2003 Audi Rs6 on 2040-cars

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New European charging network will offer speeds up to 350 kW

It's about to get easier to fast-charge your electric vehicle across Europe thanks to four major automakers working together in a new joint venture. BMW, Daimler (Mercedes-Benz), Ford, and the VW Group (Audi and Porsche) have all signed a Memorandum of Understanding to install about 400 DC fast charging sites in Europe. As you may know, there are different types of fast chargers, but the ones that this group is talking about installing will be able to charge an EV in much less time than other stations. That's because these chargers will offer power levels of "up to 350 kW." Compare that to what's generally considered the current gold standard, the Tesla Superchargers, which have rates of up to 145 kW and a statement not that long ago from a Ford exec that suggested that 150 kW chargers would be the new normal. Of course, the Tesla chargers use the company's proprietary connector and the new network the JV is setting up will use the CCS standard. The first new stations will go up in 2017 and those 400 sites are just the beginning. A joint statement by the JV says that EV drivers will "have access to thousands of high-powered charging points" by 2020 along highways and main roads. "The charging experience is expected to evolve to be as convenient as refueling at conventional gas stations," the companies said. While not every electric vehicle will be able to take advantage of the 350 kW charging rate, the companies involved would be silly to build the infrastructure without vehicles that can handle that kind of energy flow. The JV says it would welcome participation from other automakers and will cooperate with interested regional partners. Related Video: News Source: Daimler Green Audi BMW Ford Mercedes-Benz Porsche Volkswagen Electric fast charging

2017 Audi R8 starts at $164,150 [w/video]

The new 2017 Audi R8, which offers 540-horsepower and 398-pound-foot of torque from its V10 engine alongside Quattro all-wheel drive and a seven-speed S-Tronic dual-clutch transmission, will start at $164,150 (including destination). That's about $47,000 more than the previous entry-level R8, but since that car was down two cylinders, 110 horsepower, and 82 pound-feet of torque, it's kind of an apples-and-oranges comparison. There's a much fairer comparison if we look at Audi's newest supercar in relation to the 2015 R8 V10. On the one hand, the loss of the $155,150 manual transmission model kicks the starting price up noticeably, but perhaps in recognition of that, Audi hasn't adjusted the two-pedal R8 V10 at all. It's the same price as the 2015 model while adding 15 more horsepower, seven more pound-feet of torque, and a tenth of a second to the 0-60 time, which is now estimated at 3.5 seconds. Don't worry – the 2017 R8 adds four miles an hour to its predecessor's 195-mph top speed. While under-the-skin changes for the standard R8 V10 may look modest at first glance, the updates Audi added to the V10 Plus are significant, and the automaker has raised the price to reflect that fact. On the one hand, the new range-topper was kicked up by $7,400, to $191,150. On the other hand, power is up by 60 ponies to 610 hp, and torque has jumped from 398 lb-ft to 413. The 0-60 time has been trimmed by a tenth of a second, and owners will also be able to hit 205 mph, up from the old V10 Plus' 198-mph max. To reflect the new pricing announcement, Audi prepped an entertaining video featuring Radio Le Mans announcer John Hindhaugh to "hand the baton" from the original R8 to its second-gen successor. Check out the video below, alongside the official press blast. Audi of America announces pricing for the all-new 2017 R8, the fastest and most powerful Audi production model ever January 20, 2016 | HERNDON, Virginia More powerful and more dynamic than its predecessor, the R8 V10 plus generates 610 hp and 413 lb-ft of torque reaching a top track speed of 205 mph The all-new Audi R8 and R8 LMS racecar were co-developed and share approximately 50 percent of the same parts, including the V10 engine Track-tested around the world, the R8 LMS will make its US racing debut at the ROLEX 24 at Daytona on January 30, 2016 Faster, more efficient, and more capable both on and off the racetrack, the all-new 2017 R8 is the most powerful Audi production model ever.

Audi Sport is actually a thing, and it's set to fight BMW M, Mercedes-AMG 

"Essentially, the name Audi Sport positions an enterprise already used to become better-recognized by the public and sets itself up to grow as a result." BMW has its M performance subsidiary. Mercedes-Benz has AMG. So what does Audi have? Some would say "nothing," a few would answer "Quattro," while many others would respond to that by saying, "Don't be stupid, Quattro's their all-wheel drive system." Well, it is, but Quattro GmbH is also the name of the company that has been tasked with creating Audi's highest performance cars, plus special-order customization, customer racing, and the Audi Collection of merchandise. Trouble is, nobody really knew that, as it was in no way a public-facing brand. That all changes with the entity now rechristened as Audi Sport. It doesn't stop there. "We wanted to have recognition for the R8 and RS models on a broad level," said Filip Brabec, vice president of product development. Audi Sport allows those models to be more easily identified as something different and special, much as AMG models are. "It's not just a piece of marketing material, but it'll also be recognized at a dealership." Around half of Audi dealers in the United States have signed up to be Audi Sport dealers, granting them unique training, access to track events and signage. The dealer buildings themselves will have special areas devoted to Audi Sport. So essentially, the name Audi Sport positions an enterprise already in use to become better-recognized by the public and sets itself up to grow as a result. But be it called Quattro GmbH or Audi Sport, what is it that they exactly do? Besides the R8, which it completely developed and manufactures, all its RS models are done in concert with Audi AG. Yet, that "done in concert" process has changed a bit over the years and head of Audi Sport product development Stefan Reil has been there from the RS cars' beginning 19 years ago. "When we started, our cars were launched in the last one or two years of the base Audi cars," Reil said. "We started development when the base cars were already in development or on the road. Now we have a much closer interaction with the people at Audi AG. Even when they start the concept work for the new car, we are right there in that process." View 23 Photos In the beginning, his small team would work on developing one car, finish it, and then move onto the next. Now, his much larger team is running multiple projects at the same time.