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Audi reveals even more efficient 2015 R18 E-Tron Quattro

We've seen two of this year's LMP1 manufacturer challengers – Porsche's updated 919 Hybrid and Nissan's GT-R LM Nismo. Audi has finished cooking up the successor to its Le Mans champion and unveiled the fifth-generation R18 E-Tron Quattro, even better than before. The bodywork monocoque is carried over, but the body around it has been reshaped to improve airflow from front to rear with a new hood, front fenders and wheel arches, and radiator configuration. The engine cover behind the cockpit is shrunk more closely around the engine, and there are new headlights. The hybrid system can expend double the energy per lap this year, putting Audi in the four-megajoule class under the energy-use regulations. That extra energy will come from 17-percent more capacity built into the flywheel storage system and an electric motor good for 272 horsepower. The revisions haven't increased the weight of the car, pegged to the minimum allowed at 870 kilograms. They have, however, forced changes to the TDI engine, which has to use 2.5-percent less fuel per lap to offset the increased hybrid output. The 558-hp V6 has been optimized such that it "managed to more than compensate for the loss" of fuel allowed, and Audi expects "significantly" lower lap times this year and less fuel used. We're still waiting to see what Toyota has done to its World Endurance Championship-winning racer, but we're already looking forward to this year's Le Mans. It's going to be cracking. You'll find a press release below the videos with more info on the Audi. Related Video: New Audi R18 e-tron quattro even more efficient - Aerodynamics, hybrid drive and many other details improved - Efficient TDI engine consumes even less fuel than before - Technologies from Le Mans winning cars now in production at Audi Ingolstadt, March 21, 2015 – Audi is starting the 2015 season with a thoroughly revised R18 e-tron quattro. In the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and in the Le Mans 24 Hours as the season's pinnacle event, Audi is going to compete with a hybrid sports car in the 4-megajoule class. A twofold quantity of hybrid energy, fundamentally revised aerodynamics, the next step in lightweight design and a lot of detailed work characterize the fifth generation of the Audi R18. "The possibilities of the revolutionary regulations that have been in effect for LMP sports cars since 2014 are far from having been fully used.

Audi hints at A9 flagship ahead of LA Auto Show

If you've been thinking that Audi is in need of a new design direction, you're not alone. Clean though its designs may be, they tend to be more evolutionary rather than revolutionary. But it seems Ingolstadt is on the verge of launching a new design language with a new A9 concept.
The teaser image above was obtained by Germany's Auto & Design magazine, giving us our first glimpse at the concept Audi is expected to unveil at the upcoming LA Auto Show. The concept is tipped to be based on the same MLB platform that will underpin the next-generation A8.
The concept itself could lead to a new production flagship model as well, slotting in above the A8 sedan and A7 five-door. Details remain scarce at the moment, but we'll be watching to see how this development progresses.

Audi tops Consumer Reports' brand rankings while Tesla leads domestics at eighth

Tesla supplanted General Motors' Buick division as the top-ranked US automaker in Consumer Reports annual brand rankings, though the electric-vehicle maker finished eighth among global automakers. Buick had finished atop CR's domestic car-brand list for three years before Tesla leapfrogged it. Scores were calculated from a combination of performance, owner satisfaction, and reliability. CR noted that Buick scored big on reliability but not so high on performance, while Tesla appeared to present the opposite case. Volkswagen's Audi division repeated as the best overall brand for the second straight year, beating out VW's Porsche unit, BMW, Toyota's Lexus division, and Subaru. Kia and Mazda followed those brands, while Honda finished ninth, between Tesla and Buick. Consumer Reports took results from 31 brands. Reliability issues related to the Toyota Tacoma helped drop that Japanese automaker out of the top 10. Take a look at CR's results for its Annual Brand Report Card here. That Tesla, Audi, and Porsche placed so high is topical, given some of the issues plaguing those automakers. Audi, Porsche, and their parent VW have been coping with the effects of the diesel-emissions scandal that broke back in 2015. The scandal has cost Europe's largest automaker billions of dollars, and forced VW to put a stop-sale on diesel-powered cars in the US in late 2015. And while the Tesla Model S improved from the "worse-than-average" label CR gave it in its 2015 Annual Auto Reliability Survey, the problematic falcon-wing doors on the Tesla Model X SUV pulled that model's reliability scores lower last year. Additionally, the Model X's climate-control system and door locks have also caused issues. Toyota and Lexus finished atop CR's reliability rankings last year. Related Video: