future production solutions.

With a wheelbase of 2.51 meters (8.23 ft), the show car - painted in Ice Blue - is 4.20 meters (13.78 ft) long, 1.85 meters (6.07 ft) wide and 1.41 meters (4.63 ft) tall. The versatility and functionality of the Audi allroad shooting brake is ideal for young, sporty and active people. In the winter in California, for example, they could drive the car from Los Angeles to the San Gabriel Mountains for snowboarding in the morning, and then head out to at Venice Beach for some kite surfing in the afternoon. Designed with clean and taut lines, the interior of the show car utilizes the colors anthracite and rock grey. The materials reflect the skillful handiwork of Audi designers - this is evident in the alcantara rooflining and in the various qualities of leather and the bright and dark aluminum materials that are used for controls and trim, e.g. on the air nozzles and the spokes of the multifunction steering wheel.

The plug-in hybrid drive delivers impressive key performance data with 300 kW (408 hp) of system power and a system torque of 650 Nm (479.42 lb-ft). The show car, which weighs around 1,600 kg (3527.40 lb) without the driver, launches from a standstill to highway speed (62.14 mph) in 4.6 seconds, and its forward acceleration does not quit until it is electronically limited at 250 km/h (155.34 mph). The compact crossover has a low fuel consumption figure of 1.9 liters of fuel per 100 km (123.80 mpg) (45 g CO2 per km [72.42 g/mile]) based on the relevant ECE standard. Its total driving range is up to 820 km (509.52 miles).