2013 Audi Q5 2.0 Quattro Premium on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Audi's lunar rover is nearly ready for the moon

Last year, Audi announced it was working on a lunar rover with a group called the Part-Time Scientists. Now the company says the design of its Lunar Quattro is complete, and all that's left is final testing before it's ready to head for the moon. Since Audi and its 16 engineers became involved with the project, the rover has actually increased in size, as have its tires. The company says this is for added stability. Despite the added size, the rover is now lighter, bringing it down from 38 to 30 kilograms (what we'd call 66 pounds). Otherwise, the rover is generally the same as it was last year. All four wheels are still powered by electricity, so Audi touts it as being both a Quattro and an E-tron vehicle. Cute. The rover will undergo final testing in the Middle East where it will run through simulations of the mission. For those unfamiliar, the mission parameters were set by Google for the Google Lunar XPRIZE. The prize is worth $30 million and will go to the first team to land a privately funded lander and rover on the moon, drive the rover 500 meters, and send back photos. If the mission is successful, we should get some great 3D and 360-degree shots of the lunar rover left behind by the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, since the proposed landing site is nearby. The Part-Time Scientists team that Audi partnered with has also booked a launch for its ALINA lunar lander, which will carry a pair of the Lunar Quattro rovers to the moon's surface. The launch was scheduled with Spaceflight Industries and is set for the end of 2017. Spaceflight Industries has managed 11 rocket launches with different companies and rockets between 2013 and 2015, and will also launch a probe from Israeli XPRIZE competitor SpaceIL sometime next year on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Related Video:

Upcoming Audi Q1 rumored to get high-performance SQ1 variant

The Audi Q1 isn't due for another two or three years, yet Auto Bild reports already that it will come in RS and SQ1 trims. According to the report, the RS Q1 will be powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder putting out 300 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque, putting it about 70 hp and 8 lb-ft beyond the next-most-powerful gasoline engine in the standard range.
Depending on how you like your gumption served, however, the first SQ1 - like its European SQ5 sibling - go the diesel route with a 2.0-liter TDI fitted with twin turbos for 231 hp and 368 pound-feet of torque. That's an improvement of 47 hp and 88 lb-ft over the most powerful diesel engine said to be offered on the regular Q1.
The report goes on to say that there should be g-tron (natural gas) and e-tron versions of the Q1, and buyers will get a deep toy chest of assistance packages to equip it with. Starting price in Europe is expected to be around 25,000 euros, which, if correct, would make it 4,000 euros less dear than the Q3 in Germany.

2018 Audi A5 and S5 Sportbacks are coming to America

Fans of hatchbacks have cause for celebration, because Audi confirmed the 2018 A5 and S5 Sportback models are coming to the US. The five-door variant of the classy A5 coupe and convertible line will appear in America this spring. Pricing was not announced. While we will be getting the hatchback, we won't get every powertrain option offered in Europe. Those versions will be offered with an array of gas and diesel engines, and some will be available with a manual transmission. We'll only get two engines here, and they both come with automatics. The standard A5 Sportback will come with the same turbocharged four-cylinder as the A5 coupe and convertible and the A4 sedan. It makes 252 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque of torque and is paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. The S5 Sportback gets the same 354-horsepower turbocharged V6, which also makes 369 lb-ft of torque and sends power through a conventional 8-speed automatic. Both Sportback models are nearly as fast as their two-door siblings, reaching 60 mph in 5.7 and 4.5 seconds respectively. That's just a tenth of a second slower than either coupe. The Sportback also has one more difference compared with the European version. All American A5 Sportback models will come with Audi's Quattro all-wheel-drive. The Sportbacks feature similar interiors to their coupe and convertible brethren, along with the same infotainment options. This includes the available Virtual Cockpit LCD instrument panel and MMI system. Of course the biggest difference between the Sportback and the two-door models is space. Audi claims the Sportback has twice as much cargo room as the coupe. And the back seat will obviously be much more comfortable and usable. View 14 Photos You don't sacrifice too much in style, either. The A5 coupe's distinctive, Coke-bottle character line has made the transition to a longer profile gracefully, and it's complemented by the greenhouse inspired by the bigger A7 Sportback. So if you've always wanted an A5 for its looks, but felt you needed something more practical, you won't have to compromise with the Sportback. Related Video: