Modified 2001 Audi Tt Quattro on 2040-cars

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New Transporter 4 Refueled prequel trailer comes with new lead, new Audi S8

Frank Martin returns in a new installment of the franchise that helped make Jason Statham that guy, this one called Transporter 4: Refueled. But ugh, what's happened to all the decent car movies? The problem here isn't that Statham left this series to play the baddie in Fast & Furious 7, but that the trailer makes it appear the director just combined the unused footage from a rap video and a Michael Bay movie, only forgot to include any rappers or input from Michael Bay. The trailer gives no clue as to what the movie's about, but it's not like we don't know – actor Ed Skrein has to take something somewhere while people try to kill him. Skrein does his best (we assume) to fill Statham's large shoes, helped and hindered by the entire line-up of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue, a second reserve alternate Bond villain, gigatons of CGI, and more fireballs than the Milky Way. Oh, and this is a prequel to the series, so just like you did with Darth Maul's double-sided light saber, ignore the extreme newness of Skrein's current generation Audi S8. Related Video:

Audi CEO Rupert Stadler: Ducati is not for sale

"Ducati is not for sale." Those words, attributed to Audi CEO Rupert Stadler, are about as clear and definitive as can be, and they reiterate a previous statement about the potential sale of the premium Italian motorcycle brand that was made in March of this year. "[Ducati and Lamborghini] belong to Audi and, together with us, have an excellent future," said Stadler. Thing is, Audi, as well-off and established as it may be, still falls under the Volkswagen umbrella. And, as you're surely aware, things haven't exactly been smooth sailing for the VW Group over the last several months. The German automaker has squirreled away billions of dollars in anticipation of the legal fallout that's sure to come from the falsification of vehicle emissions data, and that's going to leave the company strapped for cash. All of that bad news led to speculation that VW could sell off some of its non-core businesses. What of the future of the Scania and Man heavy truck brands? Those don't currently appear to be on the auction block, either. VW's continued involvement in the HD truck segment was announced as part of the brand's TOGETHER - Strategy 2025 plan, in which Volkswagen outlined plans to push further into vehicle electrification and vehicle autonomy. Related Video: News Source: Asphalt & RubberImage Credit: Malte Christians/AFP/Getty Earnings/Financials Audi Lamborghini Volkswagen Motorcycle Performance Ducati Scania

Next-gen Audi A7 design to be 'radical'

The Prologue concept has our attention. In fact, it has everyone's attention. It is the preview for the coming A7, and Autocar summarized Audi design chief Marc Lichte's concerning the new A7 as, "A more radical design is promised for the next-generation." In fact, the next A7 is said to become "the most radical" of three coming designs inspired by the Prologue, the others being the new A6 and A8. Autocar also said Lichte made it clear that there would be "much greater visual differentiation between the trio and other future Audis." Yet, for at least four years Audi has been talking about a design overhaul to fight back charges that its cars look too similar. In 2011 there was a "design initiative" dubbed AQR to make sure that "the design details will be different" between its hatchbacks, Quattro offerings and R Sports cars, and make proportion changes to its sedans. That didn't really move the needle. In 2013, then-design boss Wolfgang Egger hailed the end of "scalable design," a prime culprit for the 'same sausage, different lengths' accusations. We're not sure the needle moved much then, either. And this year came news of a new "Quattro-centric" design language that would stress horizontals, perhaps the new Q7 it's first serious proponent, a crossover that we'll have to see before we can judge. Although we've heard the bells ringing about fresh design at Audi for years, we hope they mean it with products that come after the Prologue; it is a fabulous place to start. Featured Gallery Audi A7 Sportback facelift View 13 Photos News Source: Autocar Design/Style Audi Sedan marc lichte