2014 Audi A4 2.0t Premium Plus Quattro on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Leaked design sketch may preview Audi TT Sportback Concept for Paris

With the debut of the new TT and TTS hardtops in Geneva earlier this year, as well as the more recent debut of the convertible model, Audi has ticked the same body style boxes as the first two generations of TT. Unlike those earlier examples, though, the German luxury manufacturer has provided a slow and steady parade of concepts showing off possible directions for the TT.
First, we had the Allroad Shooting Brake Concept from the 2014 Detroit Auto Show. Then, in April, we saw the Offroad Concept, whose biggest differentiation from the Detroit concept was its extra pair of doors, making it appear, at least superficially, quite similar to one of Audi's Sportback models. This clear evolution from shooting brake to neo-Sportback might not have meant much, had the image you see above not leaked.
This is, allegedly, the third member of the larger TT-based concept family, and - surprise, surprise - it has massaged the profile of the Offroad Concept into something that, to our eyes, appears far more grounded in reality. It looks like a natural fit into Audi's line of four-door-coupe models, which are more fleshed out in Europe, thanks to the presence of the A5/S5 Sportback. Slotting in a TT-based model could represent a coup for Audi, as such a small four-door with such obvious sports car roots would be mostly unchallenged.

Startup will make your Audi A4 self-driving for $10k [w/video]

We are on the cusp of the next generation of semi-autonomous driving technology becoming affordable. Adaptive cruise control is already trickling down to the mass market, and the more sophisticated systems found on vehicles like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class are clearly coming, as well. If you're a little adventurous, live in California and drive an Audi, you might be able to upgrade to the next stage of driverless tech even sooner. A San Francisco start-up called Cruise Automation is launching an aftermarket autopilot system called the RP1 for $10,000, with deliveries starting in 2015.
The RP1 is designed for 2012 and newer Audi A4 and S4 models. Although, Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt told Autoblog in an email: "There's no reason we can't expand to other cars, and we will." The system includes a sensor pod on the roof containing cameras, radar and other sensors to scan the road ahead. It then sends data to a small computer mounted on the side of the trunk. The desired inputs are then made by actuators for the steering, brakes and throttle to control the car. A button in the cabin activates the autopilot and controls the desired speed. Not completely unlike Audi's own, developmental, semiautonomous system.
At this point, the RP1 is somewhere between an adaptive cruise control system and an autonomous vehicle. It can control all of the cars inputs and even bring it down to a complete stop and then accelerate again. However, it only works on select highways in California. "We use geofencing to limit the areas of operation to segments of highway in which we've collected enough data to ensure our customers' safety," said Vogt to Autoblog.

Audi R8 lines up as safety car for Rolex 24 at Daytona

This weekend a new era begins in American sports car racing with the Rolex 24 at Daytona to kick off the new United SportsCar Championship, the freshly inked union between the Grand Am and American Le Mans Series. There'll be a wide variety of machinery lining up on the grid at the Florida speedway, including race-ready versions of the sports cars you can drive on the road, plus Daytona Prototypes, Le Mans Prototypes and even the DeltaWing. But at the front of the pack will be the Audi R8 5.2 FSI.
That's because Ingolstadt's flagship has been named as the official safety car for this, the 52nd annual Rolex 24 at Daytona. And so the R8 becomes the first pace car pressed into service for the United SportsCar Championship, although the model also paced last year's race (pictured above) when it was under the auspices of the Grand Am series.
The car in question appears to bear little in the way of modifications over the showroom version, save for some requisite graphics and maybe some emergency lighting to make it more visible - because while you wouldn't miss an R8 slicing its way through ordinary traffic on the road, it's another story entirely in a field full of competition machinery. Audi points out that the road-going R8 shares a good 50 percent of its components with the R8 LMS competing in the race, including its 5.2-liter V10 engine that's available this year with a new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.