2010 Audi S4 Base Sedan 4-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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2016 Audi S8 Plus burns the 'bahn faster

At no point during my drive of the Audi S8 last year did I think, "You know, this car could really use more power." With 520 horses on tap from a twin-turbo, 4.0-liter V8, the S8 is a damn good luxury/sport sedan. But I'm certainly not going to complain about a big ol' power boost, and that's just what we have here with the new Audi S8 Plus. It's got the same engine underhood, but power is boosted from 520 hp and 481 pound-feet of torque to a healthy 605 hp and 516 lb-ft. There's even an overboost function that increases torque output to 553 lb-ft for short bursts. That means the big S8 will run to 60 miles per hour in just over three and a half seconds. Hot damn. All that thrust doesn't come cheap, though; the S8 Plus costs $115,825. Of course, that's cheaper than the Mercedes-AMG S63 sedan, but the Merc is a decidedly more luxurious car. Still, a 605-hp S8 sounds mighty fine to me. Of course, a 520-hp S8 was already perfectly fine to begin with.

Audi E-Tron vs. Jaguar I-Pace and Tesla Model X: How they compare on paper

The all-electric crossover segment is suddenly heating up. Tesla was first to market with its Model X, and the California-based automaker has a several-year head start on the rest of the field. But now it has competition, with the Jaguar I-Pace already hitting dealerships across the globe and the just-announced Audi E-Tron hot on their heels. We decided to see how Audi's new entrant compares with its British and American rivals, so we downloaded their spec sheets (at least those that are available) and dumped them all into the spreadsheet you see below. As you'll soon find out, there are lots of similarities between these three electric crossovers, but each has a unique selling point or two with which to entice buyers. View 24 Photos Performance Note that we're using the Tesla Model X 75D for this comparison, since that's the model that is closest in price to the Jaguar and Audi entries. If you really want the fastest and most powerful electric CUV available, you're going to want to look at Tesla's ludicrous P100D model, but you'd better be willing to just about double the price you see in the chart above. With that out of the way, these particular electric crossovers are all pretty quick. The Jaguar boasts the quickest 0-60 time, but in the real world, that half-second advantage over the 75D won't amount to much. The Audi is a full second behind the Jaguar, and a little over a half second slower to 60 than the Tesla. A 5.5-second 0-60 time, though, still means the E-Tron will be able to squirt away from traffic lights quicker than the rest of the morning commuters. As far as battery capacity, Audi leads the way with 95 kWh, which is 5 more than the Jag and a whopping 20 more than the Tesla. Until we get estimated range figures, though, we won't know what the extra capacity means in the real world. In other words, stay tuned. View 74 Photos Exterior and interior dimensions The Jaguar is the smallest of these three 'utes, inside and out. The Tesla Model X is the largest. Does that make the Audi just right? Maybe, but only if you don't need a third row — the Model X is the only one of this trio that offers seating for six or seven passengers (depending on whether the buyer opts for a second-row bench or individual chairs). A smaller size may be a boon for drivers who often have to fit into tight spaces, but those slinky dimensions mean the Jaguar's cargo capacity is well behind that of the Audi and not even close to the cavernous Tesla. Tesla Motors Inc.

2015 24 Hours of Le Mans live race report

Check back regularly for more race updates every few hours. No, you don't need to stay up for the entire 24 Hours of Le Mans, but if you want to catch any of the action, Autoblog friend Reilly Brennan has a handy guide. And to keep you up to speed on the latest race events, we'll be posting live from Le Mans with regular race reports.Hour 1: Five laps in, Audi breaks up the three Porsches at the front, with the #19 919 Hybrid, driven by Nico Hulkenburg, passed by all three R18s. Hulkenburg eventually took back fifth position only to fall back again after the first pit stop. Meanwhile, clutch trouble kept the #23 Nissan GTR-LM in the pits until 15 minutes into the race. The other two Nissans were forced to start at the back of the grid after failing to the meet the 110 percent qualifying speed regulation. At the end of the first hour, just 7.5 seconds separated the first six cars. Then the factory team #92 Porsche GTE car caught fire, with the the #13 Rebellion P1 car taking frontal damage in the ensuing carnage. With the safety car out, the field is once again bunched up.Hour 2: The slugfest between Audi and Porsche continues, with neither side backing off. Halfway through the second hour the #7 R18 passes both leading Porsches for the top position. After another round of pits stops Porsche regains the lead until lap 30, when the Audi overtake once again and quickly pulls out a three-second gap. Nico Hulkenburg passes the other two Audis to join his Porsche teammates. At the beginning of the third hour it's Audi #7, Porsche #17, #18, and #19, followed by Audi #8 and #9. 33 seconds separates this group, with Toyota a minute back from the front car.Hour 3: On track the action refuses to stop. Although it's early, Audi is looking strong with the overall lead in the #7. What's more is that the Audis run four stints per set of tires, while the Porsche cars have to change rubber every third stop. But after a quick refueling, the lead R18 gets a tire puncture and comes back in 3 laps later, allowing Porsche to take over the top two spots. Then as the hour closes out a yellow flag causes traffic to bunch up and the #8 Audi gets stuck with nowhere to slow down. Driver Loic Duval dives for the side of the road but hits the guard rail and careens across the track, damaging the front and rear bodywork. The rest of the car is still intact, though, and once in the pits Audi replaces the entire front and rear of that in only three minutes.