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Next Audi R8 to eschew engine downsizing, go on diet instead

Looking across the Audi landscape, many models that used to get the company's high-revving, naturally aspirated 4.2-liter V8 are now powered by smaller, yet similarly powerful, forced-induction engines. From what Auto Express is reporting, though, the next-generation Audi R8 will not meet this same fate.
Rather than ditching its V8 and V10 powerplants, the next-gen R8 - expected to debut in 2015 - will shed pounds from its curb weight. The 2014 R8 currently weighs between 3,583 pounds and up to 3,957 pounds, but the report says that engineers are targeting a weight of less than 3,300 pounds. All models will get cylinder deactivation, which along with lower curb weights should help to improve fuel economy and emissions. Head on over to Auto Express for more reported information as well as a handful of renderings that take a stab at how the next R8 may look.

Audi A3 supplies tight, model stealing Honda, Toyota sales

It appears that there was a pent up demand for compact, front-wheel drive German luxury sedans that no one really knew about. Not only has the Mercedes CLA-Class been a success in the US with its Hungarian factory running three shifts to keep up, but the Audi A3 Sedan is doing quite well, too, after just three full months on the market.
Audi of America recently announced that the compact sedan shifted 2,452 vehicles in June and 7,735 units of the A3 since the beginning of the year. Not only are they selling; it's the people buying them that's important. According to Audi USA spokesperson John Schilling speaking to Autoblog, "A little over 25 percent of A3 buyers in April were 30 years or under." That's compared to about 18 percent for the A4, he said. Company executives also recently told Edmunds that many of those new customers are brand conquests turning in Honda or Toyota models. We gently mocked Audi when it held A3 Sedan launch parties aimed at hipsters that served craft beer and played indie music, but the marketing worked, apparently.
That said, if you're in the market for an A3, you might have not be able to get one immediately. According to Edmunds, some customers are on a waiting list for the compact luxury sedan. Although, Schilling said that's because Audi is still stocking dealers. "It's a little leaner than other models, but that's mainly because it's new and still ramping up," he said.

Get a load of Audi's TTs [w/videos + poll]

The third-generation Audi TT coupe has made its debut here at the Geneva Motor Show, showing an evolutionary design for the German automaker's fashion-forward coupe. As expected, the new TT takes plenty of inspiration from the Sport Quattro Concept that debuted in Frankfurt last year, and it draws upon cues from the model's past two generations.
After seeing it in person, the Autoblog crew on-site in Geneva is sort of torn about the new model. It's crisp and well-proportioned, but in terms of its exterior design, it also doesn't come off like a significant generational leap forward - the aesthetic distance between the original TT and the second-generation model was quite a bit larger. Of course, it's hard to reimagine a design icon, and either way we'll have to wait until we see the car on the road to make final judgments.
Audi is offering a trio of engines for the new TT, including a 2.0-liter turbodiesel powerplant that's good for 184 horsepower, 280 pound-feet of torque and an excellent 56 miles per gallon. On the gasoline front, Audi is offering two versions of its well-liked 2.0-liter TSI turbo-four. The less-powerful spec still offers up a healthy 230 hp and 272 lb-ft of torque, while the higher-output 2.0T sends 310 hp and 280 lb-ft of twist to all four wheels in the TTS coupe. Potent stuff.