2014 Audi Q7 3.0 Tdi Premium Quattro on 2040-cars

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Audi says new 48 volt micro-hybrid system improves fuel economy, paves way for electrification

Most cars use a 12-volt system to power their electrical components. But, with more and more electric bits and bobs being added to new vehicles, a dozen volts is looking a bit weak these days. In fact, Audi says that standard 12-volt systems are being stretched "to their very limits." Enter 48 volts. If used in a car that gets 40 mpg, that would translate to around 43.5 mpg. Audi is testing a supplemental 48-volt electric system in two prototype vehicles – modified mild-hybrid versions of the A6 TDI and the RS 5 TDI – in order to add in more electric technology (an electric compressor, for example, to improve acceleration) and "convenience systems for dynamic chassis control." Audi says it has more applications in the pipeline, but the overall gist is that the German automaker sees 48 volts as an "important building block in electrification strategy." As you can see in the picture above (click to enlarge), the RS 5 TDI concept uses a li-ion battery installed in the back of the car and an alternator to provide 48 volts when the engine is off. Audi says that the 48-volt system can save up to 0.4 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers. To put that into US numbers, if used in a car that gets 40 miles per gallon today, that would translate into a bump up to around 43.5 mpg. The Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium (ALABC) is also working on a 48-volt system to improve fuel economy and we've got a deep dive of Audi's electric turbocharger here. Even more powerful and efficient – the new 48-volt technology from Audi Important building block in electrification strategy More voltage and more power for new technologies Scalable platform concept suitable for wide-ranging uses Ingolstadt, August 25, 2014 – Audi is to upgrade part of its vehicle electrical system from twelve to 48 volts. The move represents another technical building block for facilitating the integration of new automotive technologies while increasing the power and efficiency of its cars. "We are using the full bandwidth of electrification in our drive principles strategy. Running part of the vehicle electrical system at 48 volts plays a central role in this," commented Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management for Technical Development at Audi. "It enables us to make more energy available.

2014 Audi RS7 [w/video]

The subject of what makes up a true "supercar" is a difficult one, fraught with personal connotations and the rare ability to bring close colleagues into heated confrontation with one another in the blink of an eye. I say this because, while the 2014 Audi RS7 most certainly does not make the supercar cut on a few levels to my way of thinking - not rare enough, expensive enough or wearing an appropriately evocative body - it is unquestionably an "everyday supercar" of remarkable ability. And, pertinently, it is one that proved willing to ply its trade in every version of winter that Michigan had to offer it.
I had winter four ways during my week-long loan with the RS7. A period of crisp temperatures and dry roads, presided over by light blue skies as wide as the horizon, soon gave way to spitting, freezing rain blanketed in slightly misleading warmer air. Then there was snow. Not the massive blanket we saw in the first week of the New Year, but more than enough to see my neighbors stocking up on Ice Melt and replacing their shovels for the season. Finally, temperatures dropped to the mid teens, cottony snow compressed into a hard pack and all residual moisture on the mostly cleared roads morphed into the very slickest of ice. Timeless curses were uttered by cranky commuters in smoking breaths. Pure Michigan.

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.