Audi pulled the sheet off the third car in its newly minted e-tron line today, a taut Teutonic runabout from the company’s Mega City Vehicle program.

The A1 e-tron joins the e-tron electric supercar and the new A8 hybrid on the stand at the Geneva Motor Show, and after outlining its electric dreams yesterday the company provided some tech specs for the smallest of its electric concept cars.  Audi calls it “a compact electric car in the premium class,” and it offers your standard fare for a range-extended electric vehicle.

But it breaks from convention in one big way.

Audi used a Wankel rotary engine in the concept. The engines might be best known from Mazda’s RX sports cars. For the uninitiated,  a Wankel rotary engine uses a triangular rotor in an oval chamber, not reciprocating pistons in a cylinder. Audi says they’re perfect for range-extended EVs because they’re small, they’re smooth. they’re light and they’re quiet. That said, the company notes a conventional engine could be used as well.

Audi mounted the engine at the back of the car. It’s tiny, with a chamber volume of just 254 cc. Because it’s used only to drive a generator that provides power to the battery, it can be tuned for optimal effficiency. Audi says the little engine runs at a constant 5,000 RPM. The generator produces 15 kilowatts, and together with the engine weighs 154 pounds.

The juice that turns the wheels is stored in a 12 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery. Like the pack in the Chevrolet Volt, it is shaped like a “T” and runs through the center tunnel to the area in front of the rear axle. It is comprised of 96 prismatic cells and Audi says it “weighs less than 150 kilograms” (330 pounds). Range is 31 miles.

Propulsion comes from a synchronous electric motor producing 45 kilowatts (61 horsepower) continuous power and 75 kilowatts (102 horsepower) peak. Audi cites torque figures of 110 foot-pounds continuous and 177 peak. Power hits the front wheels through a single-speed transmission.

Packing the hardware into an A1 yielded a vehicle that weighs 2,623 pounds and accelerates from zero to 62 mph in 10.2 seconds. Pretty slow, yes, but Audi says the A1 e-tron is aimed at city driving.

Of course, it’s just a concept at this point, but Audi says we’ll see electric vehicles joining gasoline, diesel and hybrid models in the line-up. The first of them is slated to be a limited-edition run of the e-tron supercar by the end of 2012.

Photos: Audi

Small car competition is heating up at the tenth annual Delhi Auto Expo, as three major automakers are premiering new subcompacts.

Toyota and Honda are both planning to debut new small cars specifically for India and other emerging automotive markets, while Maruti Suzuki is going to unveil a homegrown sub-$8500 minivan. Called the Eeco, it comes with a 1.2L engine and seating for seven — and is proof of automakers’ hopes for the Indian market.

“The new car represents the growing expertise of our engineers to conceive, design and produce vehicles here,” Maruti Suzuki executive I.V. Rao told Cartradeindia.com. “This is also in line with parent Suzuki Corp’s vision of turning India into a global hub for small car research and development.”

The theme of India as a breeding ground for subcompacts is apparent in press releases and statements. With car sales down in nearly every other country, automakers are after Indian consumers like New Yorkers hunting down iPhones.

Toyota is taking aim at Maruti’s best-selling Swift sedan (shown above) with a long-awaited concept that, until recently, was known as the Entry Family Car. Now christened the Etios (meaning “the origin of”), the car will be offered in hatchback and sedan variants with a choice of 1.3L diesel or 1.2L gasoline engines. It will be built in India and on sale by the end of 2010.

Not to be outdone, Honda announced the “New Small Concept,” developed especially for the Indian market. Ford is counting on the Figo, unveiled in September (shown above), to boost its presence in India. Built in Chennai, the car “shows how serious we are about India,” according to Ford CEO Alan Mulally.

Just how much attention are Indian consumers getting from automakers? Consider that the exhibition space at the Pragati Maidan convention center has been booked solid for months now, according to the Hindu Business Line. That’s in sharp contrast to what Dan Neil dubbed the Los Angeles International Carpet Show, where floorspace outnumbered vehicles.

If we were in the business of selling cars, we’d want to be selling them in India.

Photo: Ford