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Next-gen Audi A7 design to be 'radical'

The Prologue concept has our attention. In fact, it has everyone's attention. It is the preview for the coming A7, and Autocar summarized Audi design chief Marc Lichte's concerning the new A7 as, "A more radical design is promised for the next-generation." In fact, the next A7 is said to become "the most radical" of three coming designs inspired by the Prologue, the others being the new A6 and A8. Autocar also said Lichte made it clear that there would be "much greater visual differentiation between the trio and other future Audis." Yet, for at least four years Audi has been talking about a design overhaul to fight back charges that its cars look too similar. In 2011 there was a "design initiative" dubbed AQR to make sure that "the design details will be different" between its hatchbacks, Quattro offerings and R Sports cars, and make proportion changes to its sedans. That didn't really move the needle. In 2013, then-design boss Wolfgang Egger hailed the end of "scalable design," a prime culprit for the 'same sausage, different lengths' accusations. We're not sure the needle moved much then, either. And this year came news of a new "Quattro-centric" design language that would stress horizontals, perhaps the new Q7 it's first serious proponent, a crossover that we'll have to see before we can judge. Although we've heard the bells ringing about fresh design at Audi for years, we hope they mean it with products that come after the Prologue; it is a fabulous place to start. Featured Gallery Audi A7 Sportback facelift View 13 Photos News Source: Autocar Design/Style Audi Sedan marc lichte

New Transporter 4 Refueled prequel trailer comes with new lead, new Audi S8

Frank Martin returns in a new installment of the franchise that helped make Jason Statham that guy, this one called Transporter 4: Refueled. But ugh, what's happened to all the decent car movies? The problem here isn't that Statham left this series to play the baddie in Fast & Furious 7, but that the trailer makes it appear the director just combined the unused footage from a rap video and a Michael Bay movie, only forgot to include any rappers or input from Michael Bay. The trailer gives no clue as to what the movie's about, but it's not like we don't know – actor Ed Skrein has to take something somewhere while people try to kill him. Skrein does his best (we assume) to fill Statham's large shoes, helped and hindered by the entire line-up of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue, a second reserve alternate Bond villain, gigatons of CGI, and more fireballs than the Milky Way. Oh, and this is a prequel to the series, so just like you did with Darth Maul's double-sided light saber, ignore the extreme newness of Skrein's current generation Audi S8. Related Video:

Audi reveals S3 Cabriolet ahead of Geneva debut

It used to be if you wanted an Audi S3, your choices in bodystyle came down to hatchback or... hatchback. That is, in markets where the model was offered at all. But Audi has been expanding the A3 global family upon which the S3 is based, and it intends to offer the performance-minded derivative as a three-door hatch, five-door hatch, four-door sedan and - with the introduction of the version you see here - a two-door convertible.
Set to be presented in public for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show early next month, the new Audi S3 Cabriolet packs the same 2.0-liter turbo four as its fixed-roof counterparts - all 290 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of it - but ditches the extra doors and the tin top in favor of the two-door cabriolet bodystyle of the A3 Cabriolet.
The added weight of the folding fabric roof mechanism and the extra body reinforcement required means that the S3 cabrio takes half a second more to reach 62 miles per hour from a standstill than it would take the sedan version, clocking the run at 5.4 seconds instead of 4.9. This, despite more generous use of magnesium, aluminum and high-strength steel in its construction. Top speed, as is the German custom, remains pinned at 155 mph.