2012 Audi A7 3.0t Quattro Premium Plus on 2040-cars

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Audi celebrates 25 years of TDI

Nope, the diesel engine never really did go out of style for Audi. Now, the German automaker has released a video reminding the world of its persistence with the oil-burners and is commemorating the Silver Anniversary of Audi's first commitment to turbodiesels in 1989. And, yes, there are some road racers shown in the clip, so some of those bad boys actually move pretty well. Audi engineers on camera admitted to some of the early TDI engines being "slow" but still valuable for their torque and, obviously, their fuel economy relative to gas-powered engines. A bunch of tinkering later, though, and Audi says its diesels can be a legitimate "part of a performance car" and has even overcome the issue of noisiness that's often associated with diesels. The automaker made some news in these parts a few years back when its Audi A3 TDI won the 2010 Green Car of the Year at the annual LA Auto Show in late 2009, and the model even succeeded a fellow diesel (the Volkswagen Jetta TDI) to boot. Granted, diesel sales aren't nearly as popular in the US as they are in Europe. Still, Audi last year boosted its diesel sales in the US by 40 percent to 10,076, which was about a tenth of what sister company Volkswagen sold in diesels last year in the States. And things have looked even rosier this year for Audi's TDI sales. Through June, Audi diesel sales have almost quadrupled from a year earlier to more than 8,100 units. Check out the 150-second video on Audi's 25-years of TDI production below.

Audi confirms new Q1 to cross over into smaller territory

The latest Q3 is smaller in every dimension than the Q7 that launched Audi into the crossover back in 2006. It's over two feet shorter, four inches narrower, five inches lower and rides on a wheelbase that's nearly a foot and a half shorter. But in Audi's eyes, it's still not small enough.
That's why the German automaker has just confirmed that it will proceed with production of the oft-rumored Q1 crossover. The new line will form just one of 11 new models which Audi aims to launch by the end of the decade, and will be built starting in 2016 at the main plant in Ingolstadt where Audi currently makes the A3, A4 and A5.
Audi isn't saying much else about the Q1, confirming only that it will be based on a modular transverse-engine platform. But contrary to the brand's Quattro-centric image, it has been rumored to be offered in front-drive form only. One way or another, the business case for expanding Audi's crossover range is as suitably rock solid: The Q family accounts for over a quarter of Audis sold worldwide, with the Q5 accounting for over half of that to stand as the most popular in the range.

Audi Nanuk Concept likes Parcour, puts four rings on it

Without a doubt, one of the coolest (and weirdest) debuts from this year's Geneva Motor Show had to be the Italdesign Giugiaro Parcour concept. And ever since the off-road performance coupe with Lamborgini guts made its debut, we've sort of been smitten with it. We figured this neat two-door would be a one-and-done show car, but to our delight, the folks at Italdesign worked with Audi to create this, the Nanuk Quattro Concept, which makes its debut here at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show.
Unlike the original Parcour, the Nanuk ditches the high-revving Lambo-sourced 5.2-liter V10 in favor of a twin-turbocharged 5.0-liter diesel V10. That's a beast of an engine, and with 544 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque on hand, it means the 4,189-pound, all-wheel-drive Audi can scoot to 62 miles per hour in under four seconds. Of course, being a diesel, it's surprisingly efficient, and we're told the Nanuk can achieve up to 30 miles per gallon.
As much as we sort of hate the term, the Audi Nanuk is a proper coupe-crossover if we've ever seen one, and utilizes the automaker's next-generation adaptive air suspension (the Parcour had a different pushrod arrangement) that offers a range of almost three inches of height adjustment. There's also an integral steering setup, meaning the rear wheels can turn up to nine degrees in the opposite direction of the front rollers, improving maneuverability.