Audi S4 Low Miles Great Condition.... on 2040-cars

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XCAR shows how Audi engineers let loose with A1 Quattro

In its ultimate mortal guise, the Audi A1 Black Edition - the littlelest little guy Audi makes - costs 22,340 pounds ($33,705 US) in the UK and comes with a turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder that outputs, at most, 182 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. The Audi A1 Quattro - still employing the body of the littlelest little guy Audi makes - costs more than 41,020 pounds ($61,888 US) gets a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder from the Audi TTS with 252 hp and 258 lb-ft. And quattro. And 17-inch, center-locking, white wheels.
The crew at XCAR gets the A1 Quattro on video, to both question how the A1 Quattro happened and then to praise it even if they never found the answer. The hosannas come too late for anyone in the UK who was waffling about buying one, however, since all 19 meant for the 'sceptered isle are sold out. You can see what we missed out on in the video below.

Next Audi RS4 to get an electric turbo?

We don't yet know if the next Audi RS4 will come to the US, but whoever gets it could find an electric turbocharger under the hood according to a report in Auto Express. The 4.2-liter V8 that has served for two RS4 generations is retiring from the line, replaced by a twin-turbocharged version of the supercharged 3.0-liter V6 used in the S4. But instead of using two sequential turbochargers - a smaller one to eliminate lag while a larger, more powerful turbo spools up - batteries charged by brake regeneration could power a first-stage electric turbo. The idea hasn't been publicly appointed for a particular model, as Audi's technical chief Ulrich Hackerberg has said that due to expense, that kind of setup "would only be used be used on the very top end models." Since the technology cuts down on the use of exhaust gases, it would also also help in markets like Europe where CO2 emissions are a factor. No matter whether it benefits from all conventional or some electric boost, the horsepower number for the twin-turbo V6 will be more than 420 hp but less than 503 hp, the rating of the V8-powered Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG. Auto Express believes Audi will want to maintain the power gap between the 333-hp S4 and previous, 444-hp RS4. With Hackenberg saying the new S4 will make more than 350 hp, that gets the coming RS4 up to at least 461, but AE figures it "could deliver as much as 480 hp." We'll find out sometime after the S4 launches next year.

Weekly Recap: Car-pedestrian crashes remained elevated in 2014

The death of American Horror Story: Freak Show star Ben Woolf served as a reminder this week that car crashes involving pedestrians remain a problem, and a new study issued on Thursday reinforced that the situation isn't really getting better. The Governors Highway Safety Association found a slight decline, 2.8 percent, in the number of pedestrian deaths in the first six months of 2014. Fatalities dropped from 2,141 to 2,125 compared with the same period in 2013, though the association says it's a statistical wash when factoring in undercounting. Deaths are still 15-percent higher than in 2009. "The number of deaths remains relatively high and is cause for concern," wrote Allan Williams, who compiled the report and is the former chief scientist at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. This is the first look at data from last year, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will issue its full-year results later. The GHSA found some progress on the roadways, as 24 states and the District of Columbia reported drops in pedestrian deaths. In some states, the problem isn't even a problem at all: Nebraska and Wyoming reported one fatality apiece, though large population centers in urban areas are where most accidents occur. "This is a clearly a good news, bad news scenario," Jonathan Adkins, GHSA executive director, said in a statement. "While we're encouraged that pedestrian fatalities haven't increased over the past two years, progress has been slow." Other News & Notes Cadillac previews CT6 during Oscars Cadillac previewed its upcoming flagship sedan, the CT6, in commercials that aired Sunday during the Oscars. As expected, the creased sedan carries on Cadillac's recent design language, and the car in the commercial looks like a larger version of the CTS and ATS sedans. The CT6 will be revealed this spring at the New York Auto Show and launch late this year. It will be assembled at General Motors' Detroit-Hamtramck factory on a rear-wheel-drive chassis, and the CT6 is the first car to use Cadillac's revised alpha-numeric naming scheme. The commercials also kicked off Cadillac's "Dare Greatly" campaign, which is the first with its new advertising agency, Publicis Worldwide. Honda unexpectedly changes CEOs Honda unexpectedly announced this week that it will change CEOs. Current chief Takanobu Ito will step down in June and be replaced by company veteran Takahiro Hachigo.