3.2 Quattro 1 Owner Sarasota, Florida Car. Perfect Carfax History on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Audi supercar not yet approved, R4 not quite dead, still room for an MPV

According to a report by Autocar, all we thought we knew of the in-development Audi supercar we might not actually know. A piece in Car and Driver, not even a month old, said the diesel-hybrid halo car was in the design stages, would get the engine from the R18 E-Tron Quattro and its carbon fiber tub. Now we get word that that while the coupe is indeed being designed, it hasn't yet been signed off and there's no business case for it yet. Said business case, whenever it is built, is also dubious of the diesel aspect of the car at the moment - diesels aren't known for creating Pavlovian purchase responses in buyers in the two key markets of the US and China.
The report suggests that instead of a diesel, the 2014 Le Mans regulations changes "could swing the favour back towards petrol models," which would give the so-called Scorpion a better tie to racing technology. Of course, that also assumes that Audi would contest next year's Le Mans with a gas-powered car. If so, that would be an about-face on the original reasons for the halo sportscar in the first place.
In other news, seems Audi also believes it can slot another sportscar below the R8, it just needs to get the financials sorted. The R4 - a Porsche Boxster-sized roadster - that has been chattered about for years is still in on the table but appears a long way off. Company R&D chief Wolfgang Durheimer said it would need to be mid-engined and bring plenty of tech to separate itself from the TT, but mass-market price point is the catch as is the focus on other segments in the portfolio.

Audi builds 5-millionth vehicle with Quattro

Quattro, the trademark name Audi has put on its all-wheel-drive system engineered for passenger vehicles, recently celebrated its five-millionth installation. The driveline has been offered in more than 140 different vehicles since its introduction more than three decades ago.
The all-wheel-drive technology made its world debut at the 1980 International Geneva Motor Show, beneath the floorpan of the Quattro Coupé, a low-volume two-door. It didn't take consumers long to embrace Audi's innovative approach. While most four-wheel-drive systems at that time utilized heavy transfer cases or second cardan shafts, Quattro was virtually tension-free, light, compact and efficient. Most importantly, enthusiasts found it was especially suitable for sports cars.
Today, the automaker offers Quattro on its full line of passenger vehicles and it is unquestionably successful (the technology enjoyed a 43 percent take rate in 2012). On models with transverse-mounted engines (A3 and TT), Audi uses an electronically controlled multi-plate clutch with hydraulic actuator. Under normal conditions, the clutch sends power almost exclusively to the front wheels (if wheel slippage occurs, up to 100 percent of the torque may be sent to the rear). Vehicles with transverse-mounted engines (A4, A5, Q5, etc...) use a self-locking center differential sending 40 percent of the engine torque to the front axle and 60 percent to the rear under normal conditions (it is able to send the majority of the power to the axle with better traction when needed). The highest-performing Quattro systems use torque vectoring to further improve cornering grip and speeds.

Audi testing long-tail version of R18 e-tron quattro for Le Mans

Race teams are always looking for ways to shave hundredths of seconds of their lap times. Case in point: Audi is making some slight changes to its prototype racecar to make it ever so much more slippery as it cuts through the air.
Debuting at the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship at Spa on May 4, Audi will be testing a long-tail version of its R18 E-tron Quattro racecar. As its name suggests, the long-tail car gets a lengthened rear section with the goal of improving aerodynamics. The long-tail will be run alongside the standard version of the racecar as a testbed for possible changes that might be in store, heading into the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Audi did not say how many inches were added to the racecar, but as you can see in the image above, "long-tail" definitely doesn't take on the same meaning of classic long-tail cars of the past such as the Porsche 917. More information about the car, Audi's team and even some info about the track itself can be found below.