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2013 Audi RS6 Avant [w/video]

Latest, Greatest Autobahn Bomber Will Not Be Denied - Except To Us
Back in 2008, I was fortunate enough to test the second-generation Audi RS6 Avant in southern France on the supremely well-sorted circuit at Le Castellet, a.k.a. Paul Ricard. I was thrown out there with the 572-horsepower bi-turbo 5.0-liter V10-equipped behemoth behind one of Audi's DTM pros and was convinced in short order that the flaming hippo in my hands was going to get the better of me on one or another of the track's tight esses. I made it out alive and invigorated, of course, but knew that that RS6 Avant was the heaviest that these thunderwagons should ever be allowed to get. At around 4,650 pounds with driver aboard, it was just way more lateral momentum at speed than any pilot needs on a track - or for that matter, on a favorite hot curving road.
Now it's time for the 2013 Audi RS6 Avant to lay us out with a flying scissor kick from the corner ropes. This version of the highway and byway marauder from Quattro GmbH is a decidedly greater piece of work than was the car I drove in 2008. This time, there will only be the Avant body configuration - no RS6 sedan - and, as with the previous generation, North America won't be at the receiving end when deliveries start at the end of July this year.

First impressions of Audi's next TT interior and Virtual Cockpit [w/video]

Not content to pummel CES show goers with laser lights and self-piloting vehicles, Audi has also pulled the wraps (well, some of the wraps) off the interior of its upcoming next-gen TT. While the car itself wasn't on hand for us to check out, Audi did mock up the cockpit, complete with its all-new Virtual Cockpit central display and the latest iteration of the company's Multi Media Interface (MMI).
Virtual Display is Audi's new brand name for a completely digital reinterpretation of the instrument binnacle, by way of a 12.3-inch TFT screen. Audi tells us that there are two operable modes for Virtual Display: in the standard mode, an average-sized tachometer and speedometer flank a smaller infotainment portion in the center. Infotainment mode, meanwhile, shrinks the gauges to discreet circles and allows the navigation map, audio controls, or whichever system is being operated by the driver, to fill the remaining screen real estate.
This design, says Audi, allowed engineers to slim down the size of the center console as a whole, without reducing function for the driver. We can say that it looks very impressive as a demonstrator, but we will need some time with it in a moving vehicle before we're convinced it isn't slightly more distracting that a traditional setup.

Audi builds 5-millionth vehicle with Quattro

Quattro, the trademark name Audi has put on its all-wheel-drive system engineered for passenger vehicles, recently celebrated its five-millionth installation. The driveline has been offered in more than 140 different vehicles since its introduction more than three decades ago.
The all-wheel-drive technology made its world debut at the 1980 International Geneva Motor Show, beneath the floorpan of the Quattro Coupé, a low-volume two-door. It didn't take consumers long to embrace Audi's innovative approach. While most four-wheel-drive systems at that time utilized heavy transfer cases or second cardan shafts, Quattro was virtually tension-free, light, compact and efficient. Most importantly, enthusiasts found it was especially suitable for sports cars.
Today, the automaker offers Quattro on its full line of passenger vehicles and it is unquestionably successful (the technology enjoyed a 43 percent take rate in 2012). On models with transverse-mounted engines (A3 and TT), Audi uses an electronically controlled multi-plate clutch with hydraulic actuator. Under normal conditions, the clutch sends power almost exclusively to the front wheels (if wheel slippage occurs, up to 100 percent of the torque may be sent to the rear). Vehicles with transverse-mounted engines (A4, A5, Q5, etc...) use a self-locking center differential sending 40 percent of the engine torque to the front axle and 60 percent to the rear under normal conditions (it is able to send the majority of the power to the axle with better traction when needed). The highest-performing Quattro systems use torque vectoring to further improve cornering grip and speeds.