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Audi RS6 Sedan unveiled: details and photos

Audi RS6 Sedan

The boys at Ingolstadt have unveiled the sedan version of the Audi RS6. The estate version had already been revealed earlier. Like the estate, the RS6 sedan is powered by a direct injected twin turbocharged 5.0 liter V10 with dry sump lubrication producing 580 horsepower between 6,250rpm to 6,700rpm and 650Nm of torque from 1,500rpm to 6,250rpm thanks to its turbochargers’ 1.6 bar of boost.

The ridiculously wide torque curve ensures you experience the car’s peak torque of 650Nm over virtually every RPM point the engine could ever be in. Once the torque tapers down beyond the 6,250rpm point, you still experience all 580 peak horses all the way to the 6,700rpm redline. This is one truly breathtaking engine even on paper.

Look after the jump for more details of the RS6 Sedan.

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Audi replaces 1.8 TFSI in A5 with 2.0 TFSI

Audi A5
Click to enlarge

Despite being only just recently introduced, the 1.8 liter EA888 TFSI has been phased out from the Audi A5, and replacing it is a 2.0 liter EA888 TFSI. These days manufacturers usually replace engines with ones with downsized displacement, so this move seems odd. But Audi says the larger displacement engine is better than the smaller engine.

The 2.0 liter engine produces more power and peaks earlier (180 PS at 4,000rpm versus the 1.8 liter’s 170 PS at 4,800rpm), is less polluting (154g/km CO2 versus the smaller engine’s 169g/km) and is more fuel economical (42.8mpg versus 39.8mpg). Peak torque is higher too - 320Nm between 1,500rpm and 3,900rpm versus 250Nm.

This 180 PS 2.0 TFSI slots in below another existing more powerful 2.0 TFSI model featuring Audi Valvelift and a higher 211 PS power output.

Now the question remains whether the A4 will receive a similiar upgrade. The A4 1.8 TFSI using the same engine that was replaced in the A5 has only just been introduced in our local market. Look out for a test drive report soon.

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B8 Audi A4 bodykit styled by Caractere

CARACTERE Audi A4
Click to view high resolution photo

Some have commented that the B8 Audi A4 that was launched here in Malaysia recently looks good from the front especially with those LED driving lights, but a little bland on the rear in comparison. One way to spice up its looks is a bodykit, and here is one from tuner Caractere. This kit is purely an aesthetics-based kit and it gives the rear of the A4 a diffuser-style rear bumper with integrated exhaust tailpipes.

Look after the jump for a front view.

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Cartrade-ABT official distributor for Abt Sportsline

Abt Sportsline GTI VS4-R

Cartrade-ABT is the new sole distributor for Abt Sportsline performance products in Malaysia. Cartrade-ABT will be focusing on Abt Sportsline upgraded cars and kits for Audi and Volkswagen cars and its first showroom is in Bangsar at 79, Jalan Maarof.

Expected turnover for the first year is RM50 million, a target that may very well be achieved considering how popular the Volkswagen Golf GTI is on Malaysian roads. Shown above is the Abt Sportsline GTI VS4-R, which is a Golf GTI tuned by Abt.

There will also definitely be a market for Abt kits for the newly launched Audi A4 - you can see how the other two premium German manufacturers have responded to the demand of kitted up C-segment luxury sedans here in Malaysia in the form of the BMW 320i Sports and the Mercedes-Benz C200K Avantgarde.

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Audi’s new supercharged 3.0 V6 TFSI engine

Audi LogoAudi has unveiled official details on its upcoming new supercharged 3.0 V6 TFSI engine, that will likely make its first debut installed in the upcoming Audi S4 and as an engine variant for the Audi A6. Sadly there are only technical details and no photos.

The two key technologies in the engine is direct injection and supercharging. It also marks the T in TFSI (and TSI for Volkswagen) no longer standing for Turbocharged, which probably means Volkswagen will have to find some creative alternative meaning for what TSI stands for, as it currently means Turbocharged Stratified Injection. The engine also features Valvelift, which in this implementation allows the intake cams to be adjusted through 42 degrees of angle.

Audi says they decided on a supercharger for the new 3.0 liter engine as compared to a twin turbocharged setup as comparative tests revealed the supercharging solution to be better. This means that somewhere in Audi’s test facilities there is a twin turbo version!

The engine uses a single Roots supercharger that sits in between the 90 degree V bank and is integrated into the intake manifold. The supercharger is located right behind the throttle valve, and is designed to require very low amounts of power to drive it during coasting and other low load, low engine speed driving situations as the rotors can just free-run because of the low density of intake air during those situations.

The supercharger is tuned to deliver a boost pressure of up to 0.8 bar, and is hooked up to two water-to-air intercoolers. They managed to tune it so that boost kicks in from idle speed, so there should be no delay in waiting for that thrilling forced induction surge of torque to kick in when you hit the accelerator pedal from a stand-still.

Peak torque of 420Nm is achieved from 2,500rpm and remains constant up till 4,850rpm. Peak horsepower of 290hp is hit at just under 5,000rpm! This is likely the “milder” stage of tune designed for the Audi A6 installation. Expect more power (say about 350hp) and torque for the version in the Audi S4.

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B8 Audi S4 will come with supercharged V6

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Audi A4 1.8T B8 launched in Malaysia!

Audi A4

The latest generation B8 Audi A4 was launched today at the Audi Hangar in Glenmarie. The new A4 debuts with a single model variant for now, but additional variants (2.0 TFSI and 3.2 FSI V6) will be added later. For now we will have to make do with the Audi A4 1.8T, priced at RM235,000 or RM260,000 if purchased with the S-Line pack.

More details on the new Audi A4 after the jump.

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Audi adds 2.0 TFSI with Valvelift to A5 Coupe

Audi A5

Audi has added the new EA888 family 2.0 liter TFSI engine to the Audi A5 Coupe range. The new EA888 family is already in some of the current 5th generation Volkswagen Golf GTIs rolling off the production lines, and is based off the new 1.8 liter TFSI EA888 engine.

Installed longitudinally in the Audi A5, the engine gains Audi’s Valvelift technology that made its debut on the normally aspirated 2.8 liter FSI V6. Audi Valvelift gives the engine two different valve lift profiles on the intake side. The lower cam profile actually opens the two intake valves at two different lifts with one higher than the other to deliberately create a swirl and tumble flow effect for intake air at low RPMs. At higher RPMs, a high lift cam takes over for more power.

The result is a strong peak of 211 PS from a relatively low 4,300rpm that continues on to 6,000rpm, and a peak torque of 350Nm from as low as 1,500rpm up to 4,200rpm. 0 to 100km/h in the Audi A5 body takes 6.9 seconds while the top speed is 250km/h. Despite the high performance, a combined cycle test for fuel economy results in a consumption of only 5.5 liters per 100km.

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Porsche Cayenne TDI turbodiesel due in March 2009

Porsche Cayenne

Porsche will be introducing another variant of the Porsche Cayenne with a turbodiesel engine, using the 3.0 TDI V6 engine from the Audi Q7. This will bring the number of Cayenne variants up to 6, with the others being the Cayenne, Cayenne S, Cayenne GTS (shown above), the Cayenne Turbo, and the Cayenne Turbo S.

There has also been a gasoline-electric hybrid version of the Cayenne displayed late last year that uses only 9 liters per 100km, decent for a huge SUV.

The new Porsche Cayenne TDI will likely feature the most aggressively tuned up version of the 3.0 TDI V6 engine, which means 240 hp and 550 Nm of torque from as low as 1,750rpm. It will be unveiled in March 2009.

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Initial details for Audi A7 four-door coupe revealed!

Audi A7

Some details have been unveiled on the upcoming Audi A7 four-seater four-door coupe. The A7 range will consist of both a hard-top roofed A7 and a soft-top Audi A7. The soft-top version will be a challenge as Audi wants to keep the four doors, so it may be the first carmaker in the world to offer a production four-door convertible since the old Lincoln Continental in the late 1960s or a Mercedes-Benz in the 1950s, that is if Mercedes-Benz doesn’t get there first with a production version of its four-door Ocean Drive Concept.

An economical hybrid version powered by a V6 or turbodiesel engine paired with an electric motor with Sanyo lithium-ion batteries will be offered, as well as a sporty S7 said to be powered by a 4.0 liter turbocharged V8 and an even more scorching RS7, likely to be powered by Audi’s 5.2 liter twin turbocharged V10 from the RS6.

The more sedate A7 will be offered with a 2.8 liter FSI V6 and a 3.0 liter supercharged V6. Gearbox options across the entire product range will consist of a 6-speed manual, a 7-speed S-Tronic twin clutch as well as a new 8-speed automatic. The car’s quattro system will gain torque vectoring for better torque management between all four wheels.

The A7 will slot in between the A6 and the A8 and will face off competition such as the Mercedes-Benz CLS and a new CS Concept-based BMW 8-Series.

Source

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Audi A5 2.0 TFSI CNG Natural Gas Vehicle

Audi unveiled a CNG-powered A5 coupe last year called the Audi A5 2.0 T-CNG, powered by a 2.0 liter TFSI CNG engine which can run on both normal petrol and Compressed Natural Gas, which is what our NGV vehicles in Malaysia run on.

The Audi A5 2.0 TFSI CNG is designed to provide similiar power and torque outputs as the base A5 1.8 TFSI model. It can produce 170 PS, similiar to the 1.8 TFSI model’s 170 PS figure. This 2.0 liter engine can produce the same power figures running on both petrol and natural gas. It is said to be an enlarged version of the 1.8 TFSI engine rather than using the 2.0 TFSI in the Golf GTI.

CNG is stored in four pressure tanks with a total volume of 130 liters, which according to Audi is able to store 21kg of CNG. This allows a total mileage of 420km from the CNG alone. The conventional petrol tank has been reduced to a mere 14 liters, which Audi says is good for 180km.

The engine’s ECU is modified to support CNG operation, with new features and functions to support controlling the CNG injectors as well as facilitating a smooth changeover between CNG and petrol. The coating of the catalytic converter is modified to take into account the different exhaust gas composition.

The direct injection feature of the engine allows the air-CNG mixture to be compressed up to a high 12:1 compression ratio, which allows the engine to extract much more power out of similiar amounts of CNG compared to what non-direct injection CNG engines can do, which have to run at lower compression to prevent engine knocking when petrol is being used as fuel. This is because CNG is naturally knock-resistant.

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