2012 Audi A6 on 2040-cars

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Spyker C8 Aileron to come back with supercharged power?

The new B6 Venator wasn't the only vehicle on display at the Spyker booth at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. The company still has its C8 Aileron on offer, and Road & Track has word of a potential powerplant upgrade for the long-running machine.
Since its introduction in the year 2000, the C8 has used a 4.2-liter V8 engine sourced from Audi, which, in base form, offers up 400 horsepower. Though it's a great powerpant, that's simply not enough power in this day and age - after all, if a car is going to be called super, it needs to offer more ponies than something as mundane as the Ford Mustang GT.
According to R&T, John Walton, Chief Commercial Officer at Spyker, indicated that a new engine supplier may be in the works. "[The Audi-sourced V8] really hasn't got enough bang for the buck. To be honest, every supercar needs to have something that begins with a '5' today. That's why we're supercharging the car in the future, which will take it to over 500-hp," said Walton.

VW recalls 220,000 Atlases, Atlas Cross Sports for airbag defect [Updated]

[Update: Audi of America has confirmed that no U.S. models are among the recall population for plug-in hybrid fire issue.] Volkswagen has issued yet another recall for its Atlas SUV, this time for side airbags that may not deploy correctly in an accident due to a problematic connection in one of the vehicle's wiring harnesses. The campaign covers 222,892 Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport models built for the 2019-2023 model years.  The issue stems from a connection with the wiring harness that runs from the A-pillar into the door. VW says that harnesses produced by one of its suppliers were not built with additional measures to prevent movement at the connection point. Small movements can cause abrasion of the metal contacts which could lead to a whole host of electronic misadventures, including the potential for airbag deployment to be delayed in a crash.  "Micro-movement of the wire harness (terminal A-Pillar to front door) can result in damage to the wire terminal surface. Damage to the surface can [result] in fretting corrosion which may cause sporadic interruption in the electrical connection to the components of the front door," VW said in its defect notice. "The airbag warning light may illuminate if a malfunction is detected. Other symptoms of a sporadic interruption of the affected electrical connection can be: inadvertent rolling down windows, inadvertent park brake engagement at low speeds (below approx. 3km/h or 1.8mph), warning regarding faulty door sensor," VW said.  Not every model built within the range defined above is subject to the recall; terminals from other suppliers were manufactured with the necessary safeguards in place. If you own a 2019-2023 Atlas or Atlas Cross Sport, keep your eyes peeled for a notification from VW regarding the campaign, likely some time in early-mid May.  PHEV problems Across the Atlantic, the VW Group mothership confirmed that it will recall more than 100,000 plug-in hybrid models worldwide to address a fire risk. The recall was launched in response to 16 reported incidents of fires stemming from insufficient insulation of the PHEV battery pack that allows the engine cover to make contact if it is not completely secure. If that happens, the heat from the battery can ignite the engine cover. The recall will cover PHEVs build by VW, Audi, Seat and Skoda, Reuters reports, including the VW Passat, Golf, Tiguan and Arteon — plug-in variants of which are not sold in the United States.

Audi designs science fiction car for Ender's Game movie [w/video]

Audi is no stranger to product placement in movies, but the upcoming sci-fi adventure movie, Ender's Game, will be the first time the German automaker has ever unveiled a "purely virtual" vehicle design in a movie. As the movie's star car, the futuristic Audi fleet shuttle quattro was created by Audi Design as a "vision for the future world."
This new movie car comes almost 10 years after one of our favorite Audi movie cars ever, the Audi RSQ that was prominently used in the 2004 sci-fi action film, I, Robot. Looking back, the RSQ obviously used cues from the Audi R8, but it's unclear if the fleet shuttle quattro has any design implications for future Audi production models.
The movie, based on the best-selling novel of the same name, stars Harrison Ford and Asa Butterfield, and it premiers in the US on November 1. Audi has provided images of the fleet shuttle quattro, and Summit Entertainment has released its latest trailer for the movie, which is posted below along with an Audi press release.