2012 Audi Tt 2.0t Prestige on 2040-cars

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Autoblog gets ready for Le Mans with an R8 road trip and Allan McNish

This car is the master link between what Audi does on the race track and sells on the road.
We're attending the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Audi and we figured we'd make the world's biggest endurance race even more interesting by driving from Munich to Le Mans in an R8. We've also had a brief chat with Audi driver Allan McNish, and if you haven't already, check out all the multimedia ways to enjoy the next four days from the Circuit de la Sarthe, then read on.

Audi planning S3 Plus with 375 hp?

There's a war being waged in Europe for the highest output from the smallest displacement. Alfa Romeo has managed to squeeze 240 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque out of a 1.7-liter turbo four for the 4C. Mercedes-Benz has coaxed 355 hp and 332 lb-ft out of a 2.0-liter turbo four to drive the new A45 AMG, CLA45 AMG and GLA45 AMG. But not to be outdone, the Volkswagen Group is said to be working on one of its own that will put both to shame.
The engine is reportedly being based on VW's existing 2.0-liter turbo four, only enhanced to produce a massive 375 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque. The key to getting there was poaching Friedrich Eichler, the engineer who designed AMG's aforementioned high-output engine, and mandating him to do still better.
That's all well and fine - and perfectly impressive - but just what does VW plan on doing with the new engine? A whole lot, according to reports. It's expected to power the new Scirocco and a new Golf R Evo expected to debut at the Beijing Motor Show in April, and you can bet it'll be slotted into another few applications as well. But the first vehicle expected to get it will be the Audi S3 Plus.

Hyundai tops VW and Buick in China, survey says

You may be aware of the long-time competition in China between Volkswagen and Buick, but another brand apparently should be in that conversation too: Hyundai. In a recently published annual consumer survey, the Korean company actually took the top spot to beat out its German and American rivals in second and third, respectively. The results were part of the China Brand Power Index that interviewed 11,500 people around the nation and was paid for by the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. While Hyundai proved popular with voters, its sales haven't necessarily shown that yet. According to Bloomberg, the brand had falling numbers in China for the first quarter of the year. Even Ford outsold the South Korean automaker in the same period, despite scoring lower on the survey. Meanwhile, Audi ranked as the populace's favorite luxury brand, which is hardly a surprise given the Four Rings' strong sales in China. In January alone the automaker saw a 15-percent boost in volume there. Parent company VW's strong performance was somewhat more surprising, though. State media severely criticized the German automaker in March, and customers protested last year for the allegedly poor handling of a recall.