Category: Audi

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Autostadt counts 18 millionth visitor

Autostadt, Wolfsburg, Germany

Car enthusiast heaven, otherwise known as the Autostadt, in Wolfsburg, Germany, recently saw its 18 millionth visitor through the turnstiles. Visitor numbers are nine years ahead of schedule. The Autostadt opened its doors on 1 June 2000, with predictions of 1 million visitors per annum. A figure which, in reality, has turned out to be 2 million visitors each year.

The Volkswagen Auto Group theme park has unique pavilions for all of the marques in its stable. That’s Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Seat, Skoda and, of course, Volkswagen. Also included is general auto museum featuring notable cars from outside the VAG history books, as well.

It’s a pretty amazing place, dominated by the twin glass car towers where buyers can collect their new cars from. You can get a taste of that experience from this previous AUSmotive article. If you get the opportunity I highly recommend a visit. Volkswagen’s press release can be read after the jump, along with a few happy snaps of my own from my visit in 2006.

Further information can be read at autostadt.de and volkswagen.com.

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Audi BMW Carmageddon Mercedes-Benz MINI News Volkswagen

Sackings force Karmann to file for bankruptcy

Karmann badge

Carmageddon has claimed yet another scalp with news filtering through that body specialists Karmann filed for bankruptcy overnight.

Best known for their stunning Volkswagen Karmann Ghia coupé, built from 1955–1974, the German coach-builders currently supply components and body work for convertible models to the likes of Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, MINI and Volkswagen. Contracts with Audi and Mercedes-Benz have either expired, or are coming to an end, and will not be renewed.

While Karmann doesn’t have huge debt hanging over its head, it is suffering the flow on effect from a worldwide drop in automotive sales. Many of its customers are planning to bring work back in-house, leaving Karmann in the lurch.

The company has plans to undertake a massive restructure that would see around 50% of its workforce laid off. This would require redundancy payments for over 2,000 workers, and it is these payments that Karmann cannot afford. By taking the voluntary bankruptcy route it is hoped a buyer can be found and the payments to workers can be saved.

[Source: Bloomberg & theSwitchback]

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Audi

Audi A5 Sportback

Audi A5 Sportback

Audi seems intent on extending its Sportback range, as these concept drawings show. The A5 Sportback is believed to have been confirmed by Audi insiders, but official details are as sketchy as the images above. The rumour mill suggests that an RS5 Sportback is also on the cards, likely to be powered by the 3-litre supercharged V6 from the next S4. Tasty!

Currently, the only Sportback models actually in Audi showrooms are the A3/S3 variations. However, concepts have been revealed for A1 and A7 models.

The addition of an A5 Sportback to Audi’s range seems to fly in the face of the current financial doom and gloom. It is the use of a modular longitudinal platform architecture that affords Audi such possibilities.

May as well pluck a date out of the air for possible production scheduling, but if we’re very lucky, the A5 Sportback could be revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. If that happens, expect European sales to commence in 2010. If you’d like to see this model sold in Australia, my guess is, you’d better start petitioning Audi now.

[Source: Fourtitude]

UPDATE 6 April:  AUSmotive understands the A5 Sportback is well underway at Audi. On that basis, don’t be surprised to see an official reveal very soon. If I was to wildly speculate I might suggest the New York International Automotive Show (10-19 April), or Auto Shanghai 2009 (20-28 April).

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Audi

Fourtitude: Audi S5 v Ur-Quattro

Fourtitude Audi S5 v Ur-Quattro

If you enjoyed AUSmotive’s Past Master piece on Audi’s seminal Ur-Quattro, then you will most likely get a kick out of this seemingly odd comparison by US Audi specialist website Fourtitude.com.

I say odd because the automotive industry has moved leaps and bounds in the 27 years that separate the release dates of the two cars. Not to mention that US-spec UR-Quattro’s were dumbed down by the tune of 40bhp in order to meet emissions targets. Forget those finer details, however, and enjoy the article for what it is, an appreciation of two fine cars from Ingolstadt. There’s an extensive photo gallery too.

[Source: Fourtitude]

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Audi Motorsports

Audi R15 TDI claims debut win at 12 Hours of Sebring

Audi R15 TDI

Audi’s new R15 diesel LMP racer has completed a perfect debut by taking out the Sebring 12 hour in the US over the weekend. The successor to the all conquering R10 set a new laps record, crossing the start/finish line 383 times and bettering the previous record by 13 laps.

The R15 is powered by a 5.5 litre V10 turbo diesel and is said to be good for a very handy 600bhp and a spine tingling 1050Nm of torque.

Audi’s #2 car, driven by Dindo Capello (Italy), Tom Kristensen (Denmark) and Allan McNish (Scotland), finished the race just over 22 seconds ahead of the Pegeout 908. The win marked Audi’s ninth victory at the Sebring event. The #1 R15 TDI took third place on the podium. A great result for the Audi Sport Team which arrived at the race with a less than ideal preparation, Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport, said “this is a great result for a brand new car which came to Sebring with less mileage under its wheels than we had planned. We’ve seen not only the fastest 12-hour race in Sebring history, but also one of the most exciting with so many lead changes and a very tight battle between Audi and Peugeot.”

The 12 Hours of Sebring was Audi’s dress rehearsal for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which takes place on the weekend of 13-14 June. Audi will be taking three R15 TDI prototypes to the event and will be testing their backsides off until the race weekend.

Audi’s press statement and numerous pics available after the jump.

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Audi BMW Drive Thru Reviews

Drive Thru: BMW 135i Coupé v Audi S3 Coupé

BMW 135i CoupeMY09 Audi S3
If you’re looking for a new car at the premium end of the small-ish coupé segment, two of the stand out choices are the Audi S3 and the BMW 135i. The current generation S3 has been in Australia since 2007, while the 135i was launched here about 12 months ago. The MY09 S3 range brings with it a minor facelift which consists of mostly cosmetic changes, although the engineers have had tinker as well. There is also the addition of a new five door Sportback option for those wanting improved practicality.

In the time since the 135i was launched it has swept all before it, earning a raft of praise from the world’s motoring media. The S3, on the other hand, seems almost invisible by comparison. At least, it certainly hasn’t generated the hype the 135i has enjoyed.

So, which is best—the fancy pants Golf wearing Audi clothes, or the little Beemer that could? AUSmotive took both cars out on its preferred test route in a back to back comparo to find out.

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Audi Past master

Past master: Audi ‘Ur-Quattro’

Audi UR quattro

Few cars have captured the public imagination or established a niche for a manufacturer as well as the original Quattro did for Audi. Indeed, now, the term quattro (with lower case ‘q’) is applied to any Audi with an all-wheel drive system. This, though, is the car that started it all for the Ingolstadt outfit.

Interest in the Quattro has been revived of late with the reveal of the TT RS, which has a punchy five cylinder turbo, just like the original. Both cars had their first public reveal at the Geneva Motor Show—the Quattro in 1980, the TT RS in 2009.

The Quattro was built from 1980 until 1991 and had three engine variations during that time. All featured the famous inline five cylinder turbocharged configuration, starting with a 2144cc 10v (1980–87), before getting a minor tweak to 2226cc (1987-89), which also improved low down torque. The final revision (1989-91) took the engine to a 20-valve DOHC setup, while keeping capacity at 2226cc.

While the road car in itself was something of a revolution, it was on the world rally stage that the Quattro really shook things up. Audi’s new technical masterpiece was able to exploit Group B regulations to their maximum, with the benefits of all-wheel drive pioneered by Audi leaving its rivals eating dust.

Like the road cars, the rally going Quattro received a number of updates throughout its life. Starting with the comparatively tame looking A1, A2 and Sport Quattro evolutions which helped bring back-to-back World Rally Championship success to Audi in 1983 and 1984. The follow up to these cars was the wild aero kitted Sport Quattro S1. In 1986 at the peak of their development the car was believed to have a power figure as high as 441kW (approx 600bhp). This is still considered to be the most powerful WRC car of all time.

The Audi factory team pulled out of WRC part way through the 1986 season, but the car continued to gain notoriety through its efforts at the famous Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado. Audi won the event three times on end from 1985 to 1987. This included world record times to Michèle Mouton (1985) and Walter Röhrl (1987).

To reflect on the Quattro one has to look past its awkward proportions and boxy shape and simply admire the technical prowess the car possessed. The Quattro has left a lasting legacy for Audi and the World Rally Championship.

To help further appreciate this legacy there are a number of images, YouTube clips and a few press releases from the Audi archives to boot. You might also like to check out the Ur-Quattro’s Wikipedia page for further detail.

UPDATE 4 April: A brief article on the Quattro appears in Issue 7 of Road Magazine.

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Audi

Audi TT RS image gallery

2009 Audi TT RS

It’s now a bit over two weeks since the TT RS was revealed in Geneva. Just in case you’d forgotten what all the fuss was about here’s a couple of dozen images and another sound bite to refresh your memory. As always in AUSmotive image galleries, click on each image to load your 2000x1320px wallpaper sized files.

The vital stats, of course, centre around the UR quattro inspired 2.5 litre five cylinder engine, which produces 250kW (340PS) and 450Nm of torque. The TT RS is expected to do the 100km/h sprint in the mid 4 second range, before topping out at 280km/h, if the option of removing the usual 250km/h speed limiter has been exercised.

The TT RS is due for European release in June. Australian readers will need to wait until the first quarter of 2010, or a little under 12 months from now. Australian pricing is currently a well guarded secret, but with the TTS list price hovering around the $100K mark, I reckon you’ll need to put aside at least $130K for the range topping RS. If you’ve got one on order, you might need to bookmark this page to help you get by.

More on the TT RS can be read here:

[audio:http://www.ausmotive.com/audio/TT-RS.mp3]
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Audi

Want a 340bhp hot hatch? It’s as easy as RS3!

Audi RS3 rendering

Ever since the official details of the Audi TT RS were revealed many have been wondering and hoping the 340bhp 2.5 litre 5 cylinder turbo might find it’s way into Audi’s S3 and morph into an RS3 hatch. That hope has been given a tasty turbocharged boost with reports claiming the RS3 is under consideration at Ingolstadt. The suggestion has been attributed to Michael Dick, Audi board of management for technical development.

The rendering above, which first surfaced on CarSpyShots last year, hints at expected RS styling cues with a deeper, more aggressive, front end capturing more air to feed the hungry turbo. While Audi RS cars are known for their flared guards, the ones above do seem a bit too overt compared to previous examples.

With the TT RS donating its 250kW/450Nm engine we can expect similar levels of performance, suggesting 0-100 times in the mid 4 second range with a possible top speed of 280km/h, if the usual 250km/h limiter is removed.

If the RS3 does go into production, it’s a safe bet to assume it will be a few years away yet. A new A3 is due in 2011 and it could be another two years after that before an RS3 would hit the streets. Until then we’ll just have to make do with hoping that Audi approves such a project.

Source: 4wheelsnews via WorldCarFans

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Audi Motorsports

Audi R8 LMS deliveries begin

Audi R8 GT3 LMS

Last August when the Audi R8 GT3 sports car was revealed you probably giggled with the excitement of a six-year-old like I did. Well, I’m pleased to say you can giggle some more as news of these awesome looking machines starting to reach customers.

Audi Sport Italia have been handed the keys to the Audi R8 LMS. The handover of chassis number 101, the first customer car, was made on Tuesday in the Audi Forum Neckarsulm. Emilio Radaelli, Team Manager of Audi Sport Italia, accepted the R8 LMS from Head of Audi Motorsport Dr Wolfgang Ullrich.

The R8 GT3 will make a dual race debut in mid-April with both the French GT Championship and the ADAC GT Masters starting on the same weekend (10-13 April). That marks the start of a long campaign for the new machines, with a full list of events available after the jump.

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Audi

Audi deals out excellence awards

Audi Centre Canberra

Usually when a press release from a manufacturer announcing internal awards reaches the AUSmotive inbox I’ll leave it be. But Audi Centre Canberra have been great supporters of this site, so it came as no surprise that they recently won Audi’s Provincial/Rural ‘Mark of Excellence’ award for the second year in a row.

This is great news for Dealer Principal Richard Rolfe who saw the opening of the new ‘Audi Terminal’ building in 2008.

Coincidentally, the Metropolitan winner, Audi Five Dock, also opened their new facilities in 2008. Full details after the jump.

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Audi Motor Shows

Geneva 2009 – Audi TT RS (due in Australia early 2010)

Audi TT RS

After teasing us with details in the lead up to Geneva, Audi has now published more details about the TT RS. Power from the slightly oddball, but delightfully sounding, 5-cylinder is rated at 340PS (250kW). There is 450Nm of torque available from just 1600rpm, ensuring there will be plenty of mid-range poke.

Audi claims the Coupé can reach 100km/h in 4.6 seconds (add 0.1 for the Roadster). Top speed is initially limited to 155mph (250km/h) but can be raised to 174mph (280km/h) for a fee. Not sure what that’s about, but details will no doubt be confirmed closer to the car’s European delivery, starting from June 2009.

An RS4 style Sport button, fitted near the gear shift, gives the exhaust and extra growl, while also improving throttle response. I’ve never really understood why these Sport buttons exist. Surely, Mr TT RS is going to want his five-pot growling as angrily as it can every time he turns the key (apologies to Ms TT RS who I am sure feels the same way).

As usual, more after the jump. To hear that exhaust note one more time…

[audio:http://www.ausmotive.com/audio/TT-RS-drives-off.mp3]

UPDATE 6 March: More pics of the TT RS on public view can be seen at the TT Forum—there’s interesting detail pics on offer, showing undertray, exhaust, interior and engine bay.

UPDATE 8 March: The TT RS is due for Australian release before the end of March 2010.

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