2009 ABT Sportsline Audi Q5 SUV

Making its way through the Volkswagen Group SUV line-up with the Touareg, Q7 and Tiguan Sportsline models, ABT has now turned its focus on the new Q5 crossover.

The 2.0 and 3.0 TDI models along with the 2.0 TFSI have all received the ABT Sportsline treatment, evoking the ‘five wows’ in the words of Hans-Jurgen, managing director of ABT Sportsline - fast, beefy, extravagant and extremely versatile.

The two 2.0-litre options have greatly benefited from their ABT tune-up, with the 2.0 TDI delivering 140kW - up from 125kW, and the 2.0 TFSI boosted by 22kW to 177kW.

The modified 3.0 TDI represents the most powerful model in the ABT Sportsline Q5 range with 220kW (up from 176kW) and an enormous 610Nm.

Suspension and brake components have been upgraded to match the increased power, offering lowered suspension or ABT Level Control, an electronic lowering system for the air suspension together with larger 380mm brake rotors.

The exterior of the ABT Sportsline Q5 has been differentiated with a new front and rear apron, front grille, fender extensions, rear wing, quad exhaust pipes and huge 20-inch wheels.

The ABT Sportsline Q5 will be available in Australia from RamSpeed by the end of March 2009.

Audi Q5 to headline Melbourne International Motor Show

Audi will headline its all-new Q5 amid an impressive array of new models at this year’s Melbourne International Motor Show.

As the only major motor show to be staged in Australia this year, Audi is pleased to maintain its status as one of the major exhibitors at the Show, and is very proud the Q5 will debut to an Australian audience, an audience it says will be well suited to the Q5’s combination of dynamism and versatility.

Featuring Audi’s renowned quattro all-wheel-drive and innovative chassis architecture, it offers a superior technology package for both on-and off-road driving. The latest version of the quattro system is rear-biased and distributes drive power asymmetrically and dynamically between all four wheels, redistributing the power as necessary if one wheel loses grip.

The front end is dominated by expressive headlights on both sides of Audi’s signature single-frame grille, while prominent features in profile are the large wheels and rising edges.

Q5 is expected to make a significant contribution to Audi’s rapidly growing market presence in Australia, which has seen four consecutive years of record growth and a doubling of its local market share since 2004.

The Melbourne International Motor Show runs from February 27th until March 9th at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre.

Audi Q5 Hybrid Coming Next Year

The hybrid bandwagon is filling up fast as just about every car maker has plans to release a new hybrid model in the next year or two. Audi is one of them where they plan on introducing a small SUV dubbed the Audi Q5 Hybrid. It is slated to be ready for the showroom in 2010.

Previously Automotive News reported that Audi axed the Q7 hybrid along with the Q5 but now they have confirmed through head of the powertrain development for the Volkswagen Group,, Wolfgan Hatz, that they will be offering the Audi Q5 hybrid in the USA in late 2010. In addition to this good news the Audi Q5 Hybrid will be first introduced in the USA first and then a possibility of it being sold in Europe depending on the success in the States.

[source: Automotive News]

Audi Q5 voted best off-roader

"TOPautos 2009" honored by mid automotive news service Audi Q5 impresses all with its off-road capability The "TOPautos 2009" have been selected by more than 150 renowned independent motor journalists from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The new Audi Q5 ranks as top off-roader among the best new vehicle releases of the model year 2009. Jörg Felske, Head of Sales Germany at AUDI AG, accepted the award in Ingolstadt. "The Audi Q5 is a performance SUV that combines the dynamics of a sports sedan with a highly versatile interior – ideal for family and leisure," was his description of the winner in the off-road segment. With a choice of three powerful and efficient engines, quattro permanent all-wheel drive and agile suspension, the Audi Q5 offers a superior technology package for on- and off-road. This was the fourth year that the Motor-Informations-Dienst (mid) has awarded this prize. As in previous years, more than 150 motor journalists from daily newspapers, journals and internet portals took part in the vote. This makes "TOPauto" the car and innovation award with the largest expert jury in Germany. There were a total of 80 newcomers to choose from in the categories "Business", "City", "Concept Car", "Family", "Fun", "Luxury", "Innovation" and "Off-road". The mid has put together an exclusive card game including the four best-placed vehicles in each of the eight categories, where each card features a photo and the technical data of one of these vehicles.

 

Audi Crowned Year's Most Improved Brand

- "Automobilwoche" honors Audi with this coveted title - 91 awards worldwide in 2008 - Audi impresses with young models and exciting design   INGOLSTADT, Germany, Dec 18, 2008 - 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 not only delivered an impressive domestic performance with 35 awards but proved its excellence in the international arena as well with 56 prizes. The Audi R8, the A5 and the A4 are the Audi models that won the most awards. Immediately after its debut, the Audi A4 was chosen as "Europe's Auto1" by "Autobild" readers from 26 countries. At the New York International Auto Show, the Audi R8 for the first time received two "World Car of the Year Awards" – for Performance and Design. An early highlight in the year among the 35 domestic awards was the quadruple win (A3, A4, A6, R8) among the readership of the trade magazine "auto motor und sport". In addition to the familiar stars of the brand, a newcomer to the Audi family attracted attention particularly toward year's end – the Audi Q5. Even before its market launch on November 14 it captured two design awards and the coveted "Golden Steering Wheel" in the SUV category. These were followed by three additional prizes, including the "Euro Car Body Award" by an international panel of experts. Audi owes the success of its vehicles both to its recent range of models and to their especially appealing design. In "Automobilwoche", the manufacturer with the slogan "Vorsprung durch Technik" is credited by automobile analyst Jürgen Pieper not only with improved quality and technology but even with design leadership in this industry. Audi Design Chief Stefan Sielaff agrees: "Presently we not only have the newest range of models, but also the most beautiful." This has a very favorable effect on the brand image: In the comprehensive image report by the trade magazine "Auto Zeitung", Audi won the overall top honors in 2008 for the fifth time in a row.

 

Production at Audi characterized by uncompromising perfection

- Strict quality-consciousnes - Efficient use of resources - Needs of employees taken into consideration Automobiles from Audi are front-runners in their market segments – thanks to Vorsprung durch Technik, the technological lead that also extends to the field of manufacturing. The Production operation at Audi is innovative, and is characterized by uncompromising precision and strict quality-consciousness. It takes into consideration such aspects as the needs of our employees and efficient use of resources. And today, in a media workshop at the Ingolstadt site, Audi will be demonstrating all of these strengths of its manufacturing operation. The dynamic, elegant design of the Audi models stems from Audi's high competence in the use of steel and aluminum. The presses operate with the utmost precision – even a hair's-breadth deviation would not be tolerated. High-tech sensors check every sheet metal blank for potential flaws before it ever reaches the press – a technology in whose evolution Audi played a crucial role together with young scientists. Press-hardened steels – a further pioneering achievement – lend the body maximum strength and impact resistance, while simultaneously reducing its weight. And Audi is also at the cutting edge when it comes to engines. The cylinder barrels of the V6 and V8 TDI engines are exposed with laser light. This process, which displays precision ranging down to thousandths of a millimeter, makes diesel engines even more efficient and longer-lived. Laser exposure is one of numerous Audi production technologies that are already being used in mass production today. Manufacturing at Audi is innovative. The first step in creating every new production line is to plan it on the computer as a 'Digital Factory'; it is designed for high efficiency and flexibility. A textbook example is the way doors are manufactured in the Body Shop operation at the Ingolstadt site, where the Audi A4 Sedan, the Audi A4 Avant and the Audi Q5 run on a single production system. Throughout the entire Production operation, Audi places tremendous emphasis on the efficient use of energy; the company's own cutting-edge power plant supplies portions of the Ingolstadt site with electricity, heat and refrigeration. The logistics chain, too, is highly efficient and designed throughout with an eye to resource conservation – from shipment of the components to the factory right through to rail distribution of the finished automobiles. The Audi Production System (APS) guarantees the high level at which Audi builds cars. It defines the manufacturing rules with the objective of maximum efficiency: it describes the standardizations, the materials management systems, the quality processes, the way the workstations are organized and the Continuous Improvement Process (CIP). The CIP is an instrument that ensures that progress never stops at Audi. The focus of the entire production process is on people – on our customers, who receive the utmost in quality and innovative technology, as well as on our employees, for whom the ergonomic manufacturing concepts are designed; in fact, Audi has even developed special shoes for the assembly workers. And when it comes to the sum total of improvements stemming from the initiative of our employees, the brand with the four rings is at the forefront of its competitive field – a concrete manifestation of the high levels of motivation that prevail throughout the entire Audi family. source Audi press release

 

Audi A7 Concept coming to the 2009 Detroit Auto Show

While the 2010 Audi R8 V10 may attract a lot of attention at the 2009 North American International Auto Show next month, one of the most eagerly awaited of all Audi models may steal the show in Detroit. According to Detroit's Free Press, Audi will hold the world premiere of the A7 Concept in Detroit next month. Other Audi models on hand will include the Audi Q5, a supercharged 300-hp version of the A6 sedan and wagon and the TTS coupe and roadster. Free Press says that Audi may also show a diesel version of the A4 for the U.S. market. Insiders say that the four-door Audi A6 Concept has swooping lines and is close to what the upcoming production model will look like when it makes its debut next year. Source: Detroit Free Press

 

Audi Q5 Hybrid put on hold, Audi to concentrate on diesel instead

After killing plans for an Audi Q7 Hybrid earlier this year, Audi has decided to put plans for a Q5 Hybrid on hold - indefinitely. Audi says that it would rather focus on diesel technology for now until it can make nickel metal hydride batteries safer. "Audi won't produce a petrol-electric hybrid until we can make nickel metal hydride batteries safer in crash situations, and hybrid technology more efficient overall," a senior source told AutoCar. "Until then we will concentrate on producing more efficient diesel engines and aluminium chassis." Audi's Q5 will now be fitted with a stop/start technology and other features that will further reduce fuel-consumption. Audi recently showed off its Q5 3.0 TDI which averaged 38 mpg on a trip from New York to Washington. Source: AutoCar

 

Audi Q5 tuning by ABT - Photos ahead of Essen debut

The Audi Q5 tuned by ABT should debut at Essen Motor show, but Audi has published in advance some specifications and photos. Audi Q5 ABT is has a new aggressive sport-tuned treatment similar to that used on the Touareg, Q7 and Tiguan, and will be available during the first [...]

 

ABT Sportsline Audi Q5 debuts at Essen Motor Show

Prior to its launch at the 2008 Essen Motor Show, ABT Sportsline has dropped the details and images on its new ABT Audi Q5. The ABT Q5 gets a new body kit consisting of a new front skirt, rear skirt, a new front grille, fender extensions, a new rear wing, a 4-pipe rear muffler and 20-inch BR wheels. ABT Sportsline has increased output in all three different versions of the Audi Q5. The 2.0 TDI now makes 190-hp instead of 170-hp while the 3.0 TDI delivers 310-hp and the gasoline 2.0 TFSI model makes a total of 240-hp. ABT has also added suspension and brake upgrades featuring 380mm brake disks to compliment the increase in power. The ABT Q5 will go on sale in the first quarter of 2009. ABT Sportsline Audi Q5:      Source: WCF

 

Audi S5 to get new LED tail lamps

The Audi A5/S5, one of the best looking cars ever and one of our favorite cars, keeps getting better. After some time ago the Ingolstadt company announced that the S5 will get a new 3.0 liter supercharged engine that will deliver 333 hp (half evil?), a couple of days ago they said that all S5 models that will be built starting with December will get a new displacement for the tail lights, including LED lights (somehow similar to the ones on the A6 facelift), plus an optional third generation MMI system. The MMI III infotainment system features faster graphics, a large hard disk drive for storage of music files etc, and a topographical or 3D representation of images. The new MMI III will also be available for the A8, Q5 and facelifted A6. The 'regular' A5 will also have the system as an option, but the new LED lights are only available for the S5. Source: Qarsi.de (Via World Car Fans)

 

LA 2008: 2009 Audi Q5 makes its North American debut

Although we've already seen the Audi Q5 in a variety of forms after its initial unveiling in Beijing this past July, the four-ringers decided to finally show off their cute 'ute in North America for the first time at the LA Auto Show. The compact(ish) CUV is packing the award-winning 2.0-liter TFSI gasoline engine putting out 211 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque through the seven-speed, dual-clutch S tronic transmission, and Audi is quick to point out that with a drag coefficient of just 0.33 and a turbocharged four, the Q5 will be one of the most fuel-efficient offerings in its class. Check the galleries below for more and see our previous post for all the details. Gallery: LA 2008: 2009 Audi Q5   Gallery: Beijing '08: 2009 Audi Q5

 

Despite strong growth, Audi plans to slow production

Audi is taking a cautious approach to the market as sales grind down around the world. To do that, the four-ringed automaker plans to extend its Christmas shutdown, a funny way to celebrate Audi's best global sales year ever, anticipated to crest one million units. While the luxury competition has struggled in the rough and tumble US market, Audi has seen sales gains, which is a big reason global sales are up 3.3% year over year. Audi has been so successful of late that it came within 100 units of (the much larger) Mercedes-Benz in global October sales, while BMW is also within 10,000 units. The new A4 sedan and wagon are helping matters, and the upcoming Q5 crossover is waiting in the wings to keep things interesting in 2009. With all that good news, why cut back production? Audi Chief Executive Rupert Stadler called the German automaker's performance "increasingly influenced by declining markets." In other words, Audi wants to approach the global sales decline with the novel notion of cutting production before cars start sitting on dealer lots for months on end. Makes perfect sense to us. [Source: Reuters]

 

Euro Car Body Award for the Audi Q5

Thanks to intelligent lightweight design, good aerodynamics, innovative technologies, and streamlined production, the Audi Q5 has won the renowned Euro Car Body Award. For the third time in just six years, the world’s most important honor in this field goes to the brand with the four rings in Ingolstadt as recognition of its “Vorsprung durch Technik” in body manufacturing.

Audi received the Euro Car Body Award in 2003 and 2006 for the bodies of the A8 and TT, respectively. Both bodies are manufactured entirely or mostly of lightweight aluminum using Audi Space Frame (ASF) technology. The body of the performance SUV Audi Q5, on the other hand, consists of sheet steel. In this instance, as well, the company from Ingolstadt has developed trailblazing solutions. Thanks to its aluminum expertise, Audi has been decisively driving forward developments in steel construction principles for years, too.

Michael Dick, Board of Management Head of Technical Development at AUDI AG, says: “Our victory in this prestigious competition fills us with pride. It acknowledges our worldwide superiority in body manufacturing, one of our core areas of expertise.”

Frank Dreves, Audi Board Member for Production, adds: “This triumph is also recognition of the uncompromising precision in car body construction which Audi is known for.” Whether design, production planning, tool manufacturing, car body construction, assembly or paint finishes: ultra-premium quality is always our credo.

Symbolized by a bronze trophy, the Euro Car Body Award is presented to recipients selected by a jury of specialists convened by Automotive Circle International in Hanover, Germany. At a conference in Bad Nauheim, Germany, some 550 international body-manufacturing experts declared the Audi Q5 Number One, ahead of twelve competitors.

Best figures in segment: Weight and stiffness/weight ratio

The Audi Q5 boasts the lightest bodyshell in the mid-sized SUV segment: its 355 kilograms (782.64 pounds) are lower than the competition. The Audi Q5 also leads the pack in terms of stiffness/weight ratio - the relationship between weight, torsional rigidity, and size. This is due to the use of many lightweight components.

The crash buffers - which are upstream of the front longitudinal members - and their connecting transverse member are made of aluminum. This connection weighs less than five kilograms (less than eleven pounds). Some tailored rolled blanks in the rear floor section have been rolled with varying wall thicknesses to save 1.9 kilograms (4.19 pounds). This is yet another example of Audi’s pioneering excellence. The hood and the tailgate also consist of aluminum, which allows for a reduction in weight of 15.7 kilograms (34.61 pounds) compared to sheet steel.

Weight-saving expertise enhances efficiency

At the heart of the body, however, are the hot-formed steel units. These ultra-high-strength components are used for longitudinal members, the center-tunnel reinforcement, sills, B-posts and the bulkhead transverse member.

These unusually light components not only render the body of the Audi Q5 extremely impact-resistant and rigid, but also lay the foundation for precise handling and superb vibrational comfort.

At a collective weight of just 44 kilograms (97.00 pounds), the hot-formed components comprise a mere twelve percent of the bodyshell’s mass and weigh 15 kilograms (33.07 pounds) less than conventional components. This reduces the expenditure of energy at Production and fuel consumption for customers.

Audi has installed two dedicated production lines for hot-formed steel at its Ingolstadt plant. The plate blanks made of boron-alloyed steel slowly pass through long ovens, which heat the blanks above 900 °C (1,652 °F). They are then quenched in watercooled presses at about 300 degrees Celsius (572 degrees Fahrenheit). As a result of this process, the structure’s tensile strength triples to a maximum of approximately 1,500 megapascals.

Aerodynamics are ideal, too

In addition to lightweight construction, other factors also played a role in winning the Euro Car Body Award. The body of the Audi Q5 allows for a remarkably low drag coefficient of just 0.33. This is due in part to the underbody being almost completely covered with panels, which enhances drag coefficient by 0.02.

Additional factors include numerous optimized processes at Production. The Audi Q5’s body is manufactured amidst great flexibility on the same line at the Ingolstadt plant as the body of the Audi A4 Avant; the degree of integration is near 100 percent. To join metal panels, Audi uses high-tech methods such as plasmatron brazing. This technology facilitates the elegant zero-gap joint, which joins the side panels with the roof and the rear panel.

Audi Q5 2.0 TFSI quattro SE S tronic review

Well, you do have to admire the attitude… Whilst my colleagues in the media remain determined to talk us all into ‘the forthcoming recession’ just because a pox of relentlessly greedy estate agents have had to give their Minis back and get proper jobs, Audi is having none of it.
At the recent 2008 Paris motor show, Audi obersturm gruppenfuhrer Rupert Stadler was asked how Audi is preparing for the financial crisis. His response was: ‘We’ve had a board meeting, discussed it thoroughly, and decided not to participate.’
Predictably, then, any suggestions that the introduction of the new Audi Q5 in the current climate is tantamount to re-arranging the deck-chairs on the Titanic have been swatted aside with the gently bullish rejoinder that Audi has never been interested in overheating any of the rapidly burgeoning number of market segments it occupies, and that they’ll undoubtedly sell every one they make.
And, having driven it, I suspect they’re right. Largely because the damned thing’s so bloody convincing.

Really? The Audi Q5 doesn’t look that enthralling…

True, but to those of us who find the my-God-it’s-moving-towards-us Q7 so preposterously gargantuan that it’ll never really look the part until Audi fits a gun turret on the roof, the Q5 represents a welcome return to sizing sanity.
Boasting beefed-up A4 architecture under the skin, the Q5 doesn’t look instantly off-road friendly in the manner of a Freelander or Volvo XC60, but then again, it doesn’t look utter cack like an X3 either. Oversized front grille aside (and, no, I’m never going to stop complaining about that), this is classic, safe, Audi styling simply left a tad longer on the party balloon pump.

What's the Q5 like inside?

On board, space afforded by the five-seat layout is considerably abetted by the cunning relocation of the drive differentials in front of the clutch, buying an extra 152mm of wheelbase. Astern, sensibly engineered lever systems make rear seat origami a doddle, and Audi has no plans to insert a Bangalore torpedo up the exhaust of the Q7 through the introduction of a seven-seat variant.
The driving position’s first class, and only marred by a constriction of the footwell aggressive enough to push your resting clutch foot rather too far to the right; the only downside to that differential relocation. Happily, this model’s fitted with Audi’s superb seven-speed DSG gearbox (which we must now call ‘S tronic’), but I wonder, in manual guise, just how much room there would be for three pedals and two feet….
The tidy, A4 sourced dashboard is elegantly oriented towards the driver, and loaded with good stuff, including an extremely trick sat-nav which not only gives you topography in something akin to 3D, but also affords views of major cities’ landmark buildings in remarkable detail. Zoom in on Paris, for instance, and you can actually see blokes scrambling about on the Eiffel Tower’s steelwork with paint brushes. OK, I lied about that, but it’s still a nice conceit.