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Audi A3 E-Tron Sportback already getting residual value love

It's a tricky game, but the folks at Auto Bild and market research institute Schwacke are looking into the future. Through the mists of future time, they say that they think that buying an Audi A3 Sportback e-tron plug-in hybrid today is going to look like a smart buy in a few years. The German automaker likes what it sees in terms of resale value for the plug-in hybrid A3, Audi's first mass-produced plug-in, and the car has already been named a "Wertmeister." That's the "value champ" designation that Auto Bild hands out every year. Audi says the A3 e-tron has the "most stable residual value in its class," and is expected to retain more than 57 percent of its original value four years after rolling off the dealership lot. That gives the plug-in hybrid bragging rights to the "Wertmeister" award for the Compact Car category. Audi also won second place in the Full Size category with its Audi A6 Avant 3.0 TDI The German automaker started sales of the A3 e-tron last summer in Germany, pricing the model at about $51,500. The cars has 204 horsepower, can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than eight seconds and has an all-electric range of up to 31 miles. Check out Audi's press release below, and take a look at our First Drive impressions of the model here. Audi A3 Sportback e-tron is "Wertmeister 2015" Auto Bild crowns Audi A3 Sportback e-tron "Wertmeister 2015" Audi A6, Audi A7 and Audi Q3 also awarded top-three places Ingolstadt/Berlin, February 5, 2015 – the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron* is the car with the most stable residual value in its class. That was the conclusion drawn by Auto Bild and market research institute Schwacke. The A3 e-tron stands out with the best residual value forecast among the compact cars, receiving the title "Wertmeister 2015". Every year, Auto Bild and Schwacke select the cars in each class that are expected to depreciate the least during the following four years. The winners take the "Wertmeister" title. The Audi A3 Sportback e-tron is the winner in the "Compact Car" category with a residual value of 57.3 percent. The Audi A3 e-tron is the first plug-in hybrid from Audi. It combines sporty power with impressive efficiency and abundant driving enjoyment with unrestricted everyday utility.

Audi bringing TT Clubsport Turbo concept to Worthersee

Is the world ready for an Audi TT with 600 horsepower? Well it had better be, because that's exactly what Ingolstadt has in store for this year's GTI-Treffen at Worthersee, Austria. Billed as a "technology concept," this TT show car packs a 2.5-liter inline-five with two electric turbochargers. Audi is developing electric turbos for its diesel engines, but has found a performance application here in a gasoline engine. The result is a whopping 600 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque, driving all four wheels through a six-speed manual transmission. Weighing in at 3,078 pounds and with those electric turbos spooling up quick, it's said to reach 62 in 3.6 seconds en route to a top speed of over 192 miles per hour. In a TT. The turbos are powered by a 48-volt electrical system, juiced by a compact lithium-ion battery in the trunk that can store regenerated power. It's also got a coilover suspension and electric jack to get over obstacles like curbs and speed bumps. The whole thing rides on 20-inch alloys with a two-tone finish, with carbon-ceramic discs to keep it all in check, and as you can see, a rather aggressive-looking widebody aero kit. All of which makes for a rather stunning concept, even if its encroachment on the R8 means it will likely never see production. Related Video: Ingolstadt/Reifnitz, 2015-05-08 Tremendous thrust right from the start: the Audi TT clubsport turbo technology concept car - Premiere at Worthersee: show car has 2.5 TFSI and electric biturbo - 441 kW (600 hp) and 650 Nm (479.4 lb-ft), 0 to 100 km/h (62.1 mph) in 3.6 seconds - Development chief Prof. Dr. Hackenberg: "Technology close to production readiness" Wide add-on parts, a powerful rear wing and a power output of 441 kW (600 hp) – the Audi TT clubsport turbo impresses with its power and design. From May 13 to 16, Audi will be showing its technology concept car on the Worthersee Tour in the Austrian town of Reifnitz. The inspiration for the show car came from the successful Audi 90 IMSA GTO of the late 1980s. A new technology is making its debut under the hood. The car's electric biturbo adds even more dynamism to the driving experience with its spontaneous response. "The electric biturbo signifies a new dimension in driving enjoyment; it boosts sprinting ability and torque and enables high peak power," explains Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Audi Board Member for Technical Development. "In our TDI engines, we are close to production readiness with this technology.

Watch this Audi RS6 go 208 mph... on ice

In and effort to promote the high-speed grip of its new Hakkapeliitta 8 winter tire, Nokian threw a set of its new rubber on a race-prepped Audi RS6 and got moving - very, very quickly. In fact, on March 9 on top of the very frozen Gulf of Bothinia near Oulu, Finland, Nokian's test driver Janne Laitinen set a new world record for the fastest speed recorded driving on ice. If you'll recall, this isn't the first time that Audi and Nokian have played this game, either.
Using the guidelines set forth by the Guinness Book of World Records for such things, Laitinen averaged 208.602 miles per hour (335.713 kilometers per hour) over the course of two runs on natural, untreated ice. Another constraint is that the ice speed record must be done using commercial available tires, which is obviously great PR for the new Hakkapeliitas. The press release doesn't make any mention of how the RS6 was prepared to reach such high velocities, but the images of the car make it clear that this is no stock machine. Scroll on below to see the impressive video evidence of the Audi's record run.