Opinions? Anyone with more technical expertise have something to correct?

Actually I would get that if they said so themselves. It would be easy to use “torque vectoring”with independently powered and controlled motors. Sound familiar? NISSAN made a really huge deal about it for the GT-R35. But the GT-R35 uses a LOT of heavy and complicated hardware to do what four motors and a computer will do. A lot of stuff that can break and cost heaps to fix it if and it will does.

This system is going to behave like their Quattro system as traction enhancement not a substitute for All-Wheel Steering, as NISSAN’s does for the GT-R35. Its what they are familiar with and works better when deliberately driven to extremes. But because this car is not going to be that fast, drifting in the E-tron is NOT going to be an issue.

Generally, when someone makes a claim of engine power this is usually off a dyno. The GT-R35, one of the most heavily scrutinized cars in the last decade, really only puts around 400hp and 420lb/ft to the ground. It was setup to shift to manage its torque like it was propelled by a 400hp, 420lb/ft, electric motor. Thus you get a 3800-3900lb car that can do 0-60 in under four seconds.

In the case of the E-tron, it is going to be the case of the motors having their individual stats added together. With four motors that would average 829.75lb/ft and only 78.25Whp per motor. This assumes that the motors may NOT be identical on all four wheels. Again this does not mean that Torque spec is not for real. As I said before, I think the motors are slow. After all, there are lots of Gas cars that are just as quick and certainly faster with a little more than one-tenth the total torque. I named one, The GT-R35.

One of the issues of performance I had been looking at was whether having four less powerful motors working together added up to a being like having one massively powerful ICE or singular motor. It is my experience and understanding that Motors are extremely different from ICE’s in almost every way.

The short of it is, that because a Motor makes max or nearly max torque from 0rpm to max revs, and Horsepower is actually very similar in delivery, that teams of motors will not result in additive power, except if they are mated to the same input, a spur gear, a flywheel, an out drive, a wheel hub, etc. It’s like the E-tron is propelled by a single 78hp, 830lb/ft motor or engine. It’s got the torque to make it really give it get-up-and-go but has no horsepower for actual speed.

Also, does anyone know how fast this torque decreases as its revs increase?

Torque does not quite work like that in a car. If that were the case F/econ would not be so fragile a thing as to crack the window will lose you 1-2 mpg or carrying an extra 50+lbs will impact acceleration and speed performance. In fact, very few cars can claim to make even as much at the wheel as the engines on the other end of the drive train otherwise most sports and performance cars should be knocking out 0-60 in under 3secs without trying.

The E-tron likely has very slow motors as electric motors make more torque to lower their max revs. This is not unlike torque leveraged Diesel or Gas ICEs, where they make most of their usable torque at a just above a fast idle. Motors though have excitingly broad torque bands spanning from under 1rpm to their designed max. But like an ICE, a motor will make less torque if it is capable of going faster with the same Voltage/Amperage.

Each of the 8 motors in the 8WD Ellica EV made only 80hp (Still looking for the torque spec on the motors but you can easily assume at least 100 lb/ft each) but each motor topped out at over 12,000Rpm. 0-62mph or 0-100Kph is about 4seconds with a top speed of 230mph. Range was only 120miles but governed to 190mph, it will go 200miles on a charge. The Ellica is a 5000+lb limo-sized car.

I’m going to say the motors in the E-tron are slow. Powerful as heck but slow.

Loco667,

One of the biggest errors that EV designers make is thinking that Motors need no cooling thus not cooling ducts, or allowance for radiators and such. Motors are more sensitive to cooling issues than ICEs and I predict that motors will have integrated cooling systems like ICEs in the near future, the next 2-3 years. This will help enormously with reliability, as heat will weaken magnets and cause what few moving parts there are to wear faster, and efficiency, heat causes electrical resistance in most conductors creating more heat like a heating element only making things worse.

The Tesla Roadster’s biggest problem is that the motor is literally buried inside the car with little or no cooling comparable to its actual needs. If Tesla fixes that, the car will not die of overheating and may go max out for over 100miles on a charge.

Oh, and I hate Al Gore, too.

I still think this car is pretty cool, though.

I HATE YOU AL GORE….!!

“You see, Audi measures the E-tron’s 3319 lb-ft of torque at the wheels. Automobile Magazine—and any other automotive publication worth reading—reports peak torque at the output shaft of a motor or engine. The difference between torque at the wheels and at the powerplant is typically about ten-fold due to the torque multiplication effect of transmission and final drive gears. If we reported torque at the wheels, a manual-transmission 1.8-liter Toyota Corolla would be rated at 1747 lb-ft and a 3.6-liter Chevy Malibu would be right up with the E-tron, packing 3115 lb-ft of torque.” – automobilemag.com

@NRG, because if all cars looked like this, we’d all fawn over the Toyota Sienna.

i expected a sub 4 seconds to 100km/h from all that torque… now the only problem electric cars have is the range and recharge times.

Another thing: With 4 motors draining the batteries instead of one, I’d imagine the E-Tron has a shorter range than the Tesla Roadster. Yet everyone who’s ever talked about their experience with the Tesla at the track has said that the Tesla didn’t get anywhere near the range Tesla touts. I’m wondering if the E-Tron is actually a bit more realistic in their numbers. Just a thought…

Wait till SSC rolls out their EV then we’ll have a game.

http://www.brucknersales.com/Upload/Uploads/8011_8011%20002.jpg

They need to market this car with the “E-Tron” name.

‘E-Tron’ > another boring alphanumeric.

And just to clarify, I do not love his nuts.

http://failblog.org/2009/11/27/girlfriend-fail/