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Filed under: SUVs , Audi click for a gallery of shots from Day Three of the marathon Day Four is upon us and we're on our way out of Chicago. We've got one of our longest days of the trip today, with a 550-mile run to Memphis for some BBQ. In Chicago we had our first driver crew swap. The first of four legs is over and a predominantly new group of drivers is taking over the diesel Audis as we move on to Dallas, Amarillo and Denver on Sunday. The nature of this trip is predominantly highway running punctuated by lunch and overnight stops in the various cities along the route. That means the diesels are truly in their element... and it shows. Diesels love steady state running and there is no way even the sophisticated two-mode hybrid system in the Chevy Tahoe can get anywhere near 30 mpg even on a long highway cruise. We're seeing up to 33 mpg in the Q7s and 38 in the Q5s. The A4s and A3s are topping 44 and 50 mpg respectively. Of course, around town those numbers drop off, but...
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Filed under: SUVs , Audi , Event Alert Click for a high res gallery of the mileage marathon vehicles It's been a few years since Audi sold diesel-powered cars in the U.S., but that's about to change. After three years of showing what diesel is capable of at Le Mans and in the ALMS, Audi will introduce a diesel-powered Q7 TDI sometime in early 2009. Before that happens, Audi wants to show America what kind of mileage its diesel lineup gets in the real world. To do so, the German automaker has assembled a fleet of 23 vehicles including the coming Q7, the Q5, A4 and A3. Currently the Q7 is the only Audi diesel announced for the U.S. although the company has acknowledged that it's considering other models. A motley collection (aren't all groupings of journalists motley?) of 184 journalists and guests from around the world have been invited to drive the fleet across the continent from New York to Los Angeles in four legs with the goal of seeing who can get the best real world...
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Filed under: SUVs , Euro , Audi Click above for a hi-res gallery of the Audi Q7 V12 TDI The Audi Q7 V12 TDI is set to launch (but not here in the U.S.), and it's just the thing to give that annoying neighbor with his fancy VW Touareg V10 TDI a debilitating inferiority complex. 500 horsepower and approximately enough torque to counter-rotate the Earth (758 lb-ft) come standard on Audi's diesel monster. 21-inch wheels mask carbon ceramic brakes, LED running lamps help light the way, and the interior is a festival of dead cow, TV screens, and Alcantara, all trimmed neatly in aluminum and carbon fiber. If we were, say, Russian gangsters, we'd totally be driving one of these. (Except Neff, who would undoubtedly, stubbornly continue rolling in the Alero.) In conjunction with the launch, Audi dumped a slew of new pictures on its media site, so here they are. Click away. Gallery: Audi Q7 V12 TDI [Source: Audi] Continue reading Pics Aplenty: Audi Q7 V12 TDI Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Tuners , SUVs , Euro , Audi Click above for a hi-res gallery of the ABT Q5 Every time a new Volkswagen or Audi is released, German tuner ABT Sportsline can be relied upon to come up with performance and appearance packages to enhance them. The latest ride to get attention is the Audi Q5, and as you can see in the renderings ABT sent out, the body kit helps matters, because the showroom-trim Q5 is actually pretty vanilla-looking . The new visuals are backed up by a modified suspension, a 20" wheels, more braking power, and power packages for each available engine. Depending on which mill is nestled underhood, horsepower in the ABT-tuned Q5 ranges from 240 horsepower for the 2.0 TFSI all the way up to 310 horses for the 3.0 TDI with the Power S package. Gallery: ABT Sportsline Audi Q5 [Source: ABT Sportsline ] Continue reading ABT Sportsline tweaks the Audi Q5 Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: SUVs , Green , Audi , Porsche Many will cringe at the idea of a diesel-powered Porsche, but since Stuttgart rolled out its first SUV, we've all had a while to get used to the idea. Although previous speculation held on to hopes that Porsche might employ a more powerful 3.2-liter oil-burner, reports now indicate that the Cayenne diesel will employ Audi's 240-horsepower 3.0-liter TDI V6. Expect the diesel Cayenne to debut next March, following a probable launch at the 2009 Geneva auto show. [Source: Automotive News Europe - subs. req'd] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: SUVs , Plants/Manufacturing , Audi , Porsche , Volkswagen Click above for a high-res gallery of the Porsche Cayenne GTS. As much as we enjoy scouring through German newspapers, something inevitably gets lost in translation. However, the title of a story in Germany's Handelsblatt ePaper is clear: Volkswagen is considering building Porsche Cayennes at its new plant in the U.S. While VW hasn't made a decision on the plant yet, it's been confirmed that the automaker is looking at locations in Alabama, Michigan and Tennessee to produce 150,000 units annually, including the Jetta and an all-new Passat-sized sedan. How the Cayenne fits into that equation remains a mystery, but the idea that VW and Audi could shift production of its Touareg and Q7 Stateside means that building the Cayenne in the U.S. is a distinct possibility. Gallery: 2008 Porsche Cayenne GTS [Sources: Handelsbatt (Google-translated), Autoweek ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Car Buying , Sedans/Saloons , SUVs , Tech , Audi , BMW , Lexus , Mercedes Benz As we reported last month , it appears BMW and Audi, following the lead of Lexus, will begin to offer eight-speed automatic transmissions in their flagship models. Sources are now saying the transmission will be supplied by ZF Friedrichshafen, a familiar German supplier to both marques. Although we don't know all of the specifics, Audi is expected to debut the new slushbox in the range-topping A8 sedan , Q7 SUV , and their future A7 premium model . BMW will likely debut the new gearbox in their premium 7-Series sedan and the X6 Sport Activity Vehicle , according to company sources. The current Audi A8 and BMW 7-Series both use six-speed automatics. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class utilizes a seven-speed automatic of their own design, while Lexus debuted their eight-speed transmission (used in their LS models) four years ago. Increasing the number of forward gears offers advantages in smoothness, acceleration...
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Filed under: Car Buying , SUVs , Audi , Misc. Auto Shows Click above to view high-res gallery of the Audi Q5 with new images Audi released the other half of its Q5 glamour shots over the weekend. We've updated the gallery with all of the images we could get our hands on ( you can switch to a "high-res" view with the button on the upper right corner - perfect for saving desktops ). Audi also tossed in several shots from the Q5's world introduction at the Beijing Auto Show. We always get a kick out of the designers, engineers, and executives standing around like beaming new parents. From our perspective, the Q5 looks like a typical Audi, the designs of which are beginning to lose their visual punch after having been spread across so many models. Gallery: Beijing '08: 2009 Audi Q5 [Source: Audi] Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: SUVs , Crossovers/CUVs , Audi , Misc. Auto Shows Click above for a high-res gallery of the Audi Q5 For months now we've seen spy photos and heard speculation about Audi's new Q5 CUV. Now, we finally have the official news on the latest entry from Ingolstadt. Unlike its big brother the Q7, the Q5 doesn't share an architecture with a VW model. The Q5 utilizes the same underpinnings as the A5 coupe and A4 sedan/wagon. That means the Q5 has a longitudinally mounted engine rather than the transverse powerplant found in the smaller VW Tiguan. While we were in Germany to drive the new A4, Audi invited us into their design center in Ingolstadt to check out their new virtual reality design system and have a look at the Q5 in the metal, prior to its official coming out party in Beijing. Compared to the Q7, the Q5 looks substantially more compact than its hefty sibling and is much tidier design overall, keeping with Audi's current pretensions of being a premium sporting...
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Filed under: Spy Photos , SUVs , Euro , Audi Our sources indicate this rendering from OmniAuto.it is very close to what Audi's upcoming Q5 will look like. Although this looks like a photograph on an Italian web site, it is really a rendering that looks nearly identical to the Q5 spy shots we showed you in February . When it debuts later this month at the Beijing Motor Show , expect the engine to be a longitudinal (north-south) mount, to allow a variety of powerplants including V8 and TDI derivatives. Thanks for the tip, Andrea! [Source: OmniAuto ] Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , SUVs , Green , Audi While premium hybrid SUVs haven't proven their worth in the U.S. market yet, automakers will have a good fix on whether or not offering a gasoline-electric hybrid 'ute is good business sense in the coming years. Audi has apparently already made the call, and after studying the business case and watching the U.S. dollar tank, it's decided that the Q7 hybrid SUV is not bound for U.S. shores. "It was a very hard car to make the numbers work," according to Johan de Nysschen, Audi's brand head in the U.S. "We will not do the hybrid Q7 as a conventional product offering," de Nysschen continued, saying only that a few hybrid Q7s will make the trek across the pond and find their way into the hands of "commercial" entities. However, all is not lost for a fuel-sipping version of Audi's land yacht, with the eminent arrival of the diesel Q7 in the next year or so, the SUV will spearhead Audi's...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , SUVs , Geneva Motor Show , Audi Click to view the Audi Q7 V12 TDI Coastline in hi-res The Audi Q7 Coastline is not the first attempt at infusing an automobile with a nautical theme, but it very well might be the most exquisite execution we've seen to date. Forget about automotive mishaps like the Mercury Villager Nautica edition and the Plymouth Breeze, this concept rivals even the teak-decked Rolls-Royce Phantom DropHead Coupe for dockside prowess. In fact, a Maserati convertible parked at a Monte Carlo marina would be jealous. This writer, meanwhile, would be hard-pressed to upstage Alex Nunez's poetic waxing for maritime prose in his preview post , but the pearl white sport-ute makes me feel like picking up the clear-coat polish and teak oil just the same. As you can see in our gallery of high-resolution images, Audi set up an exceptionally photogenic dedicated showroom off the Geneva show floor to showcase the 500hp V12 TDI that would be right at...
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Filed under: SUVs , Geneva Motor Show , Green , Crossovers/CUVs , Audi Click above for high-res gallery of the Audi Q7 V12 TDI Audi may not have any current plans to offer the monster R8 V12 TDI it showed in Detroit to consumers, but that doesn't mean the 12-cylinder oil burner is going to waste. We first saw Audi's 6L V12 diesel mounted in a Q7 V12 TDI concept at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show , and now it looks like it will be heading to showrooms. Volkswagen's southern branch will be offering the Q7 V12 TDI quattro to customers with enough cash, although exactly how much lettuce will be needed is unknown at this point. Audi plans to start taking pre-orders for the 758 lb-ft, all-wheel-drive seven-seater in the second half of this year. The Germans also haven't said if U.S. dollars will be acceptable for the transaction or Euros will be required. What we do know is that mind-boggling torque figure and the 500 hp peak coming from the V12 oil burner. Even in this large, high...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Convertibles , Coupes , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Sports/GTs , SUVs , Geneva Motor Show , Paris Motor Show , Crossovers/CUVs , Hatchbacks , Supercars , Audi The Audi Club of North America puts out a publication aptly titled the Quattro Quarterly that gives Audi owners the inside skinny on everything from future products to how to swap bigger brakes into their B5 S4. One of our intrepid readers, Kevin, sent us a few scans of the QQ's latest issue, where it outlines Audi's product plans for the next five years. While some of it has already been confirmed, other interesting factoids, including the future of the R8, RS-TT and the development of an R4, have long been rumored on these very pages. Follow the jump for the full breakdown on what Audi has in store, but be aware that we're handing out grains of salt below the fold. Continue reading Quattro Quarterly lays out Audi's five-year plan for world domination Read | Permalink |...
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Filed under: Aftermarket , Tuners , Coupes , Sedans/Saloons , Sports/GTs , SUVs , Euro , Supercars , Audi , Volkswagen , Misc. Auto Shows Click image for a gallery of Abt's Essen roster German tuning house Abt Sportsline brought everything and the kitchen sink to the Essen Motor Show, and rather than present it piecemeal, we figured we'd put the whole megillah out for you in one shot. From A4 to Touareg, the latest hardware from VW and Audi has been worked over with appearance and suspension mods. Most boast notable power upgrades as well. Yes, we'll even revisit the (unfortunately) red-and-green-trimmed Abt R8, which we first talked about last week . If you're looking for a Christmas-themed supercar, or if you're a really nostalgic New Jersey Devils fan , it might just fit the bill. Follow the jump for the rundown on all things Abt at Essen. [Source: Abt Sportsline] Gallery: Abt Sportsline: Essen 2007 Lineup Continue reading Roundup: Abt Sportsline at the Essen Motor...
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