Archive for Audi

Audi has launched a new body type for the Audi A3 – the new 2008 Audi A3 Cabriolet. The classic fabric top convertible will initially be offered with four engines – two petrol units and two TDI turbodiesels.

Two versions of the soft top are available, a semi-automatic top and a fully automatic version. Both hoods are moved with a high-pressure pump with two hydraulic cylinders. The hood is folded up in a Z-pattern to minimize the space it takes up.

The automatic version has a synthetic fibre mat between the outer skin and the inner lining to improve thermal insulation and soundproofing. At speeds of 140km/h, there is only a 1dB difference in noise with the Audi A3 and the Audi A3 Cabriolet equipped with the automatic roof.

To compensate for the lack of a roof, the body structure has been reinforced with a high proportion of high-strength, ultra-high-strength and hot-formed steels. Rear luggage capacity is 260 liters, but this can be extended to 674 liters by folding the rear seat backs down – this is whether the hood is up or down.

All engines are four cylinder units. The two petrol units include a 1.8 liter TFSI producing 160 hp and 250Nm of torque between 1,500rpm to 4,200rpm, and the other is the popular 2.0 liter TFSI engine that puts out 200 horsepower between 5,100 to 6,000rpm and 280Nm of torque between 1,800 and 5,000rpm. These engines are available with either a 6-speed manual or an S-Tronic dual clutch gearbox.

For fans of oil burners, pick from a 1.9 liter TDI putting out 105 horsepower and 250Nm of torque at 1,900rpm, or a 2.0 liter TDI with 150 horsepower and 320Nm of torque between 1,750rpm and 2,500rpm. The smaller engine comes with a 5-speed manual, while the larger one comes with either a S-Tronic dual clutch gearbox or a 6-speed manual.

More photos and a video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of 2008 Audi A3 Cabriolet

Some of you who follow the development of the automotive industry through foreign sites may remember a photo of an Audi R8 burned to the ground on the Nurburgring sometime earlier this year. Now, Quattro GmbH director Wener Frowein reveals what happened in an interview with Dutch news site Nieuws.nl:

The burned Audi R8 was a prototype of the Audi RS8, the high performance version of the Audi R8 – not like the car isn’t already a scorcher to begin with. In the engine bay was a 580 PS twin-turbocharged V10 from the Audi RS6. Because of the mid-engine layout, the monster twin-blown V10 had cooling problems – this resulted in a total of 3 prototypes sharing the same fiery fate.

Hat tip to Geert Pick for the pointer.

Source, Translated

This is the Audi Cross Cabriolet Quattro concept, which previews the upcoming Audi Q5 mid-sized SUV. While the idea of an open top SUV echoes the classic post-WW2 Willys Jeepster model, there is not likely to be an open top production Audi Q5.

Instead, the production Audi Q5 will likely be a proper roofed SUV like the Audi Cross Coupe Quattro Concept which made its public debut at the Shanghai Motor Show earlier this year and share styling cues of both the Cross Coupe and the Cross Cabriolet.

While Volkswagen’s new Tiguan is based off a Golf platform, the new Audi Q5 will be based off a new MLP platform which underpins the new A4 and the A5. The Golf platform itself will be replaced by the Audi MQB platform in the future, which uses a transverse engine layout instead of the MLP’s longtitudinal layout.

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Click here to read the rest of Audi Cross Cabriolet Quattro Concept

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Yet another city car concept comes from Audi with what looks quite possibly to be the forerunner to the MINI-fighting A1. The metroproject quattro concept is equipped with a hybrid drivetrain that involves a 1.4-litre TFSI engine developing 148hp directed to the front wheels via an S-tronic Direct Shift Gearbox. Another 40hp comes from an electric motor positioned on the rear axle is able to deliver up to an additional 200Nm of torque when the vehicle is accelerating.

Read more after the jump…

Click here to read the rest of Audi metroproject quattro Concept

Audi has slotted in a new model at the bottom of the Audi A5 range – one powered with a 1.8 liter TFSI engine mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. Note this is not the old but popular turbocharged 1.8 liter Audi engine that is in the B7 A4 1.8T currently sold in the Malaysian market, but a newly developed 1.8 TFSI.

The 1.8 liter TFSI turbocharged direct injection engine makes 170 PS at a rather low 4,800rpm and 250Nm of torque from 1,500rpm up to 4,800rpm, giving the baseline Audi A5 a 0 to 100km/h acceleration of 8.4 seconds.

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Audi has released a promotional video clip for it’s scorcher of a sports estate, the Audi RS6 Avant. The new RS6 Avant is powered by a Lamborghini-derived 5.2 liter V10 that is twin turbocharged to put out 580 horsepower, although that number is said to be an understated conservative figure and actual output is rumoured to be much more than that. View the video after the jump.

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Audi RS6 Avant with twin turbo V10

Click here to read the rest of Audi RS6 Avant Promo Video

The Audi RS6 Avant is Audi’s most powerful car ever, and although it is only set to be in the showrooms in April next year, Audi is giving us a preview at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show. The Audi RS6 Avant is powered by a 5.2 liter twin-turbocharged V10 FSI engine that is loosely based on the normally aspirated V10 unit in the S6 and the S8.

Up from the 400-odd in the S-line Audis, the new RS6 engine puts out 580 horsepower peaking between 6,250rpm and 6,700rpm and 650Nm of peak torque available all the way from 1,500rpm to 6,250rpm. This power is channelled through a 6-speed tiptronic automatic to all four-wheels thanks to Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive. Translated into acceleration figures, this means 4.6 seconds to 100km/h and 14.9 seconds to 200km/h.

The engine uses a compression ratio of 10.5:1 which is particularly high for a forced inducted engine, thanks to FSI direct injection which delivers precisely metered amounts of fuel to the combustion chamber – this avoids knocking. It also uses a dry-sump lubrication system which ensures all parts of the engine including the turbochargers are well-lubed despite constant lateral acceleration of 1.2g.

The scorching estate rides on a sports suspension equipped with Dynamic Ride Control, which reduces pitching and rolling movements without the aid of electronics – instead only the laws of fluid dynamics comes into play. With Dynamic Ride Control, shock absorbers are connected diagonally via two oil lines and two control valves. Uneven road surfaces will produce flows of oil which will generate additional damping force at whichever absorber which needs it. The suspension system uses a four-link front suspension and a trepezoidal-link rear suspension.

The quattro system splits power between the front and rear wheels at a ratio of 40 to 60 in it’s basic setting. Steering is via a speed-sensitive servotronic system. There is also an ESP system with a sporty setting that intervenes later, and it can also be completely deactivated.

The RS6 Avant comes with standard steel brakes, but there is an optional ceramic brake system which calls for larger 20-inch wheels (standard are 19 inch). The tyres for the 19 inch and 20 inch wheel options are 225/40R19 and 275/35/R20 respectively.

Seriously, it’s not very often you can say you’ve got a car that accelerates this fast but yet still has a maximum of 1,660 liters of luggage space, unless you have the M5 Touring of course. I can see why there’s a market for these cars.

More photos are available after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Audi RS6 Avant with twin turbo V10

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This is the new B8 Audi A4, which looks pretty much like the current B7 Audi A4, but in reality it is very very different. The new B8 Audi A4 rides on Audi’s new MLP platform that first made it’s debut on the Audi A5 Coupe earlier this year.

Since the rest of the car pretty much looks like the previous A4, the first think you notice is the new headlamps with integrated LED strips running lights – something expected on all future Audis as Audi is currently all hot about LED lighting. There’s no undulating shoulderline that was on the A5 Coupe, which is probably a good thing as I’m not sure if it would look good on a 4-door sedan.

Thanks to the new platform, overhangs have been minimized especially at the front, which helps the car look sportier, giving it a generally cab rearward design. The front overhang of the B7 A4 was pretty significant, enough for you to notice. Bonnet length and wheelbase for the B8 is longer than it’s predecessor, and on the driveline, the differential has swapped places with the clutch/torque converter, making it possible to move the front axle forward by 154mm. Apart from reducing front overhang, this improves axle-load distribution between the front and rear axles.

The new B8 Audi A4 will be launched with 5 engine options ranging from 143bhp to the top of the line 265bhp V6 FSI engine. There are also diesel options available. These engines are mated to either a 6-speed manual, conventional torque converter-based Tiptronic auto, or a Multitronic CVT. It is also available either in front wheel drive or quattro all-wheel drive.

More photos and a video after the jump, including shots of the sporty S-Line A4.

Click here to read the rest of Next generation B8 Audi A4

We will be able to get a glimpse of what the production version of the Audi A1 will look like in end-October this year thanks to a concept model that will be revealed at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show. What we’ve been seeing so far in the press have been artist’s impressions of what the car will look like. We’ve also seen some internal sketches of the car, and they basically look like a shorter, tinier version of Audi’s typical design cues.

Audi’s new attempt at a small city will be displayed as a hybrid concept car, though the final production car will have petrol and diesel powered models as it’s bread and butter.

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Audi is adding another body variant to it’s Audi A3 hatchback. The new Audi A3 cabriolet will join it’s 3-door and 5-door hatchback brothers. Other manufacturers have been coming up with C-segment hatchback convertibles like the Peugeot 307CC and even the Kia ex_cee’d, though that’s still at a concept stage now.

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