2009 Black/black Audi A4 Awd 2.0t Premium Sedan on 2040-cars

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Volkswagen Group names Paefgen head of classics program

You may remember the name Franz-Josef Paefgen. Until recently, the German engineer and executive was head of both Bentley and Bugatti. Before that he was chief executive of Audi, after working for several years at Ford. He technically "retired" earlier this year, but like the cars he helped create, an executive like Paefgen could never really retire. So it should come as little surprise that the Volkswagen Group has named Dr. Paefgen head of its Classic program.
In his new capacity, Paefgen will oversee the historic automobile activities of the entire VW Group, including those of Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda, Audi, Lamborghini, and of course Bentley and Bugatti. It strikes us as a suitable semi-retirement for the man responsible in no small part for the Bugatti Veyron and Bentley Mulsanne, to name just two, and who was decorated in 2006 by the ACO as the "Spirit of Le Mans" for his contribution to endurance racing. Read the official announcement after the break.

2014 Audi SQ5

No Diesel? No Problem
With the exception of a handful of markets (including the US), the Audi SQ5 was a pioneer for the company's S/RS performance line as it was the first model to wear the badge and also get diesel power. Our general "everything is better with a diesel" mentality was put to the test when we first heard we would be getting a non-diesel SQ5 in the US (despite the availability of the diesel-powered Q5 TDI here already), but as usual we can only blame our federal emissions standards. As Audi tells it, the SQ5 TDI engine would require AdBlue to meet US emissions regulations, and the packaging of such a system just wasn't possible, so the global SQ5's diesel engine was replaced by a gasoline-powered V6 borrowed from the Audi S4/S5. To show that little, if anything, was lost in translation from diesel to gas, we headed to southwestern Colorado to spend an afternoon with the all-new 2014 Audi SQ5.
Our drive program had us taking the SQ5 from Durango, CO to the city of Gateway, before heading to Grand Junction the next morning. There's nothing like spending five hours strapped into a seat, traversing hill and mountain, to truly test a vehicle's comfort and driving dynamics. From the first touch of the SQ5's push-button starter, we knew this was no ordinary Q5. As the engine came to life with a deep burble and raspy pops, and we spent the rest of the day trying to come to terms with the fact that not everything needs a diesel. Wait. What?!

2014 Nissan GT-R Track Pack squares off against Audi R8 V10 Plus

The team over at Motor Trend has pitted the new Audi R8 V10 Plus against the Nissan GT-R. While both of the bright red all-wheel-drive supercars are comparably matched in power output, the similarities end there. Audi offers a mid-engine aluminum coupe with a naturally aspirated V10 that spits out 550 horsepower. Nissan shows up with a more traditional coupe equipped with a 545-horsepower twin-turbocharged V6 at the front of the car.
The Head-to-Head video takes both cars to the Streets of Willow Springs in the California desert for some track work with professional racing driver Randy Pobst behind the wheel. After a day at the track, the pair head to the local mountains for some spirited real-world driving. One dominates on the circuit, while the other earns back its credibility in the canyons. We won't tell you which coupe comes out on top, but we think you may be surprised. Follow the link below to watch for yourself.