Archive for Audi

Audi claims the new Audi A4L is the first long wheelbase version of a car in its segment, and they’re probably right. Long wheelbase versions are usually available for large cars such as the A8 and the 7-Series, but the Chinese market’s preferences favour more legroom, a larger interior and simply more metal for your money, so we get to see special extended cars for the Chinese market as their volume can justify the R&D.

There is even such as a long wheelbase E60 BMW 5-Series in China, and while the Audi A8 naturally has its A8L counterpart, Audi has also offered a long wheelbase Audi A6L in China since the year 2000. The addition of the A4L means there are now extended versions of all of Audi’s sedans, even though they aren’t offered in all markets.

The Audi A4L has a full 60mm longer wheelbase at 2868mm compared to the normal A4’s 2808mm wheelbase. This is even longer than the short wheelbase A6 which only has a 2843mm wheelbase! It’s naturally longer at 4760mm compared to the A4’s 4705mm length, but the SWB A6 is still longer than the A4L at 4927mm. This benefits the rear seat passengers, allowing easier ingress and egress into the rear bench and greater legroom.

Two engine choices are available – a 180 horsepower 2.0 TFSI engine or a 3.2 liter FSI V6 engine producing 265 horsepower.

I think this is still perfectly acceptable and it makes sense. Things will only start to get silly when we see car manufacturers attempt to stretch something that is generally meant to look a certain way to most people, like a long wheelbase Audi TT or something. Oh wait, that’s already been done. It’s called the MINI Clubman.

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Audi is bringing the whole four-door coupe thing to the premium C-segment market with the Audi A5 Sportback. From the official preview sketches released above, the Audi A5 Sportback is essentially a four-door version of the Audi A5, which technically should be the Audi A4, but these days nearly everyone knows you can apparently create totally new cars just by reshaping the roofline, heh. The other A5 variant to be released in the near future is a cabriolet, which should be largely based on the 2-door coupe’s design but with the roof chopped off.

Audi’s A1 Sportback Concept displayed at the 2008 Paris Motor Show picks up where the Audi metroproject quattro concept left off last year at Tokyo 2008. This time the preview to the upcoming A1 is in a 5-door guise instead of the Tokyo concept’s 3-door body.

Inside the engine bay is a 150 PS version of VW’s 1.4 liter TSI petrol engine with a nice 240Nm of torque between 1,600rpm and 4,000rpm. There is also a 27hp electric motor that can provide an additional 150Nm of twisting power whenever needed.

This motor seems to be smaller than the metroproject quattro’s unit which was capable of 40hp and 200Nm of torque. Also, in the previous concept car, the motor was positioned at the rear axle giving the car all-wheel drive but in this concept the motor is integrated into the drivetrain powering the front wheels together with the combustion engine.

When the Audi drive select is set to the default efficiency mode, the electric motor will be run selectively as the sole power source to minimize the use of the combustion engine. The brain that controls this also communicates with the onboard satnav system. For example, when you key in a journey that will take a distance of less than 50km, only the electric motor will be used.

The lithium-ion batteries that the motor draws its power from can provide enough power for up to a maximum of 100km on a full charge. The car is also a plug-in hybrid – the batteries can be recharged via plugging the car into a regular power outlet. Whenever maximum power is needed, both powerplants can function at once delivering maximum propulsion.

This is also one of the few hybrids which do not use a CVT transmission, instead sending power to the wheels via an S-Tronic dual clutch transmission with a new ESP-controlled active front differential lock.

Something else interesting is the Audi mobile device which has evolved from the mobile control unit that was found in the metroproject quattro. This time, such functionality will be available with any mobile phone that supports a special software you can download from the internet – I assume any J2ME phone would work. The phone would also need wifi support as it communicates with the car through an access point in the car.

The software will allow you to pre-plan your onboard satnav route from the phone while you are still in your home or office. But it won’t work if your office is very far away from the car park though as wifi range is not that far. You can also constantly monitor the status of your car such as whether all windows and doors are closed or not.

Look after the jump for more hi-res shots of the Audi A1 Sportback Concept.

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The 2.0 liter TFSI engine in the Audi S3 producing 265 PS at 6,000rpm and 350Nm of torque between 2,500 to 5,000rpm finally gets the 7-speed version of the S-Tronic dual clutch transmission. This means there is now a 7-speed version of the DSG that can take this levels of torque, so it should appear on a Volkswagen (Golf GTI?) soon enough.

The Audi S3 equipped with the S-Tronic gearbox goes from 0 to 100km/h faster than the manual transmission version, and has lower emissions and better fuel economy too. The acceleration time drops by 0.2 seconds to 5.5 seconds, while the combined fuel economy goes from 33.2mpg to 34mpg. CO2 output falls by 5g/km from 198g/km to 183g.km. The S-Tronic gearbox is a £1,450 option over the base S3.

Other upgrades to the new Audi S3 S-Tronic include a quattro all-wheel drive system which responds faster to different traction and front-rear torque bias requirements.

Audi has unveiled initial details and a set of photos of the new B8 Audi S4 in both sedan and Avant bodystyles. As expected, the new S4 loses its V8 power to a 3.0 liter supercharged direct injection V6 engine producing 333 horsepower and 440Nm of torque.

The S4 sedan goes from 0 to 100km/h in 5.1 seconds while the Avant does the same in 5.2 seconds. Fuel consumption is expected to be at about 9.7 liters per 100km for the sedan and 9.9 liters per 100km for the Avant. The 3.0 liter V6 engine is mated to either a 6-speed manual transmission or a 7-speed S-Tronic (DSG) twin clutch gearbox and sends power to all four wheels via a Quattro system with a 40:60 front-rear bias by default.

Styling changes are not excessive, that is perhaps reserved for the B8 RS4. The S4 features a front bumper with a slightly different design and a grille with vertically opposed bars. There are also nice sports seats in the black interior.

Look after the jump for a hi-res gallery of the B8 S4.

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Audi is really intruding into its owner Porsche’s territory now. Audi Sport is now offering a race-prepared Audi R8 that complies with GT3 race regulations. Because GT3 prohibits all-wheel drive, the Audi R8 GT3 drives the rear wheels only through a newly developed 6-speed sequential gearbox.

The suspension bits are almost a carryover from the available production line parts. The front end is modified for more downforce and on the rear you will find a huge rear wing.

First deliveries will begin in Autumn 2008. Look after the jump for 3 more photos.

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According to Wikipedia, The Transporter writer Luc Besson was originally inspired by BMW’s The Hire series of short films. The movie featured luxury German cars like the E38 BMW 7-Series and the Mercedes-Benz W140 S-Class.

The Transporter 2 featured another German luxury saloon – the Audi A8. You got to see ridiculous unbelievably timed stunts such as the A8 swirling around mid-air to knock off a bomb. The movie also featured a girl that somehow prefers to fight wearing the bare minimum of clothes. Cars and babes, a perfect formula?

For the 3rd installment we’re getting the A8 again and another “two-wheeler” thats in the spirit of today’s high fuel prices. Look after the jump for the trailer.

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Abt Sportsline’s kit for the Audi Q5 gives it an aggressive outward appearance thanks to a new front end with huge air inlets, a quad-tailpipe rear, 20 inch Abt wheels and a lowered stance thanks to the Abt Sportsline suspension, which results in a lower center of gravity.

Power for the 2.0 liter TDI unit is uprated by 20hp to 190hp while the more potent 3.0 liter TDI unit gets a 70hp upgrade to 310hp. The petrol option equipped with the venerable 2.0 TFSI EA888 engine gets upgraded from 211hp to 240hp. To keep up with the additional power, brakes have also been upgraded to 380mm discs.

The entire Audi A6 range has been updated for the 2009 model year, and features the new Audi 3.0 liter supercharged engine for the 3.0T model. Audi sold 234,000 units of the A6 globally in 2007, giving it a 37% market share.

Look after the jump for full details and hi-res photo galleries.

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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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