1997 Audi Cabriolet 2.8l, Automatic on 2040-cars

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World Car of the Year finalists announced

To say the 2014 Geneva Motor Show was packed full of news is an understatement as big as the show's home at the Palexpo convention center. Despite everything that we were able to cover during this year's show, there's still more coming out of Switzerland, including the announcement of the finalists for the 2014 World Car of the Year Awards.
We reported on the original list of finalists over three weeks ago, and now, that initial list has been pared down to three finalists for each of the five awards. The finalists were announced at a press conference by frequent Autoblog contributor and co-chair of the awards, Matt Davis (above).
The finalists for the overall title of 2014 World Car of the Year are the Audi A3, the BMW 4 Series and the Mazda3. The World Luxury Car of the Year will be either the Bentley Flying Spur, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class or the Land Rover Range Rover Sport, while the Performance Car of the Year will be awarded to the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, the Ferrari 458 Speciale or the Porsche 911 GT3 (which, um, yeah...).

Audi reveals S3 Cabriolet ahead of Geneva debut

It used to be if you wanted an Audi S3, your choices in bodystyle came down to hatchback or... hatchback. That is, in markets where the model was offered at all. But Audi has been expanding the A3 global family upon which the S3 is based, and it intends to offer the performance-minded derivative as a three-door hatch, five-door hatch, four-door sedan and - with the introduction of the version you see here - a two-door convertible.
Set to be presented in public for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show early next month, the new Audi S3 Cabriolet packs the same 2.0-liter turbo four as its fixed-roof counterparts - all 290 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of it - but ditches the extra doors and the tin top in favor of the two-door cabriolet bodystyle of the A3 Cabriolet.
The added weight of the folding fabric roof mechanism and the extra body reinforcement required means that the S3 cabrio takes half a second more to reach 62 miles per hour from a standstill than it would take the sedan version, clocking the run at 5.4 seconds instead of 4.9. This, despite more generous use of magnesium, aluminum and high-strength steel in its construction. Top speed, as is the German custom, remains pinned at 155 mph.

2016 Audi TT Second Drive [w/video]

The original Audi TT is a modern style icon. But having a one-time design hit isn't a recipe for longevity. In order to succeed, you have to bolster style with substance. Thankfully, that's exactly what Audi did with its third-generation TT. Now more than ever, the TT is a proper sports car, and it debuts with a host of new technology. The car still looks good, but it's no longer a one-off masterpiece. Instead, it takes many of the original TT's elements and incorporates new bits of modern detailing. The shape is all TT – the roofline, the wheel arches – even smaller details like the fuel filler cap and exhaust outlets moved closer to the center of the vehicle pay homage to the original car's design. But the new car's face is more angular, more robotic. Park the new R8 next to this TT and the family resemblance is clear. "It's fair to say that the new car hasn't been comprehensively reconceived; it's been comprehensively re-detailed," says associate editor Jonathon Ramsey, who first drove a Euro-spec TT back in September. It's a good move, a way to "keep the icon alive," according to Audi AG exterior designer Dany Garand. But the better news is that the rest of the car is more than just a comprehensively re-detailed machine. Launch a TT coupe from a stop and you'll hit 60 miles per hour in 5.3 seconds. The TT rides on the same modular MQB architecture as the Volkswagen Golf. The whole package is the same length as before, but the wheelbase is stretched by 1.5 inches. At 3,186 pounds, the TT is only 11 pounds heavier than its predecessor, but thanks to new body components, it's 25-percent stiffer than the second generation. We sampled the base TT on the roads of northwest Oregon – that means there's a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four good for 220 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. It's the same output as a GTI with the Performance Package in a two-door coupe that's 155 pounds heavier. But stay with us – the magic of Quattro all-wheel drive seriously comes into play here. Launch a TT coupe from a stop and you'll hit 60 miles per hour in 5.3 seconds. Even the TT Roadster is a firecracker, able to do that same 0-60 run in 5.6 seconds. That 220-hp, front-wheel-drive GTI, by comparison, hits 60 in about six seconds flat. We didn't get to drive the TTS, but based on numbers alone, it ought to be a real honey. The S uses the more powerful version of the 2.0T engine from the Golf R, with 292 hp and 280 lb-ft of torque. Zero-60: 4.6 seconds.