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Audi has premiered a new fuel concept at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Switzerland.
Audi provided a chauffeur service at the forum, powering its fleet of Audi A8 TDI models with GTL (gas-to-liquid) fuel. In combination with diesel engines, GTL fuel means CO2 emissions from its fleet are reduced by about 13 per cent, compared with last year. The synthetic fuel, made from natural gas, was provided by Shell.
Thanks to the combination of TDI and GTL, fuel consumption is also cut by about 10 per cent, and carbon monoxide emissions drops by 93 per cent.
GTL fuel is produced synthetically through a chemical reaction, is crystal-clear and is free of sulphur and aromatics. This results in nitric oxide being reduced by up to 30 per cent.
In the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2006 and 2007, the race-winning Audi R10 with a TDI engine was powered with a special diesel mixture that consisted largely of GTL fuel.
