2010 Audi Q7 Quattro on 2040-cars

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Audi CEO says brand's EVs are almost as profitable as its other cars

After, oh, a hundred years or so of building vehicles primarily powered by internal combustion engines, automakers around the world have been and still are pumping billions of dollars into the development of electric vehicle technology. Everything from platforms and batteries to motors and the software to control it all requires untold hours of development, and that takes time and money. Fortunately, it's not going to take long for that massive investment to start paying off, at least according to Audi CEO Markus Duesmann, who told Reuters in an interview that "The point where we earn as much money with electric cars as with combustion engine cars is now, or ... next year, 2023. They are very even now, the prices." As a brand, Audi contributed more than a quarter of overall profit for the massive Volkswagen Group, which has such powerhouse brands as Volkswagen and Porsche among others. Under the Audi umbrella are Lamborghini, Bentley and Ducati, and it seems those high-end branches aren't going anywhere, at least for now. "These brands ... are very valuable very profitable brands, where we can even expand the synergy level in the future," Duesmann said in the interview. "There are no plans whatsoever to get rid of them." Despite the overall profitability of the brand, the ongoing global chip crisis is causing headaches. "We had a very strong first half in 2021. We do expect a much weaker second half," said Duesmann, who added, "We really have trouble." In fact, so serious is the trouble that the brand is forced into "a day-to-day troubleshooting process" to limit the chip-shortage damage. The good news for the automaker is that Audi has been able to boost its profit margin from 8% prior to the pandemic in 2019 to 10.7% in the first half of 2021. The bad news is that various chip shortages aren't expected to get a whole lot better over the rest of the year. Related video:

MotorWeek revisits Audi's iconic Quattro

The Subaru WRX, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and just about every other all-wheel-drive performance car owes something to the legendary Audi Quattro, a model that was far more successful on the motorsports scene than it was in the showroom. Despite its modest sales, the UrQuattro still looms large in automotive lore, and indeed, in Audi's own sense of self. Considering the brand's semi-regular flirtation with the idea of a reborn Quattro, MotorWeek must have figured it'd be a good idea to revisit the original by digging up this archival review.
While time has the ability to cover up the warts of iconic automobiles, it should be noted that Motor Week host John Davis had more than a few critiques for the all-wheel-drive, turbocharged coupe.
Davis calls the Quattro's slalom handling "a disappointment," citing the overpowered engine and slow steering, and he had some unkind words for the brakes, as well. For our part, we're kind of wowed by the amount of ship-like body motion during testing, yet that sort of bobbing was certainly par for the course back in the early '80s.

Bonhams sells '85 Audi Sport Quattro for record $427k at Goodwood

1960s Ferraris and pre-war Bugattis tend to fetch the highest prices at auction, but the Audi Sport Quattro is coming into its own. Just this past January in Scottsdale, RM Auctions sold one for an investment-worthy $401k. But during its sale at the Goodwood Members' Meeting this past weekend, rival auction house Bonhams set a new record for the prototypical hot hatch at GBP287,100 – equivalent at today's exchange rates to over $427,000. The pristine white 1985 example has had three owners to date and 26,000 miles on the odometer, and was joined by a 1982 Audi Quattro A1 Group B rally car that won the 1983 championship and sold for nearly as much as its road-going counterpart at GBP253,480 ($377k). Those weren't even the highest-grossing lots at the auction though. The headline price was achieved by a 1959 Frazer Nash Le Mans Coupe that sold for a nice round GBP470,000 ($700k). Other highlights included a 1962 Aston Martin DB4s that went for the equivalent of $382k and a '66 Aston DB6 Vantage that brought in $288k. This was just the first of three auctions that Bonhams will hold at Goodwood this year, with the Festival of Speed scheduled for June 26 and the Revival for September 12. 1980S MOTORING LEGENDS LEAD THE WAY at Bonhams Goodwood Members' Meeting sale 21 Mar 2015, Goodwood 73rd Members' Meeting The ex-Kitty Maurice 1959 Frazer Nash Le Mans Coupe was the top lot of the day, selling for GBP470,000. 1980s models achieved excellent prices, with the 1985 Audi Quattro Sport SWB Coupe setting a new world auction record for the model at GBP287,100, and the ex-works, Hannu Mikkola/Arne Hertz 1982 Audi Quattro A1 Group B Rally Car selling for GBP253,480. The first of three Bonhams auctions scheduled at Goodwood for 2015, the Sale saw three-quarters of motor cars finding new homes. Restoration projects also proved popular, with a 1962 Aston Martin DB4 Series IV Sports Saloon achieving GBP256,860, and a 1963 Porsche 356B Super 90 Coupe doubling estimate at GBP32,200. Bonhams inaugural Sale at the 73rd Goodwood Members' Meeting showed a strong trend for iconic 1980s sports cars, achieving a new world auction record for an Audi Quattro as the hammer fell at GBP287,100 for the 1985 Sport SWB Coupe model.