Autosnewspaper.com

You might remember the Audi .-tron concept from last month'.. Frankfurt auto show. It looked like . shrunken .8 and had an all-electric drivetrain underneath. We didn'. peg it as . production car initially, but Audi executives have said it'. in the company'. product plan..

Those plans are moving right along and the likely result is an all-new sports car dubbed the Audi .4. As you might have guessed from the name, the .4 will be . junior version of the .8. Along with its smaller size, the .4 will all feature . unique set of drivetrains, the highlight being an all-electric setup for the top-of-the-line model..

Although Audi claimed that the concept's four electric motors produced 3,319 pound-feet of torque, we're guessing that the production model will tone that down a bit to avoid completely obliterating the rest of the R4's drivetain. Audi 's top executive in the U.S. said to expect to see working prototypes of the electric R4 in two years' time and an on-sale date in late 2012.

With the electric model filling the high-end, the Audi R4 will round out the lineup with lesser versions using engines from the current TT. The 2.5-liter turbo five-cylinder in the TT-RS is a likely choice as it delivers a solid 335 horsepower while the TTS sold in the U.S. gets a 2.0-liter, 265-hp four-cylinder.

Now that Porsche is under the Volkswagen corporate umbrella, the R4 is expected to share a platform with the next-generation Porsche Boxster. Both coupe and targa versions of the R4 are expected.

2009 Frankfurt Auto Show: Audi E-tron