Tag Archives | Audi

Audi Unveils Audi A1 ClubSport Quattro Concept In Austria

By on June 1, 2011 in News

By Carl Malek

For decades, Audi and all-wheel drive have gone together like an automotive peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Indeed, if one is to look at the current Audi lineup, all-wheel drive is available equipment on nearly all of the company’s current offerings with one big exception, the Audi A1. Originally launched as a front wheel drive only offering, the A1 was designed to be Audi’s response to competitors such as the Alfa Romeo Mito and the MINI Cooper. Its success against these competitors, however, has been mixed.  Despite the models so-so sales numbers, Audi has been working on making the engine power go to all four of the A1′s wheels and has chosen the 30th annual Wortherseetour in Austria (which is one of the biggest annual gatherings of Volkswagen vehicle owners in the world) to give prospective buyers a sneak peek of what such a car would look like.

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Quick Drive: 2011 Audi R8 5.2 quattro Spyder 6MT

By on May 23, 2011 in Features

By Chris Haak

There are few cars that I am willing to wait in line for a chance to drive when I’m at press events.  The limited criteria for which I’d be willing include things like a) 500-plus horsepower, b) exotic car looks, and c) something I haven’t driven before.  Yesterday, I waited almost three hours to drive this car (admittedly, I was on a waiting list, and was able to do other things in the interim).  But boy, was the wait worthwhile.

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Review: 2011 Audi A5 2.0 TFSI quattro Tiptronic Coupe

By on May 16, 2011 in Reviews

By Kevin Miller

Europe is often romanticized by Americans; the old plazas and hidden passageways seemingly behind every corner on The Continent contain hidden surprises and untold treasure. The same can be said about European cars, the stylish, unattainable fruit, forbidden to American consumers by European importers. While both European cities and cars often meet or surpass such expectations, they can sometimes turn out to be not quite as idyllic as expected. Audi’s A5 is the latest European treasure that falls just shy of meeting elevated expectations.

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Lexus Boss Mark Templin Predicts a Dismal Future For His Brand

By on April 28, 2011 in Editorials

By Chris Haak

Auto executives are, by nature, an optimistic bunch of people.  They’re always on the verge of catching onto the next big trend, of turning around operations, yadda yadda.  Therefore, I raised my eyebrows more than a little bit when I saw what Lexus general manager Mark Templin had to say about his brand’s future.  It wasn’t optimistic; it was downright melancholy.  In an interview with Automotive News, he conceded the luxury-vehicle sales crown for 2011 with seven-plus months remaining in the year.  The reason?

He’s blaming the Japanese earthquake, which has done great harm to the auto industry supply chain, but in particular, to Japanese auto manufacturers.  Many Japanese OEMs still are not running at full production, including heavyweights Honda and Toyota.  Toyota, in fact, said that it was not likely to resume normal production until November, a full eight months after the March earthquake.  Lexus is particularly affected, though, because the majority of the brand’s models, with the sole exception of the RX crossover, are built in Japan.  In post-tsunami Japan, local auto production is a disadvantage.

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Good News and Bad News for Speed Lovers

By on April 8, 2011 in Editorials

By Chris Haak

According to a report over at The Detroit Bureau, Texas lawmakers are considering raising that state’s maximum speed limit to 85 miles per hour (137 km/h) on the wide-open, sparsely-populated sections of the biggest state in the contiguous United States.

While 85 MPH may sound fast – and it is – the change is not as dramatic as one might think.  Texas already has about 520 miles of Interstates where it’s legal to travel 80 MPH.  The change, if approved, would only raise the limit by five miles per hour.  The bill has already been approved by the Texas House, and it’s now being considered by the Texas Senate.  TDB reports that the Senate is leaning toward approving it, as is Governor Rick Perry (R) as well.

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Audi Releases U.S Prices For All New 2012 A7

By on April 7, 2011 in News

By Carl Malek

Audi has released the final U.S pricing for the all new 2012 Audi A7 coupe. Interested in owning one of the most stylish five door sedans Audi has ever created? Be prepared to relieve your wallet of $59,250 $(60,125 when the $875  destination fee is added to the mix) for a base [Premium] model. This would put it around the middle of the Audi pricing ladder between the $45,200 Audi A6 and the $78,050 A8 flagship.

Spending all those hard earned dollars will reward buyers with Audi’s 310 horsepower 3.0 liter TSI V6 which is paired to a eight speed automatic gearbox. Also joining the standard equipment list is Audi’s familiar and expected Quattro all wheel drive system. In the A7, the system is programmed to have a rear-biased 60/40 power split.

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Audi Teams Up With T-Mobile For Audi Connect Service

By on March 25, 2011 in News

By Carl Malek

Audi has recently announced that T-Mobile Service Inc. will carry the company’s upcoming Audi Connect Services system which will be available throughout the company’s vehicle lineup beginning with the 2012 model year.

The new wireless service (which will make its world debut in the 2012 Audi A7 when it launches in April) will include features such as voice-activated Google Earth, Google Interactive Search, and Sirius Traffic information which when combined with the use of Google Earth Imagery will not only provide drivers with topographical and satellite images, but will also be the first time this technology has ever been used in the industry.

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Hey, There’s a Cool Car: Audi allroad

By on March 21, 2011 in Features

By Charles Krome

Yep, that lowercase “a” is correct. I guess it’s sort of like “quattro” or, on the other hand, LEAF or JUKE. But the car I saw while out making a doughnut run over the weekend is notable for being more than just an early entry in the goofy capitalization sweepstakes. This is actually Audi’s first crossover.

The 2001 Audi allroad 2.7T reached our shores in the second half of the year 2000 to fill a huge hole in the automaker’s lineup. And by “huge,” I mean about the size of a Ford Explorer. Although this was the same year that the Blue Oval’s SUV would find itself mired in a controversy over rollover accidents, it also marked the vehicle’s high-water mark in sales, with 445,157. Needless to say, sport-utility sales had taken over the U.S. marketplace.

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Audi R8 GT to start at $196,800

By on March 17, 2011 in News

By: Carl Malek

Audi of America has released the official asking price for the 2012 Audi R8 GT supercar. Owners interested in owning one of these rare vehicles will have to act fast; only 333 will be built before production ends, (with only a third of that total expected to hit U.S roads), and owning this lightweight rarity will cost you a grand total of $196,800 dollars excluding any optional equipment.

The most potent model in the R8 supercar lineup, the GT sets itself apart from the normal R8 model by shedding 220 pounds of weight. This weight loss is due to the extensive use of various carbon fiber body parts and Audi’s familiar ASF lightweight construction.

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Lighter, More Powerful Audi TT RS Coming Soon To A Dealer Near You?

By on March 10, 2011 in News

By: Carl Malek

Is there a more powerful Audi TT RS variant in the works? According to some leaked documents obtained by World Car Fans via Qarsi.de that appears to be the case.

A variant of the high performance two door under the designation “Audi TT RS Plus Coupe 2.5″ was among the models featured in an internal Audi parts catalog. The unknown and currently unconfirmed variant of the familiar fun to drive Audi TT RS was quoted to have at least 355 horsepower, which would be a 20 horse jump over the standard TT RS model’s 335 horses. While this meager gain may not appear to produce a significant increase in performance, there is a possibility that Audi could make extensive use of carbon fiber parts in the TT RS Plus’s design to help the car slim down and improve its handling characteristics. This process was last used by the company in the R8 GT super-car to help that particular model shed precious weight and it would perhaps serve to enhance the plus model’s performance abilities as well when combined with the slight horsepower increase.

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