Avantissimo attracts US interest

10 January 2002: The Audi Avantissimo concept study which was first shown at Frankfurt in September is this week attracting a lot of admiring study at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The 4.2-litre V8 engine under the bonnet, with 'bi-turbo' forced aspiration, outputs more than 430 bhp and delivers a peak torque of 600 Nm.

Suspension is air springs at all four wheels, and the car features a lightweight aluminium body using a systematic development of the Audi Space Frame (ASF) which results in an optimum power-to-weight ratio.

There are also new ergonomic control concepts which include the Multi Media Interface (MMI) that the makers claim puts puts all the car's information and communication systems in a unit that can be understood instinctively. 

The Avantissimo is 5.06 metres long overall and 1.91 metres wide, and its lines are a totally new interpretation of the classic Audi Avant concept for its wagon versions of mainstream cars.

January 2002