Audi’s 1,000-hp Hybrid

Quick:

What word typically comes to mind when you want to modify or describe a locomotive?

As in: __________ locomotive.

Maybe it’s just me, but I think diesel locomotive.

Which is probably a word that isn’t in much favor in Ingolstadt (or Wolfsburg) nowadays.

So it isn’t exactly surprising that Audi has announced that it is using a plug-in hybrid locomotive at its facility in Ingolstadt. A 1,000-hp hybrid.

Explains Johann Schmid, head of the Audi plant railway in Ingolstadt (know that there are some 11 miles of track on the site), “Our goal is all-around sustainable logistics. The new railway technology allows more economical, energy-efficient and low-emission rail transport. In connection with the latest chassis technology”—isn’t this beginning to sound like a description of a new A4 or something?—“the plug-in hybrid locomotive sets new standards in shunting and rail transport.”

The locomotive can run within plant buildings as it doesn’t have any emissions when it is running on electric power. It can run for up to two hours in pure electric mode.

When the locomotive is not being used, it is plugged in for recharging with what Audi describes as “CO2-free electricity.”

However, the fact that it is a hybrid means that there is another element of the powertrain beyond the electric motors.

And it just so happens that this is, indeed, a diesel locomotive, too.