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Audi exec denies plans for turbo R8

Sometimes smoke doesn't lead to fire. Rumors indicated Audi might drop a turbocharged engine into the latest R8, but now a top executive is throwing a bucket of cold water onto the burning speculation. "The performance potential of this current engine means we don't need to even look at turbocharging at this point," Jurgen Konigstedt, Audi development boss for V6, V8, and V10 engines, said to CarAdvice. He also said sticking with natural aspiration offered a better sound and sharper throttle response than going with forced induction. "There is less emotion with a turbocharged engine," he said. Konigstedt admitted there was a serious discussion about turbocharging the R8. The argument just didn't win out. "If we feel that people absolutely want a turbocharged engine, then we will have to consider it," he said to CarAdvice. Audi just launched a new generation of the supercar. The 2017 R8's 5.2-liter V10 will be available in two tunes: with 540 horsepower in the standard coupe or 610 hp in the Plus. Rumors have persisted about a smaller, forced induction powerplant at the bottom of the range. Some reports suggested a twin-turbo V6 behind the driver, but others said the electrically supercharged 2.5-liter inline five was a candidate. The reason for the entry-level addition was tied to lowering the taxes on the R8 in markets like China. Related Video:

Audi Allroad Shooting Brake showcar is a 124-MPGe hybrid E-Tron

The leaked images of the new Audi Allroad Shooting Brake that came out Friday showed us what the show car will look like, but it wasn't until the official press release came out today that we learned just how much E-Tron is hiding in its powertrain. Turns out, it's a lot. An 8.8-kWh lithium-ion battery can power the car for over 31 miles. The Allroad Shooting Brake is powered by a hybrid (gas-electric) powertrain that can put out a total of 300 kW of power (479.42 pound feet of torque) and, under the right circumstances, get the fuel efficiency equivalent of 123.8 mpg US, Audi claims. The gas side is made up of a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine, and then there's an electric motor on each axle. An 8.8-kWh lithium-ion battery can power the car for over 31 miles on battery power alone. There are three drive modes (EV, Hybrid and Sport). This is also the first time Audi has put its Allroad and E-Tron "form languages" together, which means this E-Tron Quattro "is not limited to paved roads" and can handle "light off-road conditions." The two electric motors help bring the car from 0-62 miles per hour in 4.6 seconds on up to a top speed of 155 mph. Audi has paid attention to shaving weight from the 3527-pound, four-seater, including making the wheels out of carbon-fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) and using an aluminum underbody panel. We described some of the concept's visual hints in the original post (Q1?), and now Audi says that the car contains "a host of visual elements of future sports car models" (TT?). We will get our first real glimpse of the Allroad Shooting Brake show car at the Detroit Auto Show early this week, so look for live pics then, especially of the interior that is supposed to be reminiscent of an airplane and a user interface panel that is said to work like a smart phone. In the new press release, Audi's Ulrich Hackenberg said the Allroad Shooting Brake represents, "a concrete look into the near future," and we're totally fine with that. Crossover in a compact package: The Audi allroad shooting brake show car Crossover concept car is highly functional for recreational sports Powerful and efficient hybrid drive features two electric motors Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg: "A concrete look into the near future." Sporty, compact and versatile: It is with these attributes that the Audi allroad shooting brake makes its debut at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit.

Audi to blitz 1.5M sales goal two years ahead of schedule

Audi doesn't seem to be having any trouble of hitting its relatively audacious sales goal of two million units by 2020 - it's already on pace to eclipse 1.5 million sales two years ahead of schedule. According to Reuters, the Volkswagen-owned brand rode a wave of sales in China and the US to pace the early goal, with 780,500 deliveries at the halfway point of 2013. Particularly hot models include the Q5 crossover seen above and A4 sedan. Unless things go poorly in the second half of the year, 1.5 million sales shouldn't be an issue.
That leaves it trailing BMW by just 24,000 units for the global luxury sales crown. If sales trends keep up, Audi will succeed in hitting its goal of two million units and besting its cross-country rival in Munich. Audi CEO Rupert Stadler smells blood, telling German newspaper Handelsblatt, ''We have overtaken Mercedes-Benz and we are now closer to BMW than ever before."