Category: Audi

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Audi

Audi continues the RS3 tease

Audi RS3 prototype

Is this another RS3 prototype that has been spotted on roads near the Nürburgring? First we need to establish if Audi actually have plans to release an RS3 model at all. We’ve been teased enough, for long enough to suggest it could happen. The first rumour I heard from a credible source of a possible RS3 release was around five years ago. Last year it was reported that Michael Dick, Audi technical development boss, had said the idea was under consideration. So will the RS3 happen?

We saw the supposed leaked confirmation on Twitter last year suggesting the RS3 would be revealed at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. As we know that turned out to be false. Was it a total hoax, or just mis-timed? Given the other information floating around, I would tend to think the latter.

Back to these latest spy shots (follow link to WCF below for more). You can see there are larger front air intakes, indicating the car could be fitted with the 250kW 2.5 litre five cylinder from the TT RS. It also appears that there could be slotted rotors up front. While the inset pic above is not conclusive, it would explain why the test mule has different wheels at the front and back. Brake clearance the likely explanation.

Whatever the real truth is, just stand up with me and demand Audi makes an RS3. And that they do use the snarling five pot from the TT RS.

One last question, if the RS3 is made, will it be the last hurrah for the 8P platform, or a stunning way to launch the next-generation? Going on previous RS model releases you would expect Audi to use the RS3 as a last hurrah on the current gen chassis. If that’s the case, then we should have an answer to all this speculation sooner rather than later. I would expect a new A3 to be in showrooms by 2012. So, then, get ready for some wild RS3 speculation in the run in to October’s Paris Motor Show.

[Source: World Car Fans | Pics: SB-Medien]

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Audi

Audi R8 GT3 prototype spied

Audi R8 GT3 protoype

This flared and angry beast you see before you is understood to be an Audi R8 GT3 prototype. With matt black paint, and even wider sideblades this V10 powered coupé looks sensational.

Also of note on the bodywork is a revised front splitter with two small fins on either side to aid downforce. At the back you see a fixed rear wing, and some more aero work on the rear valance. Two enlarged round exhaust tips also let you know that this is no ordinary R8 V10, if there is such a thing.

Spotted on roads near the Nürburgring you can expect Audi to be dialling in lots of data learned from their 24 hour race debut last year where they almost took home the chocolates.

[Source: Autocar | Pic: CarPix]

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Audi

Another RS5 review

Audi RS5

[First filed 19 April]

Car and Driver were in attendance at the recent Audi RS5 launch in Spain. Obviously this meant they got some time behind the wheel of Audi’s new super coupé with the freedom offered by the wonderful Ascari race resort.

Here’s a snippet from their generally very positive article:

“The handling is definitely what one would call forgiving, and at the limit, you appreciate the improvement from the more nose-heavy Audis of yore. We won’t say whether the RS5 will trump the benchmark BMW M3 just yet, but we think it’s going to be one hell of a fight”

You can read the rest of Car and Driver’s piece by following the link below. The RS5 has a lot to live up to, especially if, as I fear, there is no new RS4 in the works. So, can Audi’s latest RS model keep up the promising feedback, or will it ultimately get close to its rivals and fall short?

[Source: Car and Driver]

UPDATE 22 April: Winding Road have filed their report from Spain now. They reckon the RS5 is the duck’s guts, declaring, “This is easily the best Audi RennSport-level experience we’ve yet had.” That’s some compliment. They also say the RS5 should take it right up to its Mercedes and BMW rivals.

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Audi Motorsports

Do a skid!

Audi DTM donuts

Doing burnouts on public roads is bad, m’kay. Just ask Lewis Hamilton. But burning a bit of rubber on a street that is blocked off and surrounded by advertising hoardings is just fine and dandy. Good thing, then, that a couple of the Audi DTM pilots obliged at last weekend’s 2010 season launch in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Timo Scheider, Oliver Jarvis and Mattias Ekström are the guys behind the wheel and you can check out their handiwork after the break.

[Source: quattroholic]

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Audi

Five RS5 videos

Audi RS5

Following written reports of the Audi RS5 from Autocar and Car and Driver come these five videos filmed by motoring hacks at the RS5 press launch, held at the Ascari Race Resort in Spain. There’s a mix of aggressive and timid on track action, as well as some footage filmed on the fun looking winding roads near the Ascari track.

As far as the handling and performance of the RS5 goes not a lot is given away in the clips that follow, suffice to say the car does seem quite well balanced, its 4.2 litre V8 sounds pretty nice and the 7-speed S tronic does seem willing to bounce of the rev limiter, rather than forcing the driver to endure an unwanted upshift.

If nothing else you get a pretty good idea of the elevation changes on the track layout used for the launch. You also get to see some not so special overtaking moves on a public road.

UPDATE 21 April: Better make that SIX videos—a new clip filmed on public roads has been added below.

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Audi

2010 Audi RS5

Audi RS5

The international media launch of the Audi RS5 took place in Spain today and while AUSmotive wasn’t in attendance we can bring you the latest images from Audi’s press archives. There’s 75 of the blighters for you after the break, all accessible as 2000px super size images. An extensive press release from Audi should keep you busy, as well.

In case you needed reminding the RS5 is powered by a naturally aspirated high rev 4.2-litre V8 FSI. The RS5 produces peak power of 331kW (450PS) at 8250rpm, with maximum torque of 430Nm available from 4000-6000rpm. Coupled with a specially reinforced 7-speed S tronic transmission the RS5 is able to accelerate to 100km/h in 4.6 seconds. This is the first of Audi’s RS models to be fitted with a double clutch transmission. At this stage, there is still no word on a manual gearbox option.

The RS5 will be available in a total of eight colors: Ibis White, Suzuka Gray, Monza Silver, Misano Red, Sepang Blue, Daytona Gray, Phantom Black and custom blended Panther Black reserved for Audi’s high-performance machines.

Naturally the RS5 features a quattro all-wheel drive system. There’s some new trickery hidden inside the RS5 quattro, too. Including a crown-gear centre differential with torque vectoring and an optional sport differential. You can get more of an insight into those systems through a couple of YouTube clips—available here.

For now, though, feast your eyes on some very tasty images thanks to Audi. When you’re done here check out Top Gear’s coverage of today’s launch.

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Audi

Audi Centre Canberra acknowledged for excellence

Audi Centre Canberra

The Audi Mark of Excellence awards were held earlier this month and Audi Centre Canberra was named the Metropolitan Dealer of the Year for 2009. This is the third major award for the Canberra dealership after winning the Provincial category for 2007 and 2008. Audi Centre Canberra happens to be my local dealership and after adding one sale to their tally last year I can say that Richard and his team do a great job servicing the Canberra region.

Audi Centre Townsville took out the Provincial award for 2009, a great boon for the dealership after opening a new showroom just over 12 months ago.

Further details after the jump.

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Audi

Autocar drives the Audi RS5

Audi RS5

Autocar is one of the first publications to get their hands on Audi’s new RS5. With a revised 4.2 litre V8 sourced from Ingolstadt’s famed RS4 and a svelte coupé body can the RS5 match the rave reviews of its sedan and wagon siblings? Here’s a grab of what reviewer Jamie Corstorphine had to say:

“Is the RS5 a car you would drive with no destination in mind? Like almost every other Audi, it feels like a piece of heavy machinery, one with deep reserves of engineering capability, but it is also one of the rare Audis that also has a fluidity and delicacy to it. I’d stop short of saying it would be a car I would choose to take on a track day, but for a non-stop return trip from London to the top of Scotland, there are few cars I would be happier to be in.”

Follow the link below for the full review.

[Source: Autocar]

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Audi

Flaming heck

Audi TTRS v R8 V10

The Audi TT RS and the R8 V10. Two very, very nice cars. Most readers would pick the R8, right? But what if you could only muster the cash for the slighty oddball five cylinder powered TT RS, would you really be missing out on that much?

In rough UK numbers the R8 V10 is £100K, the TT RS around £50K. So, there is, obviously, a huge discrepancy in price. In Aussie dollars the numbers look even more insane, the R8 V10 starts at $350K, that’s heading towards triple the asking price of the $135K TT RS. Does the mighty R8 have the performance to justify its massive gap in asking price compared to the TT RS? That’s a question Steve Sutcliffe from Autocar asked. You can watch his answer in video form after the jump.

[Thanks to Timbo for the tip]

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Audi

Audi TT facelift – official details

Audi TT

Audi have just given its TT range a bit of a freshen up. To be introduced with Model Year 2011 production the changes are mostly minimal, with subtle styling tweaks for the exterior and interior. Most obvious on the outside is the new lower spoiler design at the front. There’s a new chrome detail for the foglights, too, just in case you missed it.

New front grille treatments have been added to the TT and TTS models and the rear bumpers across the range have been tweaked to match the styling cues up front.

Inside there’s a few extra bits of aluminium and piano black trim, but that’s pretty much it. The TT’s colour palette has been fiddled with meaning there’s more options to choose from, inside and out.

The most significant changes have been made to the engine line up. Mostly, though, this just brings the TT inline with the rest of the Audi range. For example, the old 3.2 V6 has been dropped, the 147kW 2.0 TFSI has been swapped in favour of the 155kW version found in the Golf GTI, and so it goes. Hmm, I was under the impression these engine tweaks took place with the MY10 round of updates. Maybe not.

There’s more pics and Audi’s full press release available after the jump.

UPDATE: 39 extra images added at the end of the article.

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Audi Motorsports

Audi refreshes R15 Le Mans racer

Audi R15

Audi Sport is in full swing with its preparations to win back the Le Mans 24 hour race. However, rather than boasting of new technical changes, or improvements to Team Joest’s R15 racer, they are announcing the car has a new paint scheme. Along with the image shown above, there are detail images shown after the break.

Supposedly the new paint job demonstrates “pleasure in efficiency”. Markus Auerbach and Tobias Drews from the Audi Design Team tell us, “We wanted to add a dash of surprise when the Audi leaves the pits at Le Mans. We practically opened up the bodywork and are exposing the light-weight construction and its uncompromising technical development – and with a little rock’n’roll for good measure.” Okay, then. Moving right along.

The R15 will continue its development during an 8 hour race at Paul Ricard later this week, so we can expect to see more of this car soon. In the meantime, check out the teaser pics below along with Audi Sport’s press release.

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Audi

Audi R8 V10 – World Performance Car 2010

Audi R8 V10

In further news from the World Car of the Year awards the Audi R8 V10 has been named 2010’s World Performance Car. The R8 has double dipped with this title after the R8 4.2 V8 was awarded the same honour back in 2008.

The R8 knocked off some very stiff opposition to win this award, too. Joining the Audi in the final three was the Ferrari California and the Porsche 911 GT3.

The V10 powered R8 is fitted with a 5.2 litre direct injection engine, closely related to the powerplant used in the Lamborghini Gallardo. The unit develops and impressive 386kW and the car can reach 100km/h in under four seconds. Readers are invited to send in next week’s lotto numbers to AUSmotive HQ at your earliest convenience.

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