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Schaeffler Audi RS3 concept gets Formula E tech

Lots of electric power, lots of battery-backed torque in sports sedan body


Schaeffler, engineering firm and Audi's partner in Formula E, has unveiled the electric 4ePerformance concept, complete with 880kW from four electric motors.

They're not just any electric motors, either, they're identical to those used on the 2016-17 ABT Schaeffler Formula E racer. That puts total power at 880kW, and system torque at 1280Nm from all four motors.

Power comes from a 64kWh battery, while each axle is home to a complicated gear housing to make the motors work. Because each wheel has its own motor, the car offers proper wheel-to-wheel torque vectoring in a way petrol-powered cars simply can't.

It also offers some insane acceleration claims. Schaeffler says the 4ePerformance concept will hit 200km/h in less than seven seconds and, although no 100km/h time is quoted, we'd suggest it'll be seriously fast off the line. There are some perks to electric power, after all, especially in a small car like the RS3.

The concept won't go into production, but elements of its technology will find their way into mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fully-electric cars in future. Like lots of ideas from motorsport, pushing things to their logical extreme brings trickle-down benefits to road-going vehicles in time.

“In the same way as Schaeffler has contributed its technical expertise to Formula E from the very beginning, it also plays a pioneering role and is a partner for components and complete system solutions when it comes to applying electric mobility to volume production vehicles and putting them on the road,” said Schaeffler's chief technology officer, Peter Gutzmer.

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