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Audi re-illuminates Sport Quattro with Laserlight concept for CES

Automakers typically spend months working on a concept car, then unveil it at a car show and move on to the next. But Audi has demonstrated a propensity at refining the same concepts and bringing them back for more. Just look at how many time Audi iterated its E-Tron concept, and how many diesel R8s it toyed with. It brought the Italdesign Parcour out of retirement and rechristened it the Audi Nanuk, and it's been doing the same with the Quattro concept for the past several years. The German automaker rolled out the first Quattro concept back in 2010, and followed up with the reborn Sport Quattro concept less than a year ago. And now it's preparing to unveil yet another.
Called the Sport Quattro Laserlight concept, this time it's not as radical a departure from the Sport Quattro concept as that was from the first Quattro concept. In fact, there's really only one vital difference. That'd be the laser headlights "that leave all previous systems in the dark," according to the press release below. The system uses matrix LEDs around the outside of the element as low beams, and lasers on the inside for high beams. Measured in mere microns, the laser diodes are significantly smaller than LEDs, while lighting up the road ahead for nearly half a kilometers (1,640 feet), providing twice the lighting range and three times the brightness of LED high beams.
Otherwise the concept car you see here and which Audi will display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week is essentially the same as the one it showed in Frankfurt this past September. It's got the same measurements, wearing the same CFRP bodywork, with the same interior and the same 700-horsepower hybrid powertrain, only the yellow exterior has been repainted Plasma Red and the black interior redone in a more low-key Slate Grey, as you can see from the high-res image gallery above.

Audi Quattro concept production hopes still alive, could be more radical

Remember the gestation period of the Lexus LFA, the one that, in automotive time, took so long that its origins could have been carbon dated? We feel like it's deja vu all over again, as Yogi Berra would have said, this time featuring the Audi Quattro and Audi Sport Quattro. It was 2010 when our cameras first glimpsed the Audi Quattro Concept (pictured right) at the Paris Motor Show, and we tasted its turbocharged 2.5-liter, five-cylinder powerplant not long after. Last year we met the hybrid, 700-horsepower Audi Sport Quattro concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show, but we got no closer to finding out if there'd ever be a version we could buy. A report in Autocar keeps the flame of hope burning, quoting Audi design chief Marc Lichte at the LA Auto Show saying, "We are working on Quattro, it is still alive." Lichte went on to say, however, that the next imagining is "more extreme" than those we've seen, and, "There will be surprises." Those words alone are a surprise. The last we heard about the Quattro revival was Audi boss Ulrich Hackenberg saying he wanted a more accessible homage to the original, and we don't know how "more extreme" jives with that. Seeing that Audi is serious about the idea, at least, we shouldn't have to wait long to find out. Just don't get your hopes up about its affordability yet.

2015 Audi Q3 headed for Detroit before hitting US showrooms this fall

The market for small premium crossover vehicles continues to grow in popularity here in the US, and Audi is finally ready to get in on the action. Going up against competitors like the BMW X1, Land Rover Range Rover Evoque and soon-to-arrive Mercedes GLA-Class, Audi will unveil a US-spec version of the 2015 Q3 at the Detroit Auto Show next week. And in what we can only assume is an amusing coincidence, the Q3 will go on sale during Q3 of this year.
As we reported back in October, it appears that our Q3 will boast a slightly taller ride height than its European counterpart, but Audi isn't releasing too much information about the crossover just yet. What we know for sure is that it will be powered by Audi's well-liked 2.0-liter turbocharged TFSI inline-four producing 200 horsepower and 207 pound-feet of torque. A six-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive will come standard, while Audi's Quattro all-wheel-drive system will be optional.
Visually, the 2015 Q3 shown here has a different front fascia design than its European counterpart, but it's not immediately clear if this is exclusive to the US model or if it will be a new element for Q3 in all markets. We don't expect pricing to be announced until closer to its on-sale date, but the Q3 will definitely be stuffed with content, even in base form. Audi has already confirmed such niceties as a panoramic moonroof, Xenon headlights and heated leather seats. Delivering a good amount of practicality for its size, the Q3 will provide a maximum cargo capacity of up to 48.2 cubic feet and 16.2 cu-ft with the rear seats in place.