Audi unveils A3 Sportback g-tron e-gas vehicle at Geneva Motor Show
While electric vehicles may seem like the obvious choice for eco-friendly driving at the moment, Audi is making strides in something a little different. At the Geneva Motor Show in March, Audi introduced the new A3 Sportback g-tron, a compressed natural gas (CNG) and gasoline hybrid vehicle.
Though it can run on regular CNG, the five-door A3 g-tron was built to run on e-gas, Audi’s new carbon-neutral synthetic gas. Made from recycled carbon waste in a new power-to-gas plant in Germany, e-gas is essentially identical to natural gas, but more sustainable, as it emits no more CO2 than was chemically put into it in production.
Two lightweight CNG tanks underneath the A3 g-tron each hold up to 15.43 pounds of e-gas or CNG, equaling 248 miles of driving range according to the official press release. The car also has a gas tank, giving it an additional 559 miles in range.
The car’s turbocharged four-cylinder engine produces 110 horsepower in both gasoline and e-gas modes. An electronic gas pressure regulator monitors and adjusts gas pressure for optimal efficiency, and the car switches from e-gas to gasoline when pressure conditions are not ideal.
Audi has not yet announced when this car will come to America, but if you’d like to know more about the e-gas project or other eco-friendly Audi vehicles, contact DCH Audi of Oxnard.
