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Next-gen Audi Q7 to debut in Detroit

Audi's public relations team must really be getting fed up with research and design boss Ulrich Hackenberg. Aside from basically confirming that the next Audi R8 will share its bones with the Lamborghini Huracán and noting that it may take advantage of the Asterion Concept's hybrid powertrain technology, he's now let slip that the second-generation Q7 will arrive in January at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show.
"If you make a trip to Detroit, you'll see it," Hackenberg reportedly told Indian Autos Blog during Paris Motor Show festivities.
That's a bombshell, particularly as we've heard plenty about its potential powertrain technologies, including spy shots of diesel-powered models, plug-in-hybrids, sporty SQ7s and electric turbochargers, but there's been absolutely nothing concrete about when and where the car would debut.

24 Hours of Le Mans live update part two

We tasked surfing journalist Rory Parker to watch this year's live stream of the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans. What follows is an experiment to experience the world's greatest endurance race from the perspective of a motorsports novice. Parker lives in Hawaii and can hold his breath longer than he can go without swearing. For Part One, click here. Or you can skip ahead to Part Three here. I write about surfing for a living. If you can call it a living. Basically means I spend my days fucking around and my wife pays for everything. Because she's got a real job that pays well. Brings home the bacon. Very progressive arrangement. Super twenty first century. I run a surf website, beachgrit.com, with two other guys. It's a strange gig. More or less uncensored. Kind of popular. Very good at alienating advertisers. My behavior has cost us a few bucks. I'm terrible at self-censorship. Know there's a line out there, no idea where it lies. I still don't understand any of the technical side. Might as well be astrophysics or something. For contests I do long rambling write ups. They rarely make much sense. Mainly just talk about my life, whatever random thoughts pop into my head. "Can you do something similar for Le Mans?" "Sure, but I know absolutely fuck-all about racing." "That's okay. Just write what you want." "Will do. But you're gonna need to edit my stuff. Probably censor it heavily." So here I am. I spent the last week trying to learn all I can about the sport of endurance racing. But there's only so much you can jam in your head. And I still don't understand any of the technical side. Might as well be astrophysics or something. While I rambled things were happening. Tracy Krohn spun into the gravel on the Forza chicane. #89 is out of the race after an accident I missed. Pegasus racing hit the wall on the Porsche curves. Bashed up front end, in the garage getting fixed. Toyota and Porsche are swapping back and forth in the front three. Ford back in the lead in GTE Pro. #91 Porsche took a stone through the radiator, down two laps. Not good. The wife and I are one of those weird childless couples that spend way too much time caring for the needs of their pet. French bulldog, Mr Eugene Victor Debs. Great little guy. Spent the last four years training him to be obedient and friendly. Nice thing about dogs, when you're sick of dealing with them you can just lock 'em in another room for a few hours. You don't need to worry about paying for college.

Audi boosts A3 Sportback e-tron plug-in hybrid production to 50 a day

Should we try to translate "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" into German? Audi might force us to do that. That's because the German automaker has stepped up production of its new plug-in vehicle – the A3 Sportback e-tron plug-in hybrid – which is never a bad thing. Audi was circulating prototypes of the PHEV as early as 2012 and launched production this summer at a clip of 30 vehicles a day. Now, the company is saying that it's upped that daily production rate to 50. That's not exactly Ford F-150 manufacturing territory, but it's a pretty good sign that more Europeans are clamoring for the plug-in than Audi expected. The A3 E-Tron is priced at about $51,000 in Germany and pairs a 1.4-liter gas-powered engine with an electric motor to produce 204 horsepower and get the car from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than seven and a half seconds. More impressively, the A3 Sportback e-tron plug-in hybrid can go 30 miles on electricity alone plus another 550 miles on gas power, and gets a Euro-based fuel-economy rating of a monstrous 156 miles per gallon. Check out Audi's press release below and take a look at our drive impressions here. On the line and on time: Production of the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron • First plug-in hybrid model drives off the assembly line in Ingolstadt • Assembly processes integrated into the A3 line • Maximum safety for employees, top quality for customers Production of the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron: Assembly – On the engine and component assembly line, the electric motor and transmission are fitted to the engine. Approximately 50 cars every day, with the same timing and on the same assembly line as the other models: Audi is now ramping up production of the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron*. The premium manufacturer is producing its first plug-in hybrid model at the brand's main plant in Ingolstadt. "We started series production of the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron in the summer," said Dr. Hubert Waltl, Board of Management Member for Production at AUDI AG. "Most of the assembly work is integrated into the A3 line; no separate manufacturing is necessary. That demonstrates the flexibility and efficiency of our production planners and employees." With the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron, Audi is launching the mobility of the future. The compact five-door combines a 1.4 TFSI combustion engine with a 75 kW electric motor, resulting in a total system output of 150 kW (204 horsepower).