- Heavy weather the sting in the tail for World Solar Challenge entrants
- 3.4 litres/100km for cross-country journey
- Audi completes 2011 World Solar Challenge course under challenging conditions
The Audi A1 1.6 TDI completed its tough initiation to the Australian car market today when it cruised into Adelaide at the completion of a 3028km Darwin to Adelaide road trip as part of the 2011 Veolia World Solar Challenge.
The compact, high-efficiency hatchback used just over 100 litres for the trip and averaged 3.4 litres/100km (subject to official confirmation). The official combined consumption figure for the A1 1.6 TDI manual is 3.8litres/100km.
Cruising at an average speed of around 80km/h, the five-speed manual Audi encountered bushfires, eye-stinging smoke, 37C temperatures and blustery head winds along the route.
In contrast, the final leg from Port Augusta in South Australia's mid-North to Adelaide was run in pouring rain which proved a cruel blow for many of the solar car teams whose cars were sidelined as the heavy cloud prevented them from using their photo-voltaic cells to complete their trip.
The Audi A1 used its stop-start function to advantage as it crawled through suburban Adelaide's heavy Friday afternoon traffic; the engine turns itself off automatically when the car is stationary and in neutral. The car was met by a crowd of curious on-lookers as it crossed the Solar Challenge finishing ramp in Adelaide's Victoria Square and immediately went into post-event scrutiny by event officials.
With three-quarters of a tank of fuel the car weighed in at 1195kg – its comparatively light weight being a contributing factor to its economical operation.
It then headed to a service station for its final tank fill, the officials noting the fuel temperature and weight of the distillate in standard containers to compensate for variations in weather and individual service station fuel pumps.
The Audi A1 carried a GPS tracking device which showed organisers its location during every moment of the trip and a rally GPS system calculated the distance covered to the nearest 10 metres. Although the official distance of the World Solar Challenge was 3028km, the Audi covered 3043.51km, having made detours to motels and service stations along the route.
The Audi A1 1.6TDI is about to go on sale in Australia.
The high-efficiency engine with low-friction internal metal finishes and a regenerative system for storing electricity in its high-capacity battery develops 66kW of power at 4200rpm while maximum torque of 230Nm is available from 1500rpm to 2500rpm.
The Audi was permitted to enter the World Solar Challenge to officially demonstrate the efficiency of its modern "everyday" turbo-charged diesel technology. Audi view its modern, efficient TDI technology as the ideal solution for mobility today while hybrid technology will form a bridge to electrification for personal mobility in the future.
The car was driven in the World Solar Challenge by Australian motoring journalist Bob Jennings with Liz Blieschke as co-driver.