2013 Audi Rs5 4.2 Coupe Quattro S Tronic on 2040-cars

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2014 Audi S3 Cabriolet

Drivers are either droptop people or they're not. As most usually aren't - at least as far as the willingness to buy one is concerned - all convertibles tend to remain strictly niche cars. Thus, automakers must ask a noticeably higher price for them.
The Audi S3 Cabriolet is about as niche as you can get in the open daylight of mainstream automaking. Of course, the S3 cab doesn't really need to sell in big volumes; it exists because it's an easy and not too costly bit of flair for the company. In the US, this model would probably base out at around $44,000 if it were to join our fleet, which is problematic, as I'll soon explore.
In what may be a sign that Audi is essentially okay with all this, it had me up to central Sweden to twist around on the snow and ice in the open S3. The grounds ended up offering precious little ice and snow, so I drove the two-door ragtop on dusty, thawing Scandinavian roads. This was a blessing really, since ice driving in a cabrio - even a Quattro one - doesn't really reveal much of anything about such a car in its typical day-to-day life.

Next Audi Q7 to debut with electric turbocharger?

For years, the concept of an electric turbocharger was essentially a joke sold on eBay to boost power in your slammed Civic, but in the last five years it has moved from an idea on a piece of paper to a feasible reality. Audi has already toyed with a showcase of the cutting-edge tech in road cars with the RS5 TDI concept. Now, reports suggest an electric turbo may make it to the streets as soon as next year in the next-gen Q7 (spy shot pictured above).
"I can confirm we are working on the development of the e-boost definitely," said Ulrich Weiss, Audi's diesel engine boss, to Australia-based Drive. He didn't give an exact timeframe but hinted at sometime next year, possibly in the Q7. He also suggested the chance of an RS-branded diesel model in the vein of the RS5 TDI concept on the horizon, as well.
This tech isn't entirely new for the folks in Ingolstadt. Audi's R18 endurance racer already uses such a system to capture waste heat from the engine, converting it to electric power to further power the hybrid car. The RS5 TDI concept employs a similar idea with a 3.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 with an electric supercharger to make up for the turbo lag. It's able to pump out 385 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque and allegedly sprint to 62 miles per hour in four seconds.

Audi gets Q2 and Q4 badges in trademark swap with FCA

Audi has swapped trademarks with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to snare the rights to the Q2 and Q4 badges for upcoming crossover SUVs. Audi CEO Rupert Stadler confirmed at the Detroit Motor Show that the automaker had finally persuaded FCA to release the two names that would let Audi lock up the Q1 to Q9 badges for its growing SUV family. Audi already plans to drop the Q2 name onto its MQB-based city crossover five-door this year, while the Q4 badge will slot onto the rump of a coupe-like version of the next Q3. It will also reserve the Q1 badge for a 2018 baby crossover, based around the architecture of the next A1 hatch. The A1 will share a lot of its engineering with Volkswagen's Polo-based soft-roader, dubbed T-Cross in concept form. The German company has also pounced on the naming rights for SQ versions of all of its Q-cars, along with F-Tron to cover the day when it pushes hydrogen fuel cell cars into production. Stadler insisted that no money had changed hands in order to pry the two badges off FCA, admitting that they had "each found something we needed." "We promised each other we wouldn't disclose what it cost, but it was not something they were willing to sell," Stadler said. "We tried to get it years ago and they said 'No, never,' but there is never 'never' in business. ... This year I went back to them with a proposal and we talked and there were some negotiations and then we agreed to it." Those negotiations are believed to have centered on a trademark swap with a Volkswagen Group name that FCA desperately (evidently) wants to use on a Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge or Maserati. Asked if Audi had given FCA a trademark in return for Q2 and Q4, Stadler replied, "Something very much like that, yes." Audi has used Italian names on past concept cars that FCA could be interested in, such as the 2001 Avantissimo concept and the 2003 Nuvolari coupe. The latter was named after legendary pre-war racer Tazio, who won grands prix for both Alfa Romeo and Audi's forerunner, Auto Union. Both are unlikely trade chips, with laws in Europe preventing the trademarking of the names of actual people. There is always "quattro" (Italian for "four"), but after investing nearly four decades locking it in as an Audi all-wheel-drive name, it's just not anything like trade bait.