12 Q5 Prestige S Line Pkg Navigation Pano Roof Awd! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Audi RS7 prototype is world's sportiest self-driving car [w/video]

Audi may not be the only automaker out there toying with self-driving automobile technology, but it is arguably the fastest of them. A few years back, it raced unleashed a driverless TTS on the Bonneville Salt Flats, then sent it up Pikes Peak and around Thunderhill. But now it's taking things a step further with the vehicle you see here.
This RS7 Sportback has been fitted with steering, brakes, throttle and transmission hooked up to a computer system that combines GPS, high-frequency radio signals and 3D imaging camera to drive the vehicle autonomously not just in slow-paced, stop-and-go traffic, but around the track at the same pace a professional racing driver would push it: full throttle on the straights, full braking before the corner and 1.1-g of cornering force.
As promised, Audi plans to unleash the self-driving RS7 - which it calls "the sportiest piloted driving car in the world" - at Hockenheim next weekend prior to the DTM season finale, where it is anticipated to pull a 2:10 lap time. The next stage will be to set it lose on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, all 154 turns and 13 miles of it, which ought to pose a heck of a challenge to the engineers from Ingolstadt. In the meantime you can scope it out in the high-res image gallery above and the second teaser video below.

Audi buys Ballard fuel cell patents for $80 million

While some auto companies (e.g., Toyota and Hyundai) are giving away some hydrogen fuel cell patents, others are paying a pretty penny to gain access to the H2 tech. Audi announced today that it has purchased a suite of fuel-cell patent from Ballard Power Systems. The deal between Volkswagen Group and the Canadian fuel cell pioneer is worth over $80 million US. Unsurprisingly, the value of Ballard's stock shot up about a dollar (to $2.61 as of this writing) on the announcement. VW and Ballard will also extend their development agreement, originally scheduled to end in 2017, to March 2019, and possibly another two years after that. Thus far, the deal – which revolves around the "design and manufacture of next-generation fuel cell stacks" for VW's H2 demonstration program – and Ballard says it is a leader in "critical areas of fuel cell product design – including the membrane electrode assembly (MEA), plate and stack components – along with certain testing and integration work." At the LA Auto Show last fall, VW showed off a Golf SportWagen and a Passat with a hydrogen hybrid HyMotion powertrain as well as a Audi A7 Sportback H-Tron Quattro. Audi buys fuel-cell patents from Ballard Power Systems Development agreement with Ballard extended until 2019 Audi's Head of Development Prof. Hackenberg: "The entire VW Group will use these patents." Ingolstadt/Burnaby, February 11, 2015 – AUDI AG has acquired a package of patents relating to fuel-cell technology from Ballard Power Systems Inc. In addition, the Volkswagen Group has extended its cooperation with the Canadian clean energy company until 2019. The purchase of these patents will provide new impetus for the development of fuel-cell drive systems at Audi, VW and the Volkswagen Group. As explained by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management for Technical Development at AUDI AG and responsible for the steering of the development departments of all brands in the VW Group: "Audi is acquiring these strategically important patents for the entire group and will make them available to all the brands. In this way, we are securing crucial expertise that will provide new impetus for the further development of this technology." Ballard Power Systems Inc. is based in Burnaby, Canada, and is one of the world's leading companies in the technology of proton exchange membrane fuel cells.

Next Audi RS4 to get V6 turbo, US sales still unclear

Audi's high-performance S models have forged a reputation in the US for offering wonderful driving dynamics in a package that doesn't scream, "I bought a sport sedan." However, its even higher-performance RS models are still somewhat of a rarity here. While the RS5 and RS7 are in the current US lineup, many of the wild RS models that Europe gets, like the RS6 Avant (pictured above), never make it to these shores. Unfortunately, that might not be changing anytime soon with the next-gen RS4.
The RS4 will follow the lead of the next BMW M3/M4 and (rumored) next Mercedes-Benz C-Class AMG and make the switch to a smaller turbocharged powerplant. According to an Audi insider speaking to Car and Driver, the next RS4 will drop the last generation's 4.2-liter V8 in favor of a turbocharged V6. The engine block will likely be shared with the supercharged 3.0-liter V6 in the regular S4 but fitted with two turbochargers. Power would likely be around 400 horsepower to match the 425-hp M3 and rumored 450-hp C-Class AMG.
Unfortunately, the RS might not make it across the pond to our waiting hands because the source says no decision has been made to export them yet. Obviously, we hope that Audi makes the right decision and brings the next RS4 here.