New 2010 Audi A5 and S5 Cabriolet

Dynamic and wonderful to look at, the new A5 Cabriolet is a real Audi, and an especially exciting one at that. The four-seater with the fabric top combines a sporty character with the fascination of open-top driving, refined comfort, and great everyday utility.

View article...

Audi A7 Concept To See Detroit Auto Show Reveal [Detroit Auto Show]

The Freep reported this week we'll see the sheet drop on the Audi A7 concept at next month's Detroit Auto Show. Glad to see a non-US automaker plans to reveal something. The long-rumored Audi A7 is expected to be a coupe-shaped four-door sedan, in the same vein as the Mercedes CLS. We expected it to be coming shortly and now it looks as though we'll be seeing a "concept" this next month at the Detroit Auto Show. Expect the concept to look pretty much exactly how the "production" version will look — except with more LED lights, techie-cool door handles and bigger tires. [via Freep]

 

NAIAS 2009 Preview: Audi A7 Concept Sketches

Audi planes to reveal a concept of the A7 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January. As you can only imagine, the number 7 will be placed on top of the A4, A5 and A6 but placed right below the A8. In theory that would be a pretty big vehicle with that lineup placement as you can see in the sketches below. The new Audi A7 may sport a new 204hp 2.8L, supercharged 300hp 3.0L and a 394hp 4.2L V8 to top things off on the high-end model. We expect to eventually see a RS7 model with a twin-turbo 600hp 5.0L V10 similar to those offered currently in the newer R8 and Lamborghini sisters.

 

Audi crowned year’s most improved brand

The trade magazine "Automobilwoche" has honored Audi as the year's most improved brand; at the same time, the DEKRA testing company has rated the Audi A6 as the "Most Reliable of All Classes": just two highlights in a long list of honors for the Audi brand in 2008. This year the brand with the four rings [...]

View article...

Automotive Worship Object Of The Year: Street-Legal 500-Horse Audi ur-Quattro [Racing]

While I was at Infineon to drive the STaSIS S5 a couple weeks back, I kept seeing this silver blur howling past everything on the track. It looked like an old Quattro… but that fast? Sure enough, it was a Quattro; not only that, it's a genuine 1983 ur-Quattro with carbon-fiber bodywork cast from original molds brought over from Germany, 500 horsepower under the hood, the full STaSIS brake and suspension treatment… and license plates! When I found out that the STaSIS guys not only knew about the car but had helped hop it up for William Perkins, one of their expert race consultants, let's just say I was eager to learn more. The car is maintained at McGee Motorsports Group's shop at the track, and talk about a freakin' candy store- you'll definitely see some more of McGee's stuff here in the near future; in fact, if you're a regular at the Monterey Historics, you've already seen quite a few of their cars. Yes, that's a genuine NASCAR '63 Mercury Monterey in the photo, and it's got a 427, a Rat Fink-grade gearshift, and a driver's seat that appears to be made by the Barcalounger Corporation. My LeMons teammate and 4-time DOTS honoree WhatWouldJesseDo, who was helping me with photographic duties that day, managed to talk his way into the passenger seat of the ur-Quattro for a few Ferrari-whuppin' laps around Infineon. His verdict: "Hell yes!" OK, now let's look at some photos:

 

Four-door coupe Audi A7 becomes accessible from next year

Any four-door coupe is interesting enough phenomenon. Decades this idea was embodied in company Jaguar sedans, but it became popular after company Mercedes has exhausted a CLS-class. So, company Audi transforms a sedan into a coupe, and we represent you thoughts how the future four-door model with a coupe silhouette – Audi A7 could look. This car should be, is constructed on the basis of architecture A6, and in modelling to a number will take the place between models A6 and A8. The car becomes the big brother to the future sedan A5, and, probably, further will receive the version a cabriolet. The scale of engines will begin about 2,8 l or 3,0 l of the V-shaped 6-cylinder unit and will come to the end with the V-shaped 10-cylinder engine with double turbo-supercharging Twin Turbo which is already used in Italian to superpenalty Lamborghini Gallardo. Sales of the newest A7 will begin next year.

 

Audi Q5 “Unbox the Box” commercial

Audi has launched a new quirky yet impressive commercial in Europe for the new Audi Q5. "Unbox the Box" features an animated carton character building an Audi Q5 out of a cardboard box  and features the famous American folk singer Woody Guthrie's "Car Song". The ad was created and directed by Aaron Duffy and Russell Brooke. It was developed by Bartle Bogle Hegarty London, a British ad agency. Executive creative director on the project was Nick Gill. Of course we have no idea who those people are and you probably don't care. So head over after the jump to see the commercial.

 

Why All That Expensive Safety Equipment Is Required At The 24 Hours Of LeMons: Audi Versus Wall [24 Hours Of Lemons]

Though the cars themselves must cost less than $500, the cost of the required safety equipment pushes the build cost of a typical LeMons car well above two grand. That stuff is worth every penny! Here we see the Timmy's Kids '81 Audi 4000 getting into big trouble down Thunderhill's long straight and bashing into the concrete barrier. The driver was totally OK, thanks to his 5-point harness, helmet, and cage (as were the drivers of the Plymouth Belvedere, Yugo GV, and Chevy Cavalier that flipped during the race). Here's the aftermath, courtesy of Mad Science's camera. Thanks to Patrick of Huey Newis And The Lose for the video!

 

More details on Audi’s next-generation A8

The current Audi A8 has been on sale since 2003 and since that time has only received a minor facelift to keep it fresh alongside the Mercedes Benz S-Class, Lexus LS and recently revealed BMW 7-series. The minor styling changes implemented during the recent facelift will have to soldier on for a few more years as the next-generation 'D4' A8 is, according to latest reports, is expected to arrive in the second half of next year, following a debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. A prototype for the car has already been spotted undergoing cold weather testing, hidden beneath the current D3 body. Tell-tale signs that the prototype was the next-generation model included extended fender flares, a stretched wheelbase and wider track. (more…)

 

Audi Is “Light” Years Ahead With World’S First Led Headlights

The order book opened in Britain for the V10 engined Audi R8 this month (1 January) and with it the German car manufacturer demonstrated another element of its pioneering Vorsprung durch Technik technology. The range-topping R8 is the first car in the world to be equipped with all-LED (light emitting diode) headlamps. For the first time [...]

 

Audi Surpasses 1 Million Mark In Annual Global Sales [Industry News]

Despite the gloomy Carpocalypse that has the rest of the automotive landscape in shambles; Audi AG has posted a record number of sales for 2008. While it may not be a record number for some automakers, Audi AG has, for the first time, exceeded one million global sales in 2008. Thanks to the recent release of the new 2009 Audi A4 and the small 2009 Audi Q5 SUV, Audi was able to attain a total number of 1,003,400 sales globally, a 4.1 percent increase over last year's 964,151 sales. December 2008 sales jumped 17.4 percent (82,800) over the previous year's December sales (70,523). We congratulate you, Audi in your sales success, but can we ask you to please bring back the Quattro Sport now that you're a proven sales success? Thanks, we won't forget it. [via Fourtitude]

 

One million Audi fans can't be wrong

2008 was a tough year, but apparently it wasn't equally as tough for everybody. Audi has now reported that it broke through the 1 million unit mark last year, selling more vehicles than it ever has before. Total global sales in 2008 came to 1,003,400 vehicles - up 4.3% over last year - including 82,000 units in December. But while the American market has typically been a vital region for European premium marques especially, U.S. sales dropped 6.1% for Audi this year, and nearly 10% in December when U.S. sales accounted for less than 10% of the company's global sales. Ingolstadt attributes its sales success to the dozen new models it introduced last year, including the Q5 and A4 (seen above). Thanks to everyone who sent in the tip, and check out the press release after the jump. [Source: Audi]

 

LEAKED: Audi Sportback Concept appears ahead of snowy Detroit debut

Audi's hotly-anticipated A7 will bow in conceptual form at tomorrow's North American International Auto Show, and we have the first leaked images of the showcar, dubbed "Sportback." Details at this point remain slim, but as you can see from the photos, all of the major Audi design cues are in play, including a more nuanced version of the brand's horsecollar grille and LED eyelash headlamps. The roofline of the "four-door coupe" is surprisingly fastback like, leading us to believe that the car could in fact be a full-blown hatchback. From the rear three-quarter view, the car actually has a certain Lamborghini Estoque quality to it, but that's mainly because of the taillamps and the angular exhaust outlets. According to our source at Audi, the Sportback is in fact larger than the A6, and it is built on Audi's new modular longitudinal build kit (LBK), which is adjustable for length, width, and height depending on packaging needs. The same chassis setup will likely form the basis for future larger Audis, including the production version of the Sportback which is expected to be dubbed A7. We'll report back from opening day of the Detroit Auto Show tomorrow morning with more details and photos of the Sportback. so stay tuned. In the meantime, check out the high-res gallery below. Gallery: Audi Sportback Concept [Source: Fourtitude]

 

2010 Audi R8 5.2 V10 FSI Quattro - Video

The R8 gets two more cylinders but keeps its octal name. Keep Reading: 2010 Audi R8 5.2 V10 FSI Quattro - Video

 

Audi Recognized for Design Excellence at Prestigious EyesOn Design Awards at the NAIAS 2009

Audi of America announced that it won two awards at the EyesOn Design Awards Ceremony at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). Four awards were given out, two in each category, recognizing design excellence for both concept and production vehicles.  Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro with a V10 engine won one of the production vehicle [...]

 

Audi To Sponsor Presidential Inauguration Webcasts

The exclusive sponsor of the streaming broadcasts of President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration speech on top news sites such as ABC, CBS and NBC will be Audi as reported by Autonews.com. In addition to the January 20th streaming broadcasts online, Audi will sponsor other webcasts starting today as they kick off LIVE events at the Lincoln Memorial today. Audi plans to reach more than 8.6 million viewers with inserts during the streaming webcasts which "showcases many of the innovations and advancements that demonstrate Audi's inherent spirit of progress." Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen said in a release, "Regardless of political preferences, the inauguration represents a unique moment of progress. That's why we wanted to share this experience and begin a conversation about innovation, technology and the path ahead." Overall, Audi says the web streaming sponsorship should reach more than 30 million people total. Major kudos for Audi on this one and God Bless America! Where to watch Obama's presidential inauguration online?