2014 A6 Quattro Premium Plus 2.0t,20-inch Sport-cold Weather Pkg.blind Spot on 2040-cars

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Audi UrQuattro gets the Petrolicious narrative

Audi started a revolution in the world of rallying when it paired an all-wheel-drive system with a turbocharged, five-cylinder engine and a rakish, three-door body. That car, the Quattro, didn't just upset the entire balance of the World Rally Championship, it (eventually) led to a transformative effect on the consumer car market.
But we're not just interested in this car simply because history has proven the UrQuattro to be important - we love its sharply creased looks, its offbeat soundtrack and its gravel-spitting abilities. Evidently, so does the crew from Petrolicious, as they've lavished their lenses upon the car. This particular model hails from 1983, and has covered a healthy 175,000 miles, says owner Manuel Leon Minassian. His first experience with the Ur (meaning "original") came in Beirut, where the car received plenty of praise from students at his school.
That first encounter led to a long passion for the Quattro, culminating in his purchase of this car four years ago. Take a look at Minassian and his Audi in the latest video from Petrolicious.

Audi's next-gen "matrix beam lighting system" under threat from Washington

Automotive News reports Audi may have a hard road ahead of it when it comes to convincing federal regulators to allow the company's new matrix beam lighting. The system uses small cameras to detect other vehicles on the road and darkens specific elements of the high-beam pattern to provide maximum nighttime visibility without blinding other drivers. Audi has been displaying this technology on its concept cars for a couple of years now (including the Crosslane Coupe Concept shown above at its 2012 Paris Motor Show reveal). Audi hopes the technology will effectively do away with the industry's current high and low beam settings, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration doesn't allow such a system under its current laws. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108 specifically says headlamps are not to shine in this dynamic of a way.
Audi has asked has asked NHTSA for more clarification to determine what, if any elements of the matrix beam lighting technology can legally be used on US-specification vehicles. But American buyers may have to settle for systems that automatically dim their high beams until the rules get a bit more clarification.

Audi A8 and S8 get another video tease

If there was any doubt before about which car(s) Audi recently teased in a video, now we know for sure. Audi has released another teaser video that confirms we'll at least be seeing the 2015 Audi S8 (and very likely the A8 as well) in the near future, but the big surprise is just how soon we'll see the new flagship sedan. We originally expected to see the sedan receive its official debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show, but now Audi says that the car will be presented about three weeks before the event on August 21.
How do we know this is the S8? Well, aside from it obviously being a large sedan, the true tell that this is its A8/S8 is the front license plate, which clearly shows "S8" on it - we've been doing this long enough to know that Audi's promotional license plates have the model designation in the plate number. As for other details, Audi's trick Matrix headlights shine through the thin veil in what should be the crown jewel of the sedan's new face. There's a little more than a week to go until the car is unveiled, but for now, check out the video below.