Audi unveils new all-electric autonomous car concept with ‘up to 500 miles’ of range

With the series of electric car concepts unveiled over the last few days at the Frankfurt Motor Show, this new one from Audi caught our attention.

The German automaker claims its new ‘Audi Aicon concept car’ has a record-breaking “700 to 800 kilometers (435.0 – 497.1 mi)” range.

We have seen pretty ambitious claims about electric car range, but that’s might be a new record from a major automaker.

Even if they are referring to NEDC-rated, that’s still close to 400 miles of real-world range on a single charge in a four-door 2+2 seat sport sedan.

Audi says that the range is enabled by a large battery pack with solid state battery cells, which are not being mass-produced yet.

Also, that battery pack powers four electric motors, which Audi claims can recuperate more energy through regenerative braking:

“The four electric motors produce a total of 260 kW and 550 Newtonmeters (405.7 lb-ft). Each drives one wheel, enabling electronically controlled, variable quattro all-wheel drive. Maximum acceleration played a less important role in the specification than maximum efficiency and thus also range. This operating strategy is also pursued by the powertrain and electric brake units, which use recuperation to recover energy. Targeted lightweight construction of the multimaterial body and optimized aerodynamics also help the Audi Aicon to achieve ranges between 700 and 800 kilometers (435.0 – 497.1 mi) on a single charge.”

That’s more range than most people actually need though there could be a market for it on the higher end.

As all of Audi and Porsche’s upcoming electric vehicles, they say that it also works with their 800-volt ultra fast-charging system.

Here are a few images released by Audi:

As you can see, the vehicle doesn’t only showcase Audi’s electric car ambitions, but also its autonomous driving ambitions.

It doesn’t even feature a steering wheel or pedals. That gives you an idea of the chance for the vehicle to make it to market anytime soon.

Though Audi has been guiding more advanced autonomous driving systems available in its lineup toward the end of the decade.

The ‘Audi Aicon’ is part of a series of electric concept cars that should lead to production vehicles, starting with the quattro in 2018 and the Sportsback in 2019. This new one could serve as the basis for an electric sedan coming in 2020.