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Unique Feature Makes This A Very Special EV

Audi A3 e-tron

The most innovative part of the Audi A3 E-Tron prototype isn't found under the hood or in its battery compartment. Instead, one must sit in the driver's seat and move slightly to the side, then peer at the two smallish steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters.

On traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, a quick tug on the left paddle shifts the transmission down one gear while the right is used for shifting the gearbox up. However, nearly all battery-electric vehicles (BEV) have but a single-speed transmission. Paddle shifters are completely unnecessary. The engineers at Audi, likely not wanting to leave gaping holes on the back of the trick sporty steering wheel, gave the two plastic flaps a new role - to control the intensiveness of regenerative braking.

It was a game-changing move.

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Audi A3 E-Tron originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 25 Sep 2012 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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