Technical data

26 Audi ultra
Audi ultra:
Every gram less extends the lead.
Audi ultra, the pioneering lightweight technology
from Audi, is more than just the sum of its indi-
vidual components. It combines innovative mate-
rials, intelligent design principles and production
processes that use resources sparingly into an
overall concept. Many Audi ultra lightweight
measures have already been implemented in the
Audi SQ5 TDI.
That starts with the body itself. The steel shell
design of the Audi SQ5 TDI combines low weight
with high rigidity. The tailor-made floor pan is
made using different material thicknesses and
qualities. The design uses only as much material
as necessary in the respectively right places.
The principle has convinced others, too: when it
was launched in 2008, the Q5 body was honoured
with the world’s top prize for bodywork, the
EuroCarBody Award*.
Extended use of hot and cold-formed steels of
high rigidity classes allows thin metal panels to
be used for the body. The aluminium components
on the front and rear axle and the cast aluminium
wheels not only reduce the overall weight but
also the unsprung masses, which in turn leads to
an increase in driving comfort.
Drive technologies such as direct fuel injection
and turbocharging have always made Audi en-
gines more powerful. The modern TDI engine in
the Audi SQ5 TDI is continuing this development.
Each lightweight component has an effect on
other components, allowing their dimensions to
be reduced as well. The result is a continuous
development process towards less and less
weight and more and more efficiency. In figures:
a vehicle that weighs 100 kg less can save up to
0.3 litres of fuel per 100 km.
* International Body Benchmark Conference EuroCarBody 2008, press release cf. www.automotive-circle.com/pdf/ecb08/ecb_press_e.doc.
The fuel consumption and CO₂ emission figures can be found on page 58.
Audi ultra on the podium: the Audi R18 ultra
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About weight reduction
The demands placed on modern vehicles are
contradictory. On the one hand, they must
offer enhanced performance and comfort, on
the other they need to be more economical
and efficient. Audi ultra resolves this conflict
by examining each and every component. We
demand the highest functionality combined
with the lowest possible weight. The result is
an intelligent mix of materials that even
allows a reduction in engine size: lighter
vehicles no longer need a large engine to be
agile. In 2012, for instance, both the Audi
R18 e-tron quattro and the Audi R18 ultra
drove to podium finishes at in Le Mans with
a V6 engine, whereas their victorious
predecessor in 2010, the R15 TDI, had
featured a V10 engine.
Aluminium sheet
Aluminium profile
Hot-formed steel
Cold-formed steel
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