Audi has turned a classic automobile from one in all its predecessors right into a speedy EV idea.

Revealed Saturday, the idea updates and electrifies an NSU Prinz 4, which entered manufacturing in 1961. Dubbed EP4 (Electrical Prinz 4), the challenge was undertaken by apprentices at Audi’s plant in Neckarsulm, Germany, to mark 150 years of producing on the website.

Audi did not exist 150 years in the past, however NSU began manufacturing stitching machines on the website, later shifting on to bicycles and bikes. Automobile manufacturing began in 1905. NSU might be finest recognized in trendy automotive historical past for creating the Wankel rotary engine, which Mazda later took and popularized. It is attributable to reside on within the MX-30 R-EV as a small vary extender.

Audi EP4 idea based mostly on the NSU Prinz 4

NSU was was acquired by the Volkswagen group within the later Nineteen Sixties and merged with fellow VW Group property Auto Union. The merged entity later grew to become Audi, holding the Auto Union four-ring brand. A earlier incarnation of Audi was one of many 4 manufacturers that fashioned Auto Union.

The Prinz 4 was manufactured till 1973, making it one of many last NSU-branded automobiles. The EP4 idea will increase energy considerably, from 30 hp to to 236 hp, by changing the inventory air-cooled, rear-mounted 2-cylinder engine with the electrical motor from an E-Tron SUV (now Q8 E-Tron). The battery pack comes from a plug-in hybrid variant of the Q7 offered abroad, and sits the place the gas tank would usually be positioned.

The physique of the Prinz 4 sits on a modified Audi A1 floorpan, with trendy brakes and axles to deal with the added energy. The inside acquired customized devices and shows, with 3D printing employed for lots of the one-off elements.

Audi EP4 idea based mostly on the NSU Prinz 4

The EP4 is a one-off electrical restomod, nevertheless it serves as a great thought train for the way compact vehicles might go electrical in a extra thrilling means, with out getting a lot taller. Altogether, even with the added weight of the battery it is prone to be extraordinarily quick-accelerating; Audi hasn’t but revealed any stopwatch outcomes.

Audi was creating a smaller, totally electrical A2 metropolis automobile a decade in the past, nevertheless it canned that challenge, and since then the model has targeted its improvement efforts primarily upmarket. That features the Premium Platform Electrical (PPE) set to debut in an electrical model of the Porsche Macan.

Within the meantime, the smallest electrical Audi for the U.S. is the This autumn E-Tron, a mannequin that prioritizes practicality and is priced decrease than different premium EVs its dimension.