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Next Audi A8 to drive itself up to 37 mph

Audi has been publicly, loudly, working the autonomous angle for years - it was working on Shelley, the autonomous TTS that would climb Pikes Peak in 27 minutes, way back in in 2009. Parent company Volkswagen had been working with Stanford University on autonomous vehicles for five years before that, and the same program collaboration would take the lead in Audi's efforts here. Where are we now? Well, a convoy of Audi A7s just drove journalists from San Francisco to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, with "piloted driving in 100 mile stints." On the highway, the "piloted driving" A7 works up to 70 miles per hour and can change lanes, pass other cars, accelerate and brake on its own. A report in Autoweek says public adoption of the technology will continue with the next-generation A8, which will be able to navigate on its own up to 37 mph, make its way through traffic, find a parking spot and park itself. Over time, capabilities will be added - like a higher mph limit - as the technology and the legal issues are fine tuned. The A7 that just did the SF-to-LV run doesn't work in cities, only on highways, so it appears Audi is kicking this off with the abilities demonstrated in an A6 Avant last year at CES. That car had a Traffic Jam mode that only worked in dense traffic and up to 40 mph, but when in operation, it allowed the driver to watch a movie or conduct a videoconference. We have a feeling those two bits of icing won't be included in the fourth-generation A8, though. We'll be late to the party when the big sedan comes; Audi says it will go on sale by the end of 2016, but the US isn't expected to get it until 2017 as a 2018 model. Featured Gallery Audi A8 Spy Shots News Source: AutoweekImage Credit: CarPix Audi Technology Autonomous Vehicles Luxury Sedan

Audi mulling producing version of Quattro showcar, just not sure which one [w/poll]

Head of design for Audi, Wolfgang Egger, has told Auto Express that a reborn Quattro could enter production, but bosses for the company haven't yet decided whether to base it on the Sport Quattro concept that just debuted at this week's Frankfurt Motor Show or the smaller Quattro concept that was revealed at the 2010 Paris Motor Show.
While both draw their inspiration from the original Ur-Quattro of the 1980s, they vary wildly in both size and choice of powertrain. The 2010 Quattro concept was based on Volkswagen's MQB platform, shared with such vehicles as the Golf and Audi A3. The Sport Quattro, meanwhile, was built atop the company's larger MLB platform that's used almost exclusively for Audi models, including the A5, which is also a coupe.
Under their hoods, the 2010 Quattro concept simply employs a version of the same 2.5-liter engine used in the TT RS, tuned to deliver 408 horsepower, while the Sport Quattro goes nuclear with a twin-turbo V8 hybrid powertrain that develops 700 hp and 590 pound-feet of torque. Both, of course, employ quattro all-wheel drive just like their forebearer.

Audi shows off the Prologue Avant Concept as a plug-in hybrid

The Audi Prologue Avant Concept goes in a different direction than the Prologue coupe, in more ways than just its five-door wagon body. The coupe was first shown at the LA Auto Show with a 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8, then went redux at CES as a hybrid with a total of 677 horsepower and 701 pound-feet of torque. The only-slightly-larger Prologue Avant sticks with the hybrid but gets the system from the Q7 E-Tron quattro, meaning a 3.0-liter, twin-turbo V6 TDI with 353 hp and a 100-kW electric motor strapped to the eight-speed transmission. Total output is 455 hp and 553 lb-ft, pure electric range is 33 miles, and 0-62 miles per hour comes in 5.1 seconds. The forward section of cabin with its screen-based Tie Fighter displays and controls comes over from the coupe, as well as the four individual seats, but the Avant lavishes attention on rear passengers in ways not possible in the two-door. They also get a screen on the pass-through center console for convenience controls, and detachable OLED screens - a la the detachable tablets in the Q7 - with which they can send information to the front occupants. As a traditional Audi avant is to a coupe relative, the Prologue Avant is all about bringing the family along on the digital highway. We'll see it at the Geneva Motor Show next week, and Audi is again talking up how the design language will migrate to production cars. It also makes noises in the press release below about near-production many of the technologies are in the concept, so it looks like there could be all sorts of Easter Eggs on the way from the Ingolstadt brand. Related Video: Sporty and elegant, versatile and connected – the Audi prologue Avant show car - New interpretation of the Avant philosophy - Groundbreaking infotainment architecture and entertainment concept - High-performance hybrid drive with 455 hp and 750 Nm (553.2 lb-ft) of torque Ingolstadt, 2015-02-25 -- A design with dynamic elegance and the latest high end technologies: The Audi prologue Avant show car with its stretched roof which the brand is presenting at the Geneva Motor Show gives a look into the future – with the new and emotion filled design language that Audi has initiated with its study in the coupe, the prologue. A glance into the future In November 2014 at the Los Angeles Motorshow, Audi presented the Audi prologue concept car, giving a look to the brand's future design language.