1999 Audi A6 Quattro Base Sedan 4-door 2.8l Low Miles 96k Safe, Fully Loaded on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Audi Prologue concept drives itself to CES with updated powertrain

What's the point in crafting a one-off concept car if it only gets to stand in the spotlight at one show? That's what automakers have been asking themselves recently, and the answer has, generally speaking, been to repaint their show cars, give them a bit of new tech and put them back on center stage. And the latest to do so is Audi, which has given its Prologue concept a new lease on life. The Prologue was originally unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show less than two months ago, showing the way forward for the future of Audi design, in an elegant coupe form that looked ready to take on the Mercedes S-Class Coupe. We even got a chance to drive it around the streets of LA, and when we did, we marveled at the concept's advanced infotainment system that caters a range of personal preferences according to who's on board. "It's easy to see how this could even reach for chauffeured, or autonomously driven vehicles" in the future, we said at the time. And it turns out Audi was on the same page. At CES this year, Audi has brought back the Prologue concept, given it a darker coat of grey paint, a grey-tone interior (instead of the previous shades of brown and tan), a fresh set of wheels and equipped it with the autonomous tech the German automaker has been at the forefront of developing. Though other automakers have been fitting their self-driving prototypes with all-electric powertrains, Audi kept the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 in place – but fitted it with a hybrid assist to drive output up from an already prodigious 605 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque to an even more impressive 677 hp and 701 lb-ft, dropping the 0-62 time down to 3.5 seconds. Now that's the kind of "piloted driving" tech (as Audi calls it) that we can get behind.

Next Audi A7 redesign will include more traditional rear end

A report in Automobile says that Audi is rethinking the design of the next A7. Audi told Car and Driver that owners "have trouble with the radical tail of the A7," so its model-defining rear end will give way to something more traditional. Automobile is light on specifics of the redesign, but the general direction is "a lower, wider, and more expressive shape." The philosophy behind the dimensions and styling is a "C/D shift," meaning Audi wants to give its C-segment hatchback the bearing, gravitas, and visual delight of a D-segment vehicle. That would help the A7 stand out from its in-house competition, and could make for higher transaction prices. Having heard about different design directions from Audi for years without much in the showroom to back it up, we could define what we'd love to see in two words: more Prologue. This is Audi, so you know the next A7 will be packed with tech. We expect an emphasis on touchscreen interfaces, a digital dash cluster a la the TT that moves with the steering column, a HUD with night vision, and an MMI system a few more steps down the evolutionary trail. Engines will see some upgrades like the addition of a plug-in hybrid, the excellent 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder getting a 74-horsepower e-boost assist to 326 horsepower, the 3.0-liter V6 slated for the S7 rising to 500 hp, and the 4.0-liter V8 in the RS7 pumping out 575 hp.

Mueller named Audi boss, too

Matthias Muller, chairman of the board for the Volkswagen Group, has officially taken the role of chairman of the supervisory board for subsidiary Audi. Muller takes over the role from the disgraced Martin Winterkorn. This appointment should come as a shock to no one, and not just because we told you about it last week. Since Audi is part of the Volkswagen Group, which Muller leads, he's effectively been the head of the subsidiary brand since his appointment in late September. This news simply formalizes his positioning at the Ingolstadt-based company. This, of course, is not Muller's first go-around at Audi. He previously served as Head of Product Management Audi (along with Lamborghini and Seat), before taking the lead on product planning at the entire VW Group. Check out the official press release from VAG. MATTHIAS MULLER BECOMES CHAIRMAN OF THE AUDI SUPERVISORY BOARD Ingolstadt/Neckarsulm, December 7, 2015 – The Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, Matthias Muller, has joined the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG and becomes its Chairman with immediate effect. Berthold Huber will continue to be Deputy Chairman. Furthermore, the two vacant seats for members representing the shareholders will be newly occupied by Julia Kuhn Piech and Josef Ahorner. Matthias Muller has been a member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG since March 1, 2015 and its Chairman since September 25, 2015. After completing high school in Ingolstadt, he did a toolmaker's apprenticeship at Audi. He then studied informatics at the Munich University of Applied Sciences. After graduating in informatics, Muller continued his career at Audi in 1978, progressing to become the Head of Product Management for the Audi, Lamborghini and SEAT brands. From 2007 onwards, Muller was Head of Product Management for the Volkswagen Group and the VW brand as well as Executive Vice President of the Volkswagen Group. From 2010 until September 2015, Matthias Muller was Chairman of the Board of Management of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG. Josef Ahorner (55) is the chairman of the supervisory board and main shareholder of Emarsys AG, and was a member of the shareholder committee of Salzburger Porsche Holding from 1996 until 2008. Julia Kuhn-Piech (34) is a real estate manager and a member of the supervisory boards of MAN SE and the Truck & Bus division of MAN AG.