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Avus Performance makes its own “RS4″ to rival the M3

May 19, 2010 at 4:33 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Audi, Cars, International News

There may be no RS badged variant for the current B8 Audi A4, but German tuner Avus Performance has come up with a tweaked S4 that provides RS4 levels of performance to challenge the BMW M3.

In standard form, the S4 is no slouch with a 3.0-litre supercharged V6 engine that makes 333 bhp and 440 Nm of torque. Clearly not enough for Avus, they threw in a series of upgrades that included a custom exhaust system. The end result is 420 bhp and 540 Nm of torque, which compares well with the naturally aspirated M3′s 414 bhp/400 Nm. Avus doesn’t provide performance numbers, but their car should be much faster than the S4′s 0-100 km/h time of 5.1 seconds. Along with the added grunt, Avus added in a new spring kit along with 20-inch alloy wheels wrapped with 255/30 Hankook Ventus S1Evo tyres. Strange rubber choice from a European tuner.

The S4′s looks have been made more aggressive by a new front grille, spoiler, and rear diffuser painted in metallic black. Customers can choose to replace the abovementioned parts with carbon fibre items. Unsurprisingly, the car’s cabin can be specified with carbon trim as well. Gallery after the jump.
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Audi A1 production starts in Belgium, prices revealed

May 12, 2010 at 9:31 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Audi, Cars, International News

Audi has officially started taking orders for the new Audi A1 after a much anticipated wait. According to Audi AG, orders looks like they will surpass production levels this year, meaning certain customer would have to wait for their bundle of joy.

Audi’s Brussels plant will be producing 50,000 units of the A1 from now till end 2010 while 80,000 units will be delivered to customers next year. The company expect to eventually make 100,000 units annually by 2012.

For 15,800 euros you get the 86 hp 1.2 TFSI which has excellent fuel economy of 5.1L/100 km while only producing 118 g/km of CO2. The other engine variants available would be the 1.6 TDI that produces 105 hp while retailing at 18,800 euros. This particular model uses only 3.9L/100 km, saving you on fuel in the long run. The 1.4 TFSI produces 122 hp and will sell for 19,900 euros and has a fuel economy of 5.2L/100 km. This while only producing 119 g/km of CO2 emissions.

There’s no doubt that the Audi A1 will carry a premium price compared to its competitors, one of them being the MINI which starts of at around 13,000 euros. While space is a luxury in the backseat of the MINI, the A1 is 200 mm longer than it. The other contender would be the Alfa Romeo MiTo which comes in at just under 15,000 Euros for the 1.4-litre 95 hp version.

Click here for live images of the A1 from the Geneva show and a huge official gallery.

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Cool Audi A1 ideas at Wörthersee Tour 2010 – go Bayern!

May 6, 2010 at 11:33 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Audi, Cars, International News

Audi is really going all out to make its baby A1 the coolest thing in town. We’ve already seen part 1 of “The Next Big Thing” mini series starring Justin Timberlake, and here’s some ideas Audi is proposing for the A1 – there’s a police car, airport taxi and a Bayern Munich car. The latter has in-form player Arjen Robben’s name all over it. Wait, didn’t Bayern just kick out Audi sponsored Man United of the Champions League, with a fine volley from Robben? Audi is a sponsor of the Munich club, too!

The “Hot Rod” model boasts a matte-finish and low ride height with air suspension. Complementing this look are steel wheels with white-wall tyres. My favourite is the car with the No.1 racing livery, as seen in Geneva. It comes with a “competition kit” with the “legends interior plus” package. The Amalfi White paint finish and the original colors of the Urquattro (Begonia Red, Stone Gray and Gray Brown) are used both inside and outside. Unlike the rest of the concepts, this one is available as a factory option when sales start in Europe.

Audi has done some work in the cabin as well. Themed parts include upper seat backs, the base of the centre console, door grips, instrument faces, floor carpets and rings on the air-con vents. These seven A1s are meant to show the customisation possibilities with add-on parts, special paint finishes and adhesive films. Audi calls them “motto vehicles”.

The cars will be paraded at the Wörthersee Tour 2010 in Austria (May 12 – 15) alongside the new R8 GT, which makes its public debut there. Check out the gallery after the jump!
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Audi’s “The Next Big Thing” Audi A1 mini-series

May 5, 2010 at 4:36 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Audi, Cars, Videos

Looking at pretty photos of a car is really nice but seriously nothing beats watching a car in full motion action. BMW’s The Hire short clips was the talk of the town during its time and people still refer to them every now and then these days and I won’t deny that the Madonna short movie played a part in making me fall for the E39.

Now Audi is following the same footsteps with a 6 part mini-series featuring Justin Timberlake, Dania Ramirez and the Audi A1. The mini-series is called The Next Big Thing and is directed by Swedish filmmaker Henrik Sundgren.

You will be able to find the first episode above, and the rest will be released every Tuesday every week for the next 5 weeks. We’ll be featuring each episode on this blog.

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Euromobil to double Audi sales figures, CKD coming soon?

May 5, 2010 at 12:44 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Audi, Cars, Local News

Euromobil Sdn Bhd, which recently secured the Audi franchise after years of being a key dealer, is aiming to more than double the sales of Audi cars this year – targetting 1,000 units from 2009′s 465 units. The bulk of these will be the A4 and the high in demand Q5 SUV.

“We obtained full distributorship status in February, so we are now the sole exclusive distributor of Audi cars in Malaysia,” said DRB-HICOM group director for automotive Datuk Nik Hamdan Nik Hassan. “The plan is for us to do the CBUs right to the maximum level before we embark on the CKD business to become No.2 or No.1 in the premium sector,” he added. It’s unknown what the “maximum level” is, however.

Audi owners will be happy to know that Euromobil will open a service centre at Jalan Chan Sow Lin in Kuala Lumpur this month. Nik Hamdan told reporters that the company will continue to expand its 3S centre network. He said this while flagging off the first export batch of locally assembled Suzuki Swifts to Brunei. The 1.5-litre Swift, which is put together in Pekan, will join the 1.3 model and Swift Sport in Brunei and is expected to sell at a rate of 10 units per month.

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Audi and Peugeot go head on in Le Mans full dress rehersal

May 4, 2010 at 2:24 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Audi, Cars, Motorsports, Peugeot

With Le Mans coming up fast (12-13 June), the front runners are preparing for it with warm up races. Peugeot and Audi factory teams are both having encouraging run ups without facing each other in their 2010 spec cars – the French team conquered 12 Hours of Sebring (pole, one-two finish and fastest lap) while Audi’s R15 TDI “Plus” won its debut race at Le Castellet, France. Both teams will now go head on in what’s widely considered as the “full dress rehersal” for Le Mans – 1,000 km at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend.

“We will compete with exactly the same line-up at Spa as we will a month later at the Le Mans,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr Wolfgang Ullrich. “For the team the race is primarily a dress rehearsal for Le Mans – but it’s a final assessment of where we stand as well.

“There’s no circuit in the world on which you can truly simulate the Le Mans track. Still, I do believe that at Spa it’s possible to get an idea of where you stand compared with the competition,” Ulrich added.

All nine Audi drivers for Le Mans participated in the 30-hour test at Le Castellet. At Spa, Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish will drive the No.7 R15. Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Treluyer (No.8) and Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Mike Rockenfeller (No.9) are the other two teams.

At the Peugeot camp, it’s “simulation work in race conditions” at Spa. The three factory 908 HDi FAP cars will be racing with numbers one (Anthony Davidson, Marc Gene, Alex Wurz), two (Nicolas Minassian, Franck Montagny, Stéphane Sarrazin) and three (Sébastien Bourdais, Pedro Lamy, Simon Pagenaud) with another privately run car by Oreca.

“The danger we face at Spa is that all the teams will be there, theoretically in Le Mans trim, and consequently ready. The message for everyone at Peugeot is clear: we have no intention of taking any risks on the track in Belgium. We do not want to jeopardize our build-up, and winning at all costs is not part of that programme.

“Our technical team needs to arrive in Le Mans in tip-top condition and they can do without the added fatigues of having to make repairs. Our aim at Spa is to fine-tune everybody’s respective roles, which include our pit-stop routine, refuelling, tyre changes and driver changes, which collectively promise to be decisive. We also need to work on our strategy, while our drivers will need to familiarise themselves with the 2010 field, especially with regard to the traffic and the sometimes perilous task of overtaking,” said Peugeot Sport Director Olivier Quesnal.

Peugeot’s driver lineup has a lot of combined Formula 1 experience while some Super GT regulars might recognise Audi’s Lotterer (Tom’s Petronas) and Treluyer (Nismo). It’s going to be a great battle; which team are you supporting?

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Audi R8 GT: More power, less weight, not bare bones

May 3, 2010 at 2:38 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Audi, Cars, International News

Audi has unveiled the ultimate R8, which is lighter, more powerful and faster. The R8 GT, which is limited to only 333 units, is about 100 kg lighter than the standard R8 V10 and comes with extra 35 bhp and 10 Nm. These combine for a 0-100 km/h time of 3.6 seconds and a 320 km/h top speed.

The standard R8 V10 is not a heavy car at 1,625 kg, thanks to its aluminum space frame body, so Audi has worked hard to shave the grams here. The GT’s windshield is made of thinner glass; the bulkhead between the passenger cell and engine compartment, as well as the rear hatch window are made of polycarbonate. These three items alone saved 9 kg. Other measures include a fixed rear wing (1.2 kg), thinner sheet metal and additional cutouts from the aluminum front hatch (2.6 kg) and a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) rear hatch (6.6 kg). The rear bumpers and sideblades are also made from CFRP.

Technical components weren’t spared. They shaved 1 kg from the power brake system, 4 kg from the aluminum caps of the brake discs and 9.4 kg from the battery. Audi engineers also gained 2.3 kg from the air intake module and 2.8 kg in the insulation materials. Inside, new carpets save 7.9 kg, while bucket seats with a glass-reinforced plastic chassis are a massive 31.5 kg lighter.

Obssesive? Yes, but the €193,000 R8 GT is not a luxury free, bare bones car either. Climate control, stereo and power windows are included, so is a navigation system with MMI. Most of the cabin is covered in Alcantara with contrasting stitching while the R8′s trademark cockpit arch is in matte carbon.

Audi’s 5.2-litre direct injection V10 engine makes 560 bhp and 540 Nm here, thanks to tweaks to the electronics. The hand built engine is paired to a six-speed R-tronic gearbox and power is goes to all wheels via Audi’s quattro AWD. The system sends 15% of power to the front axle and 85% to the rear in normal driving. Audi says that this ratio goes well with the R8 GT’s 43:57 weight distribution.

Gallery is after the jump.
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VIDEO: R8 Spyder promo features Ironman 2 footage

April 17, 2010 at 2:56 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Audi, Cars, Videos

Yes I didn’t get the title wrong – this is not an Ironman 2 trailer featuring the Audi R8 Spyder, it’s more of an Audi R8 Spyder ‘trailer’ featuring Tony Stark. Now this movie is a seriously must watch, even if you’re not interested in Tony Stark’s upgrade from the regular plain jane R8 to the new R8 Spyder which lets him enjoy countryside drives with the wind in his hair. Yes yes, he can easily don his suit and launch into the air but with his helmet on most of the time, this is probably the only ‘topless’ high speed experience he’s going to get most of the time!

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Audi A8L with W12 engine to make Beijing debut

April 16, 2010 at 11:12 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Audi, Cars, International News

The Chinese love everything long, when it comes to cars that is. China’s nouveau riche lust after German premium cars, but find them too constricting, which is why there’s a “L” version of every luxury car, from the Audi A4 to the Volvo S80, designed for China. Now Audi, which is the premium segment leader there, will debut the Audi A8L at the upcoming Beijing Motor Show, with long wheelbase and a 6.3-litre W12 engine.

This VW Group engine is called W12 because of its unusual layout: four rows of three cylinders with a 15-degree included angle between the two offset rows of cylinders in each broad cylinder block. The W12, in its latest 6,299 cc form, is an undersquare design. Engineers have enlarged the cylinder bore and added FSI direct injection; the latter needing considerable mods to the cylinder heads. Fuel is injected at a pressure of up to 130 bar. Compression ratio is a high 11.8:1.

Vital stats are 500 bhp and 625 Nm at 3,250 rpm. It gives the A8L a 0-100 km/h time of 4.9 seconds. Top speed is limited to 250 km/h. Audi says that the engine runs “exceptionally smoothly” and the A8L’s occupants are “unlikely to sense any of this supreme power at work unless it is at high engine speeds and severe loads”.

With an overall length of 5,267 mm, the A8L is 130 mm longer than the regular version. The wheelbase has grown by the same amount to 3,122 mm, and as you can see from the picture below, the extra room has been put to very good use. It shows a multi adjustable reclining seat where the boss is massaged by ten air-filled compartments; four programs can be selected via remote control. Feet can rest on a power-adjustable support at the base of the front passenger seat back. Between the seats is a full-length console that can be specified with things like a folding table or a refrigerator.

Other luxuries include roof-mounted grab handles and rear console in fine wood, Valonea leather tanned exclusively with plant extracts which is especially soft and able to “breathe” actively, panoramic glass roof and a Rear Seat Entertainment system with two 10.2-inch screens.

Gallery after the jump.
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Audi surpasses Mercedes in sales, next target is BMW

April 12, 2010 at 4:33 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Audi, Cars, International News


Audi is ambitious and aggressive. The brand with the four rings wants to overtake both BMW and Mercedes by 2015 to be the world’s leading luxury carmaker with sales of 1.5 million per annum. With the revelation of first quarter figures, Audi is right on track as it has surpassed Mercedes-Benz to take the No.2 spot in the premium sector for the very first time.

Ingolstadt’s sold 264,100 vehicles in Q1, up 26% compared with the same period last year. At the same time Daimler sold 248,500 Mercedes-Benz cars, while leader BMW is expected to release its numbers before the end of April.

Cruicially for Audi, which is the VW Group’s fattest cash cow, the improved numbers are due to success in rapidly growing markets such as China. Audi sold 51,449 cars in China in the first quarter compared to 34,179 for BMW and 24,100 for Mercedes, a fact that any visitor to cities such as Shanghai won’t be surprised to hear – it’s apparent from the eye. Audi is targeting 200,000 units in China for 2010, up from over 150,000 last year.

Although it won’t be smart to bet against Audi’s continued rise, the brand still lags behind BMW and Mercedes in another key market – USA. It does however have the baby A1 as a major weapon this year. Audi has high hopes for its MINI rival and expects 80% of buyers to be Audi virgins. The A1 is expected to contribute 100,000 units to annual sales in the future.

“With these sales results, we have even surpassed the comparative figures from our record year in 2008,” said Audi sales chief Peter Schwarzenbauer, adding that Ingolstadt expects “continued growth compared to last year” in Q2. Audi sold about 256,000 cars in the second quarter of 2009. Next target, BMW.

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