The Audi A3 G-Tron is a multi-fuel vehicle, which runs on regular gasoline or natural gas. Combined with the installation of an all-new e-gas plant, the car runs carbon-neutral, sort of.
First, Audi A3, which is probably the cheapest way to buy into the Audi luxury brand, is equipped with a turbocharged dual-fuel 1.4ℓ i4, which runs on gasoline or natural gas. Even equipped as such, the Audi A3 G-Tron’s starting price is just a few thousand more than the regular A3, $35,400 vs $27,300.
What really makes the Audi A3 G-Tron special, however, is the release of the car and the building of an e-gas plant in Werlte, Lower Saxony, Germany. The e-gas plant produces a synthetic natural gas, compatible with gaseous dinosaur, which can be used for refueling vehicles, cooking, heating, etc.
The Audi A3 G-Tron can refuel on natural gas, which is available at somewhere above 650 natural gas refueling stations. If customers buy a $20-per-month Audi e-gas fuel card, they can use the card to buy natural gas from any of these stations. The card tracks how much natural gas is bought, typically around $7.73/100mi, and pumps the same amount of e-gas into the natural gas network.
True, the Audi A3 G-Tron will probably never burn pure e-gas, but the e-gas pumped into the natural gas network offsets the emissions that the car itself generates. The car is now on sale in Germany, and could expand across Europe in the next few years.
Photo credit: AudiAG / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA
