Audi Tt S on 2040-cars

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Will Audi surprise us with an all-electric SUV?

Audi may be looking to get seriously competitive in the electric vehicle market, according to a report from Reuters. The company has plans prepared for a range of EVs that would compete with the likes of BMW and Tesla. In a market where innovation is seen as valuable, getting on board with electrification could help Audi avoid appearing out of step with the rest of the crowd (and the market), with analysts predicting a sharp uptick in battery-powered cars in the next several years. Building on the E-Tron line, which already includes the A3 E-Tron, Audi will begin offering an electric version of its R8 supercar in Europe next year. According to two confidential sources at Audi, the company also has plans for high-performance electric sedans and SUVs. It appears as though Audi is taking direct aim at Tesla with alternatives to the current Model S and the upcoming Model X SUV. Advantage: Audi? Without getting into too many specifics about such plans, the sources did confirm the existence of blueprints for an Audi Q8 E-Tron. Audi has said that any future electric cars would have a target range of 400 kilometers (about 249 miles), but previous reports suggest that the Q8 E-Tron could have a range of about 370 miles. That could be a serious challenge for Tesla. Advantage: Audi? All the German automakers have electric tricks up their sleeves. BMW has its i line, with the i3 making headway and the i8 expected to sell well. Mercedes-Benz has gotten into the game the B-Class Electric Drive. Also, its parent company Daimler has a stake in Tesla. Now, Audi appears poised to launch its own diverse electric fleet, and the next move might just be an SUV. And while this added competition might seem like tough news for Tesla, the proliferation of EVs, and the growing infrastructure that goes along with it, is more likely a tide that raises all (electric) ships - something that Elon Musk seems to understand very well.

Notes from Day One of the 2013 Twelve Hours of Sebring

The 61st edition of The 12 Hours of Sebring is on, and Autoblog has come to central Florida with Audi to feast on jumbo boiled peanuts, pickled eggs and the final race for the LMP1 class at the oldest road course in North America. As Audi has been doing for more than a decade now, it's brought its latest endurance race car, the 2013-spec R18 etron quattro, to Sebring to begin testing for Le Mans.
Why the commitment to Sebring? Audi Sport executives have repeatedly called Sebring "punishing," "extremely demanding" and "one of the toughest tracks in the world." It is a 3.47-mile circuit that, in places, feels like it was made from the leftover bits of other circuits. Doing the 12-hour distance in Florida is thought to be a good start on lasting the 24-hour distance in France, and we can't think it a coincidence that Audi has won ten times here in the last 13 years and 11 times in Gaul.
Where there's rhyme - and victory - there is reason. We think we found a few of them on our first day where preparation, technology, fastidious attention to detail and sweat fit right in with swamp cabbage...

2017 Audi Q7 First Drive

Automotive evolution rarely makes a great leap, instead creeping along from new model to new model at a predictable pace. Audi's new Q7, though, is like handing a Bic lighter to a Cro-Mangon man smashing rocks. In Europe the new version drops 700 pounds, almost enough to reclassify its species. Audi's fire-machine will arrive in America in early 2016, as a 2017 lighter model. We spent some time in the Swiss Alps flicking the 2017 Audi Q7. As far as revolutions go, the 2017 Q7 certainly looks new. It resembles a tall station wagon more than ever, at least in European trim. A little tweaking of the design wand has left the rear end boxy and angular. Our test models use an adaptive air suspension, and the the "all-road" setting lifts the Q7 about an inch, to the normal ride height for US models. Thus raised, the big Q looks more like an SUV. This Q7 represents the first of the Volkswagen Group's MLB-platform cars. Lighter and said to be more dynamic, MLB will underpin everything from the next-gen A4 to performance and luxury SUVs like the Porsche Cayenne, and Bentley Bentayga. With the structural improvements comes a diet heavy in aluminum, the prime reason for the previously-mentioned weight savings. When outfitted for our content and crash-safety specification, US-bound models will still be about 500 pounds lighter than before. But dramatic weight-savings isn't the Q7's only trick. The adaptive air suspension significantly changes the character of the Q7, especially in the sportiest Dynamic model. There's an optional all-wheel steering feature that improves turning radius, and helps with high-speed stability. This is not to be confused with Audi's Quattro all-wheel drive, which along with a panoramic sunroof and seven seats, comes standard on all stateside models. Under the hood, things aren't so different. Both available engines are reworked but largely the same. The supercharged 3.0-liter gas engine still makes 333 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque, but it's not as thirsty as it used to be. Expect a two or three mile-per-gallon bump once official EPA ratings arrive. That engine, as well as Audi's reworked 3.0-liter V6 TDI – good for 260 hp and 443 lb-ft once outfitted for the US – are mated to the ubiquitous ZF eight-speed transmission. The Q7's driving character greatly depends on where it is pulling power from. While the diesel model is capable, turbo lag cuts back on the satisfaction we normally derive from oil burners.