2005 Audi A4 1.8t S-line Convertible - Fully Loaded - Low Miles *canada* on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Audi's Quattro division is now Audi Sport, and it has 8 new models on the way

Audi announced today that its Quattro GmbH performance and technology division will officially be renamed Audi Sport GmbH. The name change is the first since the division's introduction in 1983, and it should more clearly describe its function within the company and remove confusion with the Quattro all-wheel-drive system offered on all Audis, sporty or not. With its new name, Audi Sport will continue to handle the brand's RS models, the R8, customer race cars, customized road cars, and Audi Sport lifestyle products. While the clearer new name is good news, we're more interested in the division's announcement that it will release eight new cars in the next 18 months. The company didn't reveal exactly which cars these will be, but it did clarify which cars Audi Sport is currently responsible for. These include all variants of the RS 3, RS Q3 crossover, RS 6, RS 7, TT RS, R8, and S8 plus. Since the A4/S4 and A5/S5 models were just redone, we can guess that they will be next on the list for RS-ification, resulting in new RS 4 and RS 5 models. If that includes Sportback, coupe, and cabrio versions of the RS 5, and an RS 4 sedan and Avant, that would put us up to five already. Both the A6 and A7 have only seen a minor refresh recently, so it's likely that we'll see new versions of each soon followed by their own RS variants. However, whether those fit in the 18-month window will depend on how soon we see the standard models. Our other guesses are a bit fuzzier, and based completely on speculation. We could imagine one or two ultra-high-performance R8 models being announced – something like the last-gen R8 GT, perhaps offered in coupe and spyder forms – as well as RS versions of the other members in Audi's crossover fleet, the Q5 and Q7. It's also possible one of the models could be a new customer race car, since Audi Sport currently builds and sells the R8 LMS race car. At the very least, we know the Audi Sport folks are busy and people will no longer get them confused with an all-wheel-drive system. Related Video:

2015 Audi A8 rises to meet the challenge [w/video]

It's turnover time in the extra large premium sedan segment. With Mercedes having stuffed HAL 9000 in its new S-Class, other luxury marques are quickly updating their own super sleds to keep up with this persistent march of technology. While far from a full redesign, the Audi A8 has changed enough for 2015 in terms of styling, powertrains and new technology to keep it in the conversation.
For starters, the A8's exterior design has been redone, with the most noticeable changes happening up front. The trademark 'gaping maw' grille is a little less gaping, while the headlights now feature a straight lower edge of LEDs, excising the old model's droopy-eyed look. Speaking of headlights, Audi now offers optional Matrix LEDs, the latest in headlight tech, with 25 individual elements per side that can be turned on or off and dimmed as the situation demands. The rear of the A8 has also been resculpted and looks very much inspired by the derrière of the A7, with a single chrome strip connecting the new LED taillights.
The A8's full suite of powertrains has also been upgraded, with the supercharged 3.0-liter V6 now producing 310 horsepower (up 20 according to Audi, though down 23 compared to the US-spec 2013 model). The twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 is now rated at 435 hp, a solid 20-horse increase that lowers the car's 0-62 time to just 4.5 seconds. That's within spitting distance of the 520-hp S8's time of 4.1 seconds. That aforementioned super sport sedan's engine remains unchanged, as does the 6.3-liter 12-cylinder powerplant in the A8 L W12, but Audi's two diesel engines have both improved, with the 3.0-liter V6 producing an extra eight horsepower (256 total) and the 4.2-liter V8 gaining an extra 34 hp (385 hp) to go along with its more-than-adequate, though unchanged, 626.93 foot-pounds of torque.

Coming to America | 2018 Audi RS3 Sedan First Drive

Audi's Quattro division never let us have the giant-killing, all-wheel-drive RS3. Too sophisticated for the US, they said. Too European. And we only make it as a Sportback (that's hatchback to you). You wouldn't like it. You're more SUV kind of people. Others, those in Quattro's special we-like-you countries, bought the RS3 and constantly raved about it, insisting its handling made the Mercedes-AMG A45 look ponderous (because, well, it is), its packaging was terrific, and the noise, they said. The noise. Over and over, the noise. But ex-Lamborghini president Stephan Winkelmann is now the boss and he's brought with him a worldview that Quattro GmbH never had. And despite being busy changing the letterhead to Audi Sport, Winkelmann found time to think about America. And he must like us because he's moved us to the top of the list. Not only will we get the face-lifted RS3, with its new, lightweight five-cylinder turbo motor crunching out 332 pound-feet of torque and 400 horsepower, we'll get it in a crisply styled three-box sedan. And we'll get it first, before even Germany (where it's built). The RS3's 2.5-liter five-cylinder has enough power to hurl it to 62 mph in 4.1 seconds and, thanks to launch control, the ability to do so repeatably. It's coming with a 155-mph top speed that can be raised to 174. It's coming with limpet grip from a rear-biased all-wheel-drive system. It's coming with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission (and don't ask for a stick shift, because they haven't bothered to engineer one). It's coming standard (for the US) with constantly variable magnetic ride dampers, which replace the base fixed-rate steel spring-and-damper setup. But more than anything else, the RS3 sedan is coming here with that engine. It starts with a sharp braaap as it spins to around 4000 rpm and then a pop and bang that will wake the neighbors. And that's in the quieter default mode. It's like an angry man who always wakes up looking for a fight and, finding he can't get one, barks out the last word anyway. Except it never really goes quiet. It goes less loud, but not quiet. Quiet is not in the repertoire. The engine is what dominates this car and the noise dominates the engine. It's always there, always threatening, menacing, bellowing, barking, or popping and burbling. With a 1-2-4-5-3 firing order, the turbo five is a unique combination of belligerent and sophisticated, raucous and operatic, brutal and smooth, and often all of them at the same time.