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Audi Allroad Shooting Brake is a TT peep show

What you're looking at here is the almost-here third-generation Audi TT. Just compress the suspension a bit to take away its Allroad pretensions and rake its backlight to align better with the previous generation's aesthetic, and you're pretty well there. What you're looking at officially, of course, is the Audi Allroad Shooting Brake, a four-seat E-Tron hybrid showcar powered by Audi's venerable 2.0-liter TFSI four-cylinder (good for 292 horsepower) backed by a 40-kW electric motor and a secondary 85-kW motor acting upon the rear axle to provide low- and moderate-speed drive. The latter also provides through-the-road Quattro all-wheel drive when extra traction and power is called for.
All-in, Audi says the Allroad Shooting Brake's ETron powertrain is good for 408 horsepower and total system torque of 479 pound-feet, enough to haul the 3,500-pound German to 62 miles per hour in 4.6 seconds and up to a governed 155 mph. Despite that tidy performance, Audi says the Allroad Shooting Brake offers robust fuel consumption of 1.9 liters per 100k, equivalent to 124 miles per gallon, with a bladder-busting range of 510 miles.

2016 Audi A3 Sportback headed to US under diesel power [w/video]

Every get the feeling that automakers aren't really listening to what it is that you want in an automobile? Well, Audi is. Following what it calls "an outpouring of enthusiasts' support," the German automaker has announced that it is bringing the new, 2016 A3 Sportback to the US under diesel power, in the summer of 2015.
Unveiled today at the New York Auto Show, the new A3 TDI Sportback joins an expanding range of A3 models available Stateside. Whereas the Sportback hatch was until now only slated to be offered in E-Tron hybrid form, and the TDI only as a sedan, this model combines the bodystyle of the former with the power of the latter. The new TDI slots into the family alongside the gasoline-powered A3 and S3 sedans and A3 Cabriolet as well.
Power comes from a 2.0-liter turbodiesel four with 150 horsepower and mated to a six-speed S tronic transmission. Because it's still a year away from launch, Audi tells us it hasn't determined figures for performance, fuel economy or carbon emissions numbers, but when it joins the company's considerable diesel offerings (which already include the A6, A7, A8, Q5 and Q7) as part of the new A3 rollout over the course of the next 18 months, you can bet it'll provide that combination of low-end grunt and long-range capability that diesel enthusiasts crave. In the meantime you can scope out the details and b-roll footage below for a closer look.

Audi boss can't say no to F1 program

Audi has been a dominant force at the top rung of endurance racing for over a decade. Still, rumors have fired up again about the possibility of the company making a big switch to Formula 1. The Four Rings' boss Rupert Stadler isn't ready to make that decision yet, but he's not ruling it out. When asked by Auto Express about the potential of Audi entering F1 in the next five years, Stadler gave an intriguing answer. "It's something we're looking at, but then we're always looking at it and many other things. But I can't say yes or no," he said. While not at all a confirmation, that's hardly an outright denial, either. According to unnamed insiders speaking to Auto Express, Audi is under pressure from Volkswagen Group to leave the FIA World Endurance Championship. Right now, the Four Rings is competing directly against its corporate sibling Porsche. While that might make for a good rivalry on the track, it doesn't necessarily make sense financially. Rumors last year suggested that Audi might leave the WEC and DTM to finance the F1 project. Two possibilities were proposed at the time: act as engine supplier to Red Bull or buy Toro Rosso to run a whole new team. Stadler's non-denial might also indicate that Audi's view on F1 is shifting. In the past, the company's opinion has been much more obvious. Last year, Audi Sport tweeted that the rumormongering was "pure speculation." As far back as 2011, the brand's motorsport boss said grand prix racing had "no relevance to the road." Related Video: