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Audi inaugurates new R8 production line at Neckarsulm

Of all the factories which the Volkswagen Group operates around the world, the Audi plant in Neckarsulm may not be the very largest, but it is among the most diversified. That's where Audi builds versions of the A4, A5, A6, A8 and Q7 lines. It's also been home to the R8, but now the German automaker has moved supercar production to a new facility just a few miles down the road.
Back in August, Audi stopped production of the R8 at its main Neckarsulm site and moved it to the new Böllinger Höfe site in Heilbronn, restarting production just three weeks later. The new assembly line brings together various workshops that had been scattered about the Neckarsulm complex under one roof, and will surely make production of the next-generation R8 that much smoother.
The Böllinger Höfe facility is about a quarter the size of the main Neckarsulm plant, and will also house a small-scale production line - similar, we gather, to what Audi subsidiary Lamborghini recently built in Sant'Agata Bolognese - and a massive, state-of-the-art logistics center with capable of handling 4,500 containers each day.

2015 Audi Q3

There are two ways to approach a brand-new segment in the auto industry. First, an automaker can take a gamble and introduce a completely new vehicle, catering to the specific demands of the marketplace(s) in question. In the compact, premium CUV segment, we've seen Buick do this with the Encore, and Mercedes-Benz with the GLA-Class. The other option is to introduce a vehicle already sold in another market. Considering the amount of time it takes to bring a new vehicle from paper to production, there is plenty to gain in the short-term with this approach. It's not without its downsides, though, as we found after a week behind the wheel of the 2015 Audi Q3, a vehicle that was initially launched in 2011. Cute though it may be – it was referred to at least once by a passerby during our testing as "totes adorbs" – Ingolstadt's decision to introduce a vehicle that's already been on sale for four years, and is effectively approaching the last half of its lifecycle, leaves the Q3 at a significant disadvantage relative to the newer competition. Despite crossing its first auto show stage four years ago, the Q3 remains a handsome little bugger. Audi's designs, while conservative, tend to age very well, and the compact Q3 is no exception. It's like a scaled-down Q5 in most respects, although certain design pieces, like its more aggressively raked rear window and shorter front and rear overhangs, belie the significantly smaller Q3's figure. Due to its age, the Q3 was, fortunately, designed before the current A3 hit the market. That means it avoids the unattractive, minimalist dash of the A3, opting for a more traditional Audi design, with a strip of brushed aluminum on the passenger's side, a user-friendly center stack and a suitably large nav screen front and center. While the overall layout is attractive, the material quality is not what we'd expect of a newer Audi. There's nothing that feels exceedingly cheap – the plastics just feel old and too familiar. It's difficult to describe, but as soon as you climb in the Q3, things like the switchgear for the HVAC controls immediately remind you that this is a vehicle that's been on sale since 2011. While our definition of interior quality has evolved over the years, our idea of a driver-friendly cabin has not. The Q3 scores highly in this regard, featuring the elevated seating position that makes CUVs so popular with the general public.

Autoblog Podcast #394

Episode #394 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, and Michael Harley talk about the possibility of a supercharged Dodge Viper, the Chevrolet Silverado Rally Edition, the newly released supercharger kit for the Honda CR-Z, and rumblings of an Alfa Romeo 6C. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #394: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics: Supercharged Viper Chevrolet Silverado Rally Edition Honda CR-Z Supercharged Alfa Romeo 6C In The Autoblog Garage: 2014 Ford Fiesta SE 2015 Cadillac Escalade 2015 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro 2015 Audi A8 L TDI Hosts: Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, Michael Harley Runtime: 01:32:30 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 Supercharged Viper - 44:25 Chevrolet Silverado Rally Edition - 55:19 Supercharged Honda CR-Z - 01:00:52 Alfa Romeo 6C - 01:07:29 Q&A - 01:13:41 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes