2012 Paris Motor Show - Audi Crosslane concept

After a slew of ‘e-tron’ badged concepts, Audi seems to have decided to build something befittingly quirky for the French show. Audi’s Crosslane concept that was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show, is part coupe, part crossover, part convertible and arguably cool! At first glance, it looks like one of those car drawings in your kindergarten child’s art book – but the concept is rather interesting.

The concept has the typical Audi ‘Q’ type crossover / SUV styling with the high-rise belt-line, flared wheel arches, low roofline and wedge-shaped headlights and taillights. The overall form is smaller than the Q3 and the cabin has a 2+2 seating configuration, giving the Crosslane its coupe attributes. It’s a convertible too, as the roof folds into the boot while the C-pillar and rear windshield stay up.

The boot has an innovative trunk mechanism that allows the cargo-space to be ‘pulled into’ the cabin for easy access. Once it is pushed back into the boot area, the rear bench is accessible again. In convertible form, the folded roof acts as the cover for the cargo space. Ironically the concept’s cabin itself has nothing innovative to boast about.

While the production Audi cars taut the aluminium spaceframe construction, the Crosslane concept uses carbonfibre-reinforced polymer and fiberglass-reinforced polymer for its construction. The advanced construction helps the Crosslane weigh a tad less than 1,400 kg!

Under this advanced bodywork is an array of electric motors and a 3-cylinder engine that makes up the hybrid powertrain of the Crosslane concept. The 3-cylinder 1.5-litre engine is mated to two electric motors. The smaller motor acts as the starter and the alternator while the larger motor boosts the combustion propulsion. The larger motor propels the car from 0 to 55 km/h, above which the rest of the electronics add up to push the car up to 130 km/h. Above this mark, the three-cylinder engine takes over the reigns. The entire setup puts out close to 180 PS of power that helps the Crosslane achieve a projected top speed of 180 km/h.

We believe that the Crosslane is an interesting technology study that not only shows the future path that Audi’s weight conscious cars could follow, but also has hints and glimpses of what could be an Audi Q2 or something similar.