2013 Audi S5 Black On Black Vossen 20" Wheels Custom Audio System 6 Spd Not Rs5 on 2040-cars

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Audi bringing new TT Roadster to Paris

The TT may be first and foremost a coupe, but in presenting the third-generation model, Audi has toyed with all sorts of body-styles. There's been the prototypical coupe, of course, but also shooting brake and crossover concepts. The one thing it hasn't shown us is the convertible model, but that ends today as Audi takes the wraps off the new TT Roadster and TTS Roadster.
Set to be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show next month, the new TT Roadster naturally follows its fixed-roof counterpart's lead closely, but with the addition of a folding fabric roof mechanism. Made of magnesium, aluminum, steel and plastic, the mechanism weighs 6.6 pounds less than its predecessor's, helping keep the center of gravity lower. It also folds flatter to allow for more luggage space, and can deploy or retract in ten seconds at speeds up to 31 miles per hour. With the roof up it's also quieter, and with a drag coefficient of 0.30, Audi claims it's the slipperiest in the segment.
Of course, Audi's also worked to keep the weight down and rigidity up. As a result, the 0-62 sprint only takes an extra 0.2 seconds, quoted in the TTS Roadster at 4.9 seconds instead of 4.7 in the TTS coupe. Top speed remains pegged at 155 miles per hour. That, of course, is with the top-spec, 310-horsepower 2.0-liter turbo four, but Audi will also offer the less potent 184-hp version as well as a 2.0-liter TDI, mated to either a six-speed manual or six-speed DCT, though specific performance figures for each version were not disclosed in the press release below.

Audi planning S3 Plus with 375 hp?

There's a war being waged in Europe for the highest output from the smallest displacement. Alfa Romeo has managed to squeeze 240 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque out of a 1.7-liter turbo four for the 4C. Mercedes-Benz has coaxed 355 hp and 332 lb-ft out of a 2.0-liter turbo four to drive the new A45 AMG, CLA45 AMG and GLA45 AMG. But not to be outdone, the Volkswagen Group is said to be working on one of its own that will put both to shame.
The engine is reportedly being based on VW's existing 2.0-liter turbo four, only enhanced to produce a massive 375 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque. The key to getting there was poaching Friedrich Eichler, the engineer who designed AMG's aforementioned high-output engine, and mandating him to do still better.
That's all well and fine - and perfectly impressive - but just what does VW plan on doing with the new engine? A whole lot, according to reports. It's expected to power the new Scirocco and a new Golf R Evo expected to debut at the Beijing Motor Show in April, and you can bet it'll be slotted into another few applications as well. But the first vehicle expected to get it will be the Audi S3 Plus.

40+ cars that barely avoid the gas guzzler tax

The Gas Guzzler schedule, with mpg ratings and charges that haven't changed since 1991, lays out which fuel-swillers owe what to Uncle Sam.
I started thinking about the "Gas Guzzler Tax" - considerably less well known as The Energy Tax Act of 1978 - when I was driving Dodge's new Challenger SRT Hellcat last week. Unsurprisingly for a car that can burn 1.5 gallons of gas per minute at max tilt, theoretically able to empty a full tank of premium in about 13 minutes, the Hellcat will be subject to the Gas Guzzler Tax schedule when it goes on sale.