2014 Audi A5 2.0t Premium Plus Quattro on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: Audi R18 e-tron Quattro wins WEC opener, Toyota Mirai goes to DC

The Audi R18 e-tron Quattro has won the World Endurance Championship season opener at Silverstone. Drivers Marcel Fassler, Andre Lotterer and Benoit Treluyer piloted the number 7 hybrid racecar to a hard-fought win in the six-hour UK race. "This victory is a dream start of the season and a great reward for the whole squad for the hard work last winter," says Audi Motorsport boss Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, congratulating the team. Audi's second R18 took fifth place in the race after a couple of unscheduled pit stops ate up precious time. Read more in the press release from Audi, below. Mini and Spanish designer Jaime Hayon are presenting new versions of the Mini Citysurfer electric scooter concept at Salone del Mobile in Milan, Italy. The installation, called "Urban Perspectives" depicts an idea of the future of urban mobility. The imaginary living space houses two examples of the Citysurfer concept designed by Hayon. The first is painted to resemble blue and while porcelain, with dots and stripes to give it an upbeat look. The second uses more upscale materials like anodized metal, copper and leather to blend modern and classical elements. The foldable Citysurfer scooter can travel 10 to 15 miles on a charge, and is designed fit and charge inside the trunk of a Mini Cooper. Read more from Mini. Tesla has announced the locations of its first Superchargers in Australia. It will install eight charging booths at the Goulburn Visitor's Centre, about 120 miles southwest of Sydney. The Goulburn superchargers will be powered by renewable energy. Tesla plans to install a network of Superchargers in cities along the route connecting the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane south to Melbourne. Read more at Clean Technica. The Toyota Mirai will be on display at the National Mall in Washington DC to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Earth Day. Toyota is a sponsor of Global Citizen 2015 Earth Day from April 17 to 19, which will include speakers, musical performances and, of course, Toyota's new hydrogen fuel cell car. "Earth Day 2015 is a great platform to educate the public about hydrogen fuel cell technology and the potential of hydrogen as a future fuel," says Toyota's Bob Carter. Also in April, Toyota will continue to enlighten the public about the Mirai and hydrogen technology in Union Square Park in New York on April 19, and at Waterkeeper Alliance's "Keep it Clean" comedy event in Los Angeles on April 22. Read more from Toyota.

Sunday Drive: Volvo hits a crossover home run, and people still love sports cars

Looking back at the week that just was clearly tells us at least three things. First, crossovers don't have to be boring. Second, people still love sports cars, from the attainable (Audi TT RS) to the fanciful (Mercedes-AMG GT C). And finally, the traditional German trio of premium luxury brands had better not rest on their laurels, because credible challengers are coming in from every direction. The biggest reveal of the week, at least judging by the interest of Autoblog readers, was the Volvo XC40. Not only is the little 'ute a looker, it introduces some innovative new buying/leasing schemes designed to appeal to an audience accustomed to trading in and trading up every couple of years. Think of Volvo's flat-fee lease as you would a smartphone contract, and you'll be on the right track. Genesis looks to have a hit on its hands in the form of the G70 sport sedan. We took a Korean-spec model for a spin and found a lot to like about the upstart contender. We can't wait to sample one here in the United States to see how it stacks up against the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. In other news, we're still really excited to see a production Ford Ranger Raptor. But if you just can't wait for the official reveal — it's OK, neither can we — take a look at the renderings in our post down below. As always, tune in to Autoblog next week for a front-row seat to all the happenings worth following in the automotive industry. Volvo XC40 revealed | Crossover at the crossroads of style and substance 3 ways the Volvo XC40 is a game-changer Genesis G70 First Drive | An arrow to the heart of the Germans 2018 Audi TT RS Drivers' Notes | Five pots of turbocharged honey 2018 Mercedes-AMG GT C Quick Spin | This is the AMG GT you want The Ford Ranger Raptor is real, and this is what it might look like

2017 Audi A4 Deep Dive

Unchanged. Plain. Boring. These words have been used to describe the new 2017 Audi A4, but they all miss the point entirely. Yes, the design of the new A4 is evolutionary, rather than a ground-up restyling. But as they say in ancient High German, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Of course, if you're at all interested in the 2017 Audi A4, you've probably read all about it in the official press release a few days ago. So we'll cut to the chase and tell you the bits you don't already know: the American-market details. We spent a day at Audi headquarters in Ingolstadt last week finding out the latest and poking around the A4 in the metal. The new A4 is wider, longer, and roomier than before. The lines are crisper and sharper, but yes, the proportions have remained very similar. That was done on purpose, thoughtfully. Not out of laziness. Stand any two sequential generations of Porsche 911 next to each other and you'll find they are rather similar. And yes, people do complain about that. But they also complain about the property tax rate on their third home in Monaco. That familiar-looking body gets a shockingly low coefficient of drag of just 0.23. The improvements in drag come from fine-tuning details down to the placement of the side mirror (now on the door, rather than the triangular window panel) and the contouring of the inner edge of the side mirror, which gets little vortex generating bumps to improve the turbulent airflow in that area, reducing drag. Attention to detail and refinement of a successful design – not boring, lazy repetition. Another notable departure in the styling of the new A4 is equally subtle, but even more significant from a precision manufacturing perspective: the hood has no cut lines on its upper surface. Instead, the hood now wraps around the tops of the fenders, the cut line integrating with the sharp crease that runs down the entire body side. The creation of this cut line requires extremely tight manufacturing tolerances to enable the precise alignment of the hood and fender gap with the stamped-in crease in the door panel; misalignment would be obvious and catastrophic to the clean, simple design's flow. Now, let's rip off this Band-Aid: no, we won't be getting the Avant. Why? Because no one buys it, vociferous vocalizations on the Internet aside.