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Get a load of Audi's TTs [w/videos + poll]

The third-generation Audi TT coupe has made its debut here at the Geneva Motor Show, showing an evolutionary design for the German automaker's fashion-forward coupe. As expected, the new TT takes plenty of inspiration from the Sport Quattro Concept that debuted in Frankfurt last year, and it draws upon cues from the model's past two generations.
After seeing it in person, the Autoblog crew on-site in Geneva is sort of torn about the new model. It's crisp and well-proportioned, but in terms of its exterior design, it also doesn't come off like a significant generational leap forward - the aesthetic distance between the original TT and the second-generation model was quite a bit larger. Of course, it's hard to reimagine a design icon, and either way we'll have to wait until we see the car on the road to make final judgments.
Audi is offering a trio of engines for the new TT, including a 2.0-liter turbodiesel powerplant that's good for 184 horsepower, 280 pound-feet of torque and an excellent 56 miles per gallon. On the gasoline front, Audi is offering two versions of its well-liked 2.0-liter TSI turbo-four. The less-powerful spec still offers up a healthy 230 hp and 272 lb-ft of torque, while the higher-output 2.0T sends 310 hp and 280 lb-ft of twist to all four wheels in the TTS coupe. Potent stuff.

Audi confirms all-electric SUV on the way

The electric crossover segment might become a hot market in just a few years. In addition to the rumors of an electric Jaguar F-Pace and obviously the Tesla Model X, Audi is now confirming an EV "sports activity vehicle" for early 2018. The Germany luxury brand even showed off a rendering (pictured above) of it during the company's annual press conference. Audi technical development boss Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg made the announcement during his portion of the conference but largely avoided hard details. What he said was tantalizing, though. The still un-named model was claimed to offer over 311 miles of driving range and ride on the brand's upcoming MLB 2 platform. Although, Auto Express suggests that it could be called the Q6 E-Tron. Dr. Hackenberg also promised a "new, very attractive design, which we are developing especially for the E-Tron range and for battery-electric vehicles." The rendering showcased a fairly squat crossover design with bold fender flares dominating the styling in profile. The images also suggested almost coupe-like proportions. Thankfully, the wait for more details about the model might not be too long. Dr. Hackenberg told Auto Express that Audi would have a presentation soon about the new model. He also hinted at a little of its tech by suggesting next-gen batteries offering 50 amp-hours and 90 kWh could be enough for sufficient range even in such a large model. With recent unveilings like the R8 E-Tron and Q7 E-Tron, Audi is rapidly moving towards offering more plugins and electric models. With this latest announcement, that expansion only appears to be accelerating. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management at AUDI AG for Technical Development Speech to the Annual Press Conference 2015 Ladies and Gentlemen, 2014 was the year of technical milestones, tests and records. Think of the sportiest piloted car in the world, the Audi RS 7 concept, which lapped the Hockenheimring racetrack extremely dynamically without a driver – at up to 240 km/h. Another mega-success was our 13th victory in the world's most important endurance race. The Audi R18 e-tron quattro with diesel-hybrid drive triumphed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 2014 – that was also 25 years of TDI technology. As strong evidence of the future viability of combustion engines, we showed the Audi RS 5 TDI concept – the fastest diesel ever timed on the Hockenheimring.

Audi promises production laser headlights

Audi is showing off new laser headlight technology this week at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show on its Audi Sport Quattro Laserlight Concept, and most intriguingly, the automaker has plans to use the long-range lighting on production vehicles. Audi CEO Rupert Stadler tells Automotive News that this type of headlights will be used on a future production vehicle, although he did not specify any timeframe.
On the concept vehicle, the headlights employ LED low beams, while the high beams use the laserlight technology. Audi says that these lights are not only very small ("a few microns in diameter") they are also able to light the road for almost a third of a mile (1,640 feet), with three times the brightness of an LED highbeam, yet with pinpoint control. These lights have already been confirmed for use in motorsports on the 2014 Audi R18 e-tron Quattro LMP1 racecar, and the tech will eventually trickle down to road-going cars.
In addition to how long this trickle down will take, it's doubtful we'll see these lights in the US anytime soon. Audi is still working with the US Department of Transportation for approval of its LED Matrix Beam headlights, which are already sold in other markets, and the negotiations appear to be taking quite a bit of time. Automotive News also notes that the laser headlights earmarked as options on the 2015 BMW i8 will not be offered in the US, either.