The Audi diet: Automaker wants to slash weight from entire lineup

Audi Quattro Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery

Audi makes some blazingly fast automobiles. If you need proof, spend some seat time in vehicles like the RS6 or the R8. They make it look like producing autos with plenty of kick is a piece of cake for Audi. Making that same vehicle fuel efficient, though, is no easy task. Thankfully, lighweighting – a process of stripping mass from the entire vehicle – is here to help, and the automaker intends to slash weight from its upcoming models, each and every one of them.

Audi's Quattro Concept, which debuted at the Paris Motor Show, checks in at less than 3,000 pounds and sports a 408-horsepower five-cylinder engine. The weight-cutting measures, combined with a potent engine, result in a vehicle with a power-weight ratio on par with some supercars. Okay, sure, the Quattro Concept is not a production car, but it does showcase the benefits of lightweighting.

Audi's upcoming A4, scheduled to arrive in 2015, is reported to be at least 330 pounds lighter than the model it replaces. The next-gen A6, while the same size as the current model, will shed some 176 pounds of weight. Audi hopes that by using materials like magnesium, composites and aluminum, its mid-size models, even when equipped with the bulky quattro drivetrain, will tip the scales at less than 3,100 pounds; an impressive result considering that the majority of automakers continue to introduce heftier rides.