Audi has introduced an armoured version of its top-of-the-range sedan, called the A8 L Security, meant for heads of state or very important people who need such a blanket.

The car doesn’t look any different than a standard production A8, so the bad boys won’t be able to tell. Which is presumably how its owner would like to keep it.

Indeed, secrecy is the buzzword from the word go – the armoured sedan’s custom security modifications are performed by hand in a small, well-guarded workshop with specially secured doors and where the use of cellular phones is strictly prohibited.

Around 450 hours of work is carried out in making the A8 into a litreal armoured car. There’s a heady mix of materials – hot-formed armoured steel, aramide fabric, ceramics, special aluminium alloys and polycarbonate-coated multilayer glass.

The interior armouring alone weighs approximately 720 kg, and if you add the additional 300 kg for the special glass and 360 kg for the closing assist feature found on all the doors, that’s pretty much another car in there.

It does transform the A8 L Security into a VR 7 class ballistic protection certified offering though, with the sheet metal and glazing in the passenger cell able to withstand 7.62 mm rounds, as well as a hand grenade. In certain areas, the armour is even VR 9 and VR 10 class compliant.

There’s more in the way of security, among them an emergency exit system utilising pyrotechnics to detach the door, as well as a fire extinguisher system covering the wheel arches, underfloor, tank and engine compartment. Also on, an emergency fresh-air system, which has two oxygen cartridges housed in the protected area to prevent toxic gases from penetrating the cabin.

A standard two-way communication system allows passengers in the A8 L Security to communicate with the outside world when the windows are closed. The system makes use of a speaker in the single-frame grille as well as microphones for the cabin and exterior.

Other items include a smoke extractor for the passenger compartment, an LED signaling system for convoy travel, flashing lights, a siren, a permanently installed telephone, an accident data recorder and even a flag holder.

Of course, the quattro permanent all-wheel drive car sacrifices none of the mod cons expected of a luxury sedan. The 6.3 litre W12-equipped vehicle – offering 500 hp and 625 Nm, working with an 8-speed transmission – will begin shipping to customers sometime in mid-year, though Audi is set to introduce a second engine choice in 2012.

Audi has announced that it has setup an assembly facility in Indonesia in cooperation with INDOMOBIL/Garuda Mataram Motor, with the first vehicles to roll off the assembly line being the Audi A4 1.8 TFSI and the Audi A6 2.0 TFSI. It seems that CKD Audis will be delivered to Indonesian customers this month itself. By 2015, Audi expects to hit 2,700 units of the A4 and A6 to roll out of Indonesian assembly facilities.

No mention if Audi will be producing cars for ASEAN export in Indonesia as well. When the A5 Coupe was launched, Euromobil told us that they were talking to Audi about CKD assembly in Malaysia as well, but Malaysian sales volumes weren’t enough to justify local assembly at that point.

“After having done so in key markets like China and India, we’ve now found an outstanding partner for local assembly of our Audi models in Indonesia. As one of the most important countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Indonesia is one of Asia’s most dynamic growth regions. We’d like to contribute to this growth, since growth is an important component of Audi’s brand strategy,” said Frank Dreves, Member of the Board of Management for Production at Audi AG.

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This Audi A1 quattro prototype was caught stretching its four paws in the snow in Montreal. The one-off development car is part of the ‘Fascination of quattro’ event taking place in the Canadian city to celebrate the famous four-wheel-drive system, which turned 30 in 2010. At last year’s Paris show, Audi said that future high performance variants of the A1 will be quattro equipped. Current cars are FWD only.

The “A1 quattro” uses technology very similar to that in the A3 and TT. At its core is an electronically controlled, hydraulically actuated multi-plate clutch located in front of the rear axle for an optimized distribution of weight. Inside is a package of plates that rotate in an oil bath.

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During normal driving, the clutch sends most of the engine’s power to the front wheels. If the front axle loses grip, the clutch can instantly transfer torque to the rear axle by forcing the plate packages together. A pressure reservoir helps the electric pump to develop the necessary oil pressure.

Many expected Audi to launch a hot “S1″ at Paris 2010, but the range topping variant that was unwrapped was simply called the A1 1.4 TFSI. It uses a Twincharged engine with 185 hp and 250 Nm, paired to a 7-speed S tronic gearbox. That leaves room for a “S1″ quattro with figures to rival or beat the 211 hp/260 Nm MINI JCW.

You might hear some companies saying things aren’t all that rosy, but it certainly won’t be Audi. If anything, old four rings seems to be having a hard time containing itself. Besides the market introduction next year of its new A6 sedan and its first full hybrid, the Q5 Hybrid, there’s also the impending arrival of the new Q3 midsize SUV to look forward to in 2011 for Audi fans.

Away from that, the company is looking at serious expansion – starting from next year to 2015, it will be carrying out the biggest investment program in its history, pumping in 11.6 bil Euros primarily into new products and technologies, as well as five billion Euros into upgrading its Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm plants.

About 80% of all investment – more than 9.5 bil Euros – will go to developing new products and to electric and hybrid drive systems development. Audi is looking at deploying its R8 e-tron electric sports car into the market in late 2012, so that’s undoubtedly one area where the money will go into.

This expansion will also involve the workforce – next year, Audi says it intends to add another 1,200 skilled employees; these will be experts who will bolster the company’s electromobility and lightweight construction fields, as well as help map out its growth strategy. Serious intent, by the looks of it.

Yet another model joins the Audi RS series lineup, and this one is the big, bad version of the A3 called the RS 3 Sportback. There’s no shortage of pizzazz here, for sure, what with 340 hp and 450 Nm as well as a 0-100 kph sprint time of 4.6 secs kicking off this particular dynamic parade.

Styling-wise, the car, which is of course developed by Audi subsidiary quattro, gets the RS dress up treatment, and the front features an anthracite single-frame grill with diamond-patterned styling, new air intakes, a front apron, and front fenders made of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP).

Throw in prominent sill panels, exterior-mirror casings in matt aluminium, a large roof spoiler and a high-gloss black diffusor insert at the rear, along with two elliptical exhaust tailpipes and you’ve got the new clothes this one wears.

Oh, and RS 3 badging both front and rear, of course.

The entirely black interior carries a number of RS 3 logos as well, in case you ever forget what it is you’re driving. The sports seats wear fine Nappa leather with silver contrasting stitching, and you get Piano finish black or the new Aluminum Race look for inlay finishes. Elsewhere, the selector lever and instruments for the RS 3 are unique, and the vehicle’s driver information system can display the boost pressure and oil temperature as well as a lap timer.

As the heart of the all-wheel drive RS 3 is a 2.5 litre TFSI five-cylinder turbocharged pot, first seen on the TT RS, and the 340 horses (available between 5,400 and 6,500 rpm) translates into a specific power output of 137.1 hp per litre. As for the torque, the 450 Nm is available from 1,600 rpm right up to 5,300 rpm. The turbocharger generates up to 1.2 bar of boost pressure, with an intercooler downstream efficiency rate of over 80%.

The 183 kg block features a crankcase made of vermicular-graphite cast iron – Audi’s the first car maker to use this a high-strength, yet lightweight material in a gasoline engine, and helping to keep the weight in check means paying off big for the RS 3 in terms of axle-load distribution and handling.

The RS 3 features a seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch transmission, with a operational choice of two automatic modes and one manual mode – paddle shifters and a launch control system round things off. Meanwhile, the quattro all-wheel drive features an electronically controlled multi-plate clutch mounted at the end of the propeller shaft to achieve a favourable axle load distribution.

Performance-wise, the 1,575 kg car manages an electronically-limited 250 kph top speed, and it growls all the way in that signature RS manner, with a sound flap in the exhaust branch intensifying the sound even further (the flap is controlled via the standard Sport button, which also varies the engine response). Despite it being a scorcher, it’s also very much a sipper – the claimed average consumption figure is a neat 9.1 litres per 100 km.

As would be the case, the RS 3 Sportback gets a number of suspension and geometry revisions to help it handle like its life depended on it. The sports suspension on the RS 3 lowers it by 25 mm compared with the stock A3, and at the front the track has been widened, with the McPherson struts featuring a separate subframe; key components are made of aluminium. At the back, the four-link suspension is also anchored to a subframe and features high-strength-steel control arms that allow it to handle longitudinal and lateral forces separately.

Stopping power is through a brake system made up of four-pot calipers (finished in high-gloss black and bearing the RS logo) and 370 mm front and 310 mm rear ventilated discs. The car wears 19-inch cast aluminium wheels finished in machine-polished titanium as standard, with a black with a red rim flange available as an option – the wheels sit on 235/35 series front and 225/35 rear rubbers.

In terms of kit, there’s a rear parking system, climate control, chorus radio system and xenon plus headlights with LED daytime running lights as standard, among other things. Optional equipment includes front bucket seats, matt aluminium roof rails and styling packages in black or matt aluminium.

The car will be made at Audi Hungaria in Gyor, and deliveries are slated to begin in early 2011. Gallery after the jump.
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Now, did you know that every year, leading body-manufacturing experts convene to discuss trends as well as scrutinise numerous body shells and series-production vehicles at the International Car-Body Benchmarking Conference? And that there’s an award called the Euro Car Body Award?

The last is where the attendees select the world’s most innovative series-built vehicle body for the year. The 12th edition of the conference, organised by Automotive Circle International and held in in Bad Nauheim, Germany late last month, saw 520 experts and a jury of specialists evaluating 14 of the latest series-production vehicles to determine a winner.

When voting was done, the winner of the world’s most distinguished award for innovations in body manufacturing, better known as the Euro Car Body Award, was Audi’s A8, making it the fourth time Audi has taken the honours. In taking the gong, the A8 also set a new record by earning 41.11 out of a possible 50 points in the voting process.

Cetainly, there’s a lot in the Neckarsulm-made offering to have impressed the experts. The aluminium body (featuring no less than 13 grades of aluminium) weighs in at 231 kg, 30 kg less than its predecessor, but has a stiffness/weight ratio that’s increased by 20% over the previous shell. For those who enjoy such trivia, building one involves 1,847 punch-rivets, 632 self-tapping screws, 202 spot welds, 25 MIG welds, six metres of laser welds, and 44 metres of bonded seams.

In addition to its impressive body properties, the Euro Car Body Award also recognised Audi’s pioneering concepts regarding processes, production and manufacturing as well as the company’s know-how concerning materials technology and joining techniques.

The current A8 follows in the tyre tracks of an A8 predecessor, which was the first Audi to win the award in 2003. In 2006, the TT won the award, and in 2008, it was the Q5′s turn to emerge victorious.