Tag

Audi E-Bike

Browsing

We have already shown you Julien Dupont playing around on the Audi e-bike Wörthersee, but now we have got some more details about the German brand’s electric bicycle. Designed to be a fun and sporty urban two-wheeler, the Audi e-bike Wörthersee resides somewhere between the growing electric motorcycle trend and a moped, but boasts some impressive technology no matter what segment you think it hails from.

At the heart of the electric drivetrain is a synchronous permanent magnet motor that puts out 3 hp, and a 48-volt .53 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. With the whole cycle weighing 46 lbs (21 kg), the package is heavy by bicycling standards, though very light in practical application. Charging in 2.5 hours off European electricity, the pack itself being detachable from the e-bike for charging (presumably allowing for pack swapping).

While electric bike/mopeds are nothing new, the Audi e-bike Wörthersee certainly brings a level of build and spec to the space that has never been seen before, but the real secret sauce is the electronics package the German automaker has included with its design, and how it has adapted the two-wheeler to fit our daily lifestyles.

Stunting motorcycles, bicycles, tricycles, and sisters-in-law, the name of French trials rider Julien Dupont should be a familiar one to A&R readers by now. Similarly, the name of German car manufacturer Audi should also ring a bell, as the Auto Union’s recent $1.1 billion acquisition of Ducati Motor Holdings is certainly still fresh in every motorcyclist’s mind. A sign of maybe things to come, auto manufacturers have been working on something they call “last-mile transportation” which focuses on the use of short-distance urban transportation.

Cities like London are starting to impose congestion taxes, in an effort to curb road congestion in dense urban areas, as well as boost funding for roadway infrastructure. Despite the “drill at home” effort here in the US, the price of gas is surely only going to increase over the coming decade. Putting all this together, the long-term prospect of personal transportation is going to have to change dramatically over the next few generations, and car manufacturers know it.

Hoping to change with the times, we have seen car manufacturers and even motorcycle manufacturers dabble with the concept of branded motorcycles, scooters, and other sorts of low-impact transportation devices. One such endeavor from that train of thought is the Audi E-Bike. An exceptionally good looking piece of kit, the bike features a moped-like electric drivetrain, in addition to the traditional human-powered system. Carbon everything, LED headlight & taillight, frame-embeded dashboard, etc.

Oh, and that Dupont fellow? Well, someone has to make riding an electric bicycle look cool, right?