2012 Audi A7 Prestige on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Audi readying diesel PHEV models for US and Europe

With the racing pedigree provided by the Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the German king of Le Mans is capitalizing on the connection between its road cars and race cars at every opportunity. Maybe there's an entire range of Le Mans Editions for the automakers diesel-hybrid offerings, with perhaps Tom Kristensen acting as the brand's spokesperson for the technology in Europe. You'd be wrong, though, because despite the R18's overwhelming successes in endurance racing, Audi the road-car manufacturer doesn't offer a single diesel-hybrid production car.
This factoid will hopefully be as short lived as it is disappointing, though, as a diesel-electric is around the corner, according to the brand's tech boss, Ulrich Hackenberg. In fact, it gets better than a mere diesel-hybrid; it will be a plug-in diesel-hybrid, only the second to hit the market, alongside the European-market Volvo V60.
According to Hackenberg, the new tech will be the result of a marriage between the brand's well-received 3.0-liter, TDI V6 with an electric motor. The next-generation Audi Q7 (shown above) will be the initial recipient, confirming previous reports that claimed a PHEV TDI could come to the next-gen CUV. Its MLB architecture, meanwhile, would allow the plug-in-hybrid-diesel powertrain to be fitted easily enough to the A8 luxury sedan. While the new Q7 should hit the market at some point in 2015, it's unclear when the PHEV TDI model could see the light of day.

Audi R8 LMX illuminates the City of Light with lasers

Hard as it may seem to believe, the Audi R8 has been around for the better part of a decade. But does that make us love it any less? Hardly, especially not when Audi keeps rolling out ever-more enticing versions like the one you see here.
Debuting at the Paris Motor Show, the new Audi R8 LMX is the most powerful version of the supercar we've seen yet, thanks to a 5.2-liter V10 engine tuned to deliver 570 metric horsepower. That's 562 by our count, making it ten horses more potent than the R8 GT, or 37 more than the standard ten-cylinder R8 5.2 FSI - enough to propel the LMX to 62 in 3.4 seconds.
That's not all that sets the LMX apart, however, as Audi has fit it with cutting-edge laser-beam headlights. It comes exclusively as a coupe in Ara Blue with carbon fiber trim, special wheels, red brake calipers and a black leather cockpit. Only 99 examples will be made, and with those laser headlights banned in the US, your best chance of seeing one is in the gallery of live images above.

2016 Audi TTS

We recently drove the Audi TT, and although we wish it were radically entertaining instead of merely very fun, it's nevertheless a sharp coupe that vaults ahead of its predecessor with an inspired interior and eager handling. That car will be precursor to this TTS when it gets here a year from now, with the TTS adding adjectives like "more" and "better" to just about everything found on the base coupe. With the standard car having already put on such a fine edge, we wheeled the TTS on Spanish roads and at the Ascari race track to find out how much better and higher-performing the S will be.
Driving Notes
As of this writing, today's TTS commands an $8,350 premium over the TT. Assuming a commensurate gap is carried over into this next generation model, that supplemental dosh will get you 310 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque instead of 230 hp and 273 lb-ft in the standard TT. That would mean more for your money, too, since the gap between the current TT and TTS is 54 hp and zero lb-ft of torque. To achieve the new numbers, the 2.0 TSFI engine from the TTS benefits from upgrades like sturdier valves, revised aluminum pistons and stronger connecting rods with new bearings, a reinforced crankshaft and a high-performance intercooler. The amplified brawn rips 0.7 seconds off the 0-60 mile-per-hour time, getting you there in 4.6 seconds.