2001 Audi A4 Qutro on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Audi Sport sets up new shop in Neuburg

Racing fans may know Audi best for its Le Mans team that's positively dominated the endurance racing scene. But as formidable as its Le Mans program is, that's only one of the racing disciplines in which Audi competes. It also competes in the full FIA World Endurance Championship, as well as Germany's popular DTM touring car series and supports customer teams in GT racing series around the world. And now the competition division is getting a new headquarters.
Audi Sport has until now been based in an old supermarket near to the company's head offices in Ingolstadt, but is now moving into a brand new, state-of-the-art facility 12 miles to the west in nearby Neuburg. The result of some 20 years of planning and two years of construction, the complex covers 116 acres of land in Neuburg-Heinrichsheim and will house engineers, technicians and other staff who deal with the R18 E-Tron Quattro, the RS5 DTM and R8 LMS Ultra that compete the world over.
The facility was officially opened this past Saturday with participation from top Audi brass and local government officials and included demonstrations from all three of those racecars around the on-site test track. The works team has begun moving in and the customer racing department will move into its new Motorsport Competence Center in the first half of 2015.

Genesis G70 vs sport sedan rivals: How it compares on paper

We got our first look at the Genesis G70 sport sedan today. We think it looks good, with enough ties to its fellow Genesises (Geneses?) to further establish the brand and just enough distinction to help it stand out from the crowd. But ah yes, the crowd. Although Genesis didn't release the G70's full spec sheet, it revealed just enough for us to start sizing it up to its future competition. There are certainly others with which to compare (Lexus IS, Cadillac ATS, Alfa Romeo Giulia, Jaguar XE just to name a few), but we decided to take a look at the best sellers and most competitive luxury sport sedans. (And hey, if you like this, we can always do a follow up) So, here we have the Genesis G70 vs BMW 3 Series vs Audi A4 / S4 vs Mercedes-Benz C-Class vs Infiniti Q50. Nothing like a good chart to dig your teeth into on a Friday. Note that we only compared those models that line up with the G70. So, we left out the BMW 320i and Audi A4 Ultra entry level models as well as the Q50 3.0t mid-grade model that's considerably cheaper than the German performance upgrade models we listed. All 0-60 figures are rough estimates based on several sources, models/drivetrains and OEM figures. Related Video: Featured Gallery Genesis G70 vs other sport sedans View 15 Photos Audi BMW Genesis Infiniti Mercedes-Benz Luxury Sedan consumer infiniti q50 audi s4 genesis g70 mercedes-benz c-class bmw 330i bmw 340i

Don't hold your breath for an Audi RS8

There was a time not so long ago when Quattro GmbH produced essentially one model at a time. But that time is behind us. These days it's expanding into a full-fledged performance division to rival Mercedes-AMG and BMW's M department. Quattro GmbH is currently building the Audi RS4 Avant, RS5 coupe and cabrio, RS6 Avant, RS7, RS Q3 and the TT RS coupe and roadster - not to mention the R8. And while it's showing no signs of slowing down, but the latest intel from across the pond suggests we shouldn't count on an RS version of Audi's flagship sedan.
This according to Car and Driver, which spoke to Stephan Reil, the chief engineer at Quattro GmbH. Reil says Audi works on a teutonically rigid performance formula: an RS model has to have 20 to 25 percent more power than the existing S version. Considering that the existing S8 makes 512 horsepower and the RS7 a solid 553, we're not sure Audi really needs anything more powerful. But by Reil's calculations, the RS8 would need to pack between 630 and 655 hp, which would put it well ahead of rivals like the 550-hp Jaguar XJR, the 540-hp BMW Alpina B7, the 523-hp Maserati Quattroporte and even the new 577-hp Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG - and in league only with the even more powerful S65 AMG, which in its outgoing form produced 630 hp.
The question then comes down to whether there are enough customers lining up for the S65 that Audi would want to poach away from Mercedes. Or perhaps more pertinently, whether it might end up just taking customers from the new Bentley Flying Spur, which is already offering 616 horsepower in an even more prestigious, if less performance-focused package. Either way you look at it, Audi is apparently steering clear.