Audi’s new and efficient Quattro Ultra explained
While most South Africans would associate the word “Ultra” with the music festival, only one thing will come to the mind of an Audi enthusiast right now; and that something is Quattro Ultra – Audi’s latest Quattro system.
The new Quattro system improves driving efficiency by using an electro-mechanical multi-plate clutch and rear gear set which will work together by completely cutting drive to the rear differential and rear wheels in situations when the driver only requires front-wheel drive.
Components of the current Quattro drivetrain, Torsen, have been around since 1980, which is a very long time. Quattro Ultra eliminates the 36 year-old Torsen torque sensing system, as well as the central differential and rear differential hardware and replaces it with a new fully networked system with the capability to analyse driving conditions every 100 milliseconds while simultaneously providing either front- or four-wheel drive depending on various driving factors.
In front-wheel drive operation
The Quattro Ultra system is 4 kilograms lighter than the previous system, and is more effective as it analyses data relating to the road provided by various sensors as well as the on-board navigation system. By combining this information, the new system is able to run in a more efficient state than the Torsen set-up. However, the Torsen system will continue to be used on upcoming S and RS models from the Quattro division.
In quattro operation
Quattro Ultra is set to be revealed on the new Audi A4 Allroad, and is expected to be seen on the upcoming Audi A5 Coupé, second-generation Audi Q5, as well as the rest of Audi’s MLB platform.
