2007 Audi A4 Base Sedan 4-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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GM, Audi, Jaguar halt Russian sales amidst ruble's collapse

The value of Russia's ruble currency has sunk like a stone tossed in the Volga for much of the year, losing over 40 percent of its worth since June. The change is having bizarre effects on the auto industry there and leaving some automakers scrambling to adjust. According to Bloomberg, Russians are buying up luxury goods including automobiles at the moment to have a physical investment in case the ruble sinks further. However, with the money worth so little, the companies aren't making much from these transactions. Things are so dire that several automakers are temporarily ending deliveries until the situation stabilizes. According to Bloomberg, General Motors stopped sales on December 16 with no set date to start again. Audi did the same thing but with the intention to resume once it has adjusted model pricing. Jaguar Land Rover terminated business until December 19 to see how things changed. Toyota is increasing its pricing, as well, but keeping business open at the same time. Some automakers have subtly been reacting to the slumping Russian auto market all year. The moves have included Volkswagen cutting production by 30,000 units from its factory in Kaluga. Ford also got rid of 950 workers from two plants due to low demand. Some analysts have even speculated that the contracting industry and possibility of lower import duties into the country could cause companies to end their manufacturing in Russia completely.

Audi Sport sets up new shop in Neuburg

Racing fans may know Audi best for its Le Mans team that's positively dominated the endurance racing scene. But as formidable as its Le Mans program is, that's only one of the racing disciplines in which Audi competes. It also competes in the full FIA World Endurance Championship, as well as Germany's popular DTM touring car series and supports customer teams in GT racing series around the world. And now the competition division is getting a new headquarters.
Audi Sport has until now been based in an old supermarket near to the company's head offices in Ingolstadt, but is now moving into a brand new, state-of-the-art facility 12 miles to the west in nearby Neuburg. The result of some 20 years of planning and two years of construction, the complex covers 116 acres of land in Neuburg-Heinrichsheim and will house engineers, technicians and other staff who deal with the R18 E-Tron Quattro, the RS5 DTM and R8 LMS Ultra that compete the world over.
The facility was officially opened this past Saturday with participation from top Audi brass and local government officials and included demonstrations from all three of those racecars around the on-site test track. The works team has begun moving in and the customer racing department will move into its new Motorsport Competence Center in the first half of 2015.

Updated Audi R8 GT caught testing

When Audi introduced the refreshed 2014 R8, one of the first things we noticed was that the new R8 V10 Plus offers identical output to the outgoing R8 GT, suggesting that this limited-production model was either due to be cancelled or poised for a serious power increase. Fortunately, these spy shots have us suspecting that the latter is more likely.
Like the previous R8 GT, this new model will likely hit the gym, dropping some weight and packing more punch, but while that's all speculative, we do see that better handling is definitely in the cards. Aside from the aero-improving chin spoiler, fascia winglets and fixed rear wing, this R8 also has upgraded brakes with bigger calipers and what appear to be cross-drilled ceramic rotors. We hear output could be increased from the current 560 horsepower up closer to the 600-hp range, and laid to the pavement via Audi's Quattro all-wheel-drive system. It also very likely that Audi will keep production numbers for a 2014 R8 GT rather low, with the outgoing model limited to just 333 units globally.