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http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/European_Union_Flag.jpg Day 1 showed decent results in poor conditions. All in, the European Journalists are doing well. (cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?p=234132)

http://www.youtube.com/v/Kj8w6A3jlyo&hl=en&fs=1Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG (cleanmpg.com) - Sept. 23, 2009

On Tuesday morning, the 20 cars of the Audi Efficiency Challenge launched with the Lofoten Islands shrouded in a murky light, low lying clouds and windswept rain showers.

The 40 participants from Austria, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain and Norway traveled across a group of Norwegian islands with special character. And they did it very efficiently. Fuel consumption for the 1.6L equipped A3’s averaged a very respectable 67 mpgUS on the first leg in the challenging conditions providing an excellent beginning to the 9-day FE challenge.

Cliffs and fjords, granite and water, majestic mountains and the tides of the Atlantic shape this land – nowhere else in the world do dramatic stone precipices and raging seas come together quite as they do here. The Lofoten Islands abound with pure, unadulterated nature. For visitors, the experience is one of impressive intensity – for those who come here, the legendary beauty of the Norwegian landscape feels original, authentic and extremely rugged.

Here in Å is the start of Europe’s Route 10, which the participants in the Audi Efficiency Challenge began the first part of their journey to B. After just a few miles it became clear why road building in Norway is challenging at best. Bridges follow tunnels and in between the road clings to the narrow gap between rock face and water. The view over the fjord to Europe’s North Sea should really be reserved for the passenger only, as “twisting” is just one insufficiently descriptive word for the road.

The group of islands off the west coast of Norway has a total population of around 24,000. The climate here is not nearly as harsh as might be expected given the bleak cliffs that tower up to 3,900 ft. above the sea. The warm waters of the Gulfstream make sure temperatures never fall below 15 degrees F even in winter and can easily rise to more than 80 degrees on a warm summer day. Not bad for a location some 180-miles north of the Arctic Circle.

A tour of the Lofoten Islands has to include at least one ferry ride - the cars make the trip across the fjord from Flesnes to Revsnes via ship. Harstad, the centre of northern Norway’s oil and gas drilling industry, marks the end of the first stage of the Audi Efficiency Challenge and is also the most northerly point of the tour. After the first segments completion, the participants wanted to see their results.

Results

Audi A3 1.6L TDI - 67 mpgUS driven by German journalists Birgit Priemer and Reinhold Klama

Audi A4 2.0 TDI e - 51 mpgUS

Audi TT 2.0L TDI - 46 mpgUS

Audi TT RS - 31 mpgUS

Audi A5 Sportback 2.0 TFSI - 39 mpgUS

Audi Q7 V12 TDI - 24 mpgUS
Audi FE Challenge A to B – Day #1

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Day_1_collage.jpg

This is #3 of the series...

#1: Audi has another fuel economy challenge in the works... (cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25158)

#2: The Audi Efficiency Challenge has begun! (cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25205)

Q7 V12 TDI: 24mpgUS

That's a bunch of mind boggling numbers right there. I wonder what it would do on, say, half as many cylinders? It would still have enough torque to pull stumps.

Great results so far, and it's cool to see the event starting in the Lofotens of my ancestry. I agree with brick, though, that the Q7 should be doing better than it is. Even with a V12 in it, I would think that vehicle should be good for more than 24mpg.

Q7 is rated at 21 mpg on the European cycle. "Car and Driver" test drive only managed 13 mpg US with a heavy foot and likely big grin. The SUV like beast weights in at nearly 6000 lbs, 500 hp and over 700 lbs of torque all on 20 or 21 inch tires, which likely aren't much good on a twisty wet road for hypermiling.

At over 180,000 dollars each there is a good chance the total amount of CO2 emitted by V-12 Q7's will be rather small.

Just for the educational benefit of the hypermiling community it would be great if Audi would take Wayne G or another hypermiling volunteer to Europe and see if they could improve the Q7's mileage in a second challenge.
:flag:

I agree as well, very good numbers! To bad in North America, Audi isn't really know as an economy car. But then again we dont have all the engine options (and diesels) as the europeans do.