2003 Audi A4 3.0 Quattro on 2040-cars

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Mercedes chief invites Audi, BMW to compete in F1

Mercedes-Benz didn't just win the Formula One World Championship in 2014 – it positively dominated it. The team won all but three of the grands prix this season, scoring a one-two finish at more than half of them and landing at least one car on the podium at every race without exception. It goes without saying, then, that the German automaker thrives on competition, but now it's welcoming even more. Speaking with Germany's Sport Bild at its homecoming celebration in Stuttgart, Daimler chief Dieter Zetsche welcomed Mercedes' biggest rivals Audi and BMW to join it on the F1 grid. Noting that the three German brands share some 80 percent of the market for luxury automobiles, Zetsche said that F1 would make a natural arena of competition for Mercedes, Audi and BMW to fight for top bragging rights. The three currently compete against each other in front of home audiences in the DTM touring car series – effectively Germany's equivalent to NASCAR – but of the ten races held this year, the majority were in Germany itself, and all of them took place in Europe. BMW last competed in F1 when it bought the Sauber team in 2006, but withdrew from the series in 2009. Despite its progenitor Auto Union having fielded the famous Silver Arrows in pre-war grand prix racing, Audi has never been a player in modern F1 racing, though recent rumors have linked it to a potential foray – spurred by the arrival of sister-company Porsche on its home turf at Le Mans, the departure of several of its key endurance drivers and the hiring of former Scuderia Ferrari chief Stefano Domenicali. Porsche had similarly considered an F1 program before getting the go-ahead to compete with Audi at Le Mans. As for the prospect of Mercedes competing in other international racing series, Zetsche added that year-long preparations for 24 hours of racing at Le Mans didn't present a good cost-benefit ratio in his estimation, but that Formula E (where Audi currently supports a quasi-works entry) would be worth a closer look.

Audi teases Frankfurt reveal... is it the A8?

Audi has already rumored to have plans to reveal a 650-horsepower Sport Quattro Concept at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show in September, but it also seems that we'll be getting our first look at the 2015 Audi A8 as well. Based on a panned-out shot of a teaser video, we can clearly see that this is a new sedan model, so it makes sense that is the updated A8 since we've already seen recent spy shots of that car that seemed to be almost complete.
In the short video, all that we can definitely see is the Audi logo in the grille, a five-spoke wheel with cross-drilled, ceramic disc brakes and a small portion of the front fender that has an almost mirror-like shine. We'll find out for sure in September, but until then, check out the teaser video posted below.

2015 Audi A3 configurator is up and running

Potential customers for the new Audi A3 should set aside some time during their lunch breaks to head over and build their ideal example of the new sedan. The official configurator, complete with pricing and options, has gone live on the Audi website.
Customers can choose from three trim levels (Premium, Premium Plus and Prestige), while each trim can be had with either the Volkswagen Group's familiar 2.0-liter, turbocharged, 220-horsepower four-cylinder or a 1.8-liter, turbocharged, 170-horsepower four-cylinder. Buyers of the 2.0-liter will enjoy Quattro all-wheel drive while power for the 1.8T is channeled through the front wheels only. A six-speed, S-Tronic dual-clutch transmission is standard across the range.
You can check out full pricing on the A3 right here, but as a means of recap, the base Premium trim with the 1.8-liter engine starts at $29,900. A Premium Plus 1.8T starts $32,800 and the Prestige 1.8T will cost $38,700. Adding a 2.0-liter turbo and Quattro increases the price by $3,000, regardless of trim. Those prices don't include an $895 destination charge.