2009 Audi R8 on 2040-cars

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Audi S3 starts at $41,400, A3 Cabrio rings up at $35,600 and A3 TDI priced from $32,600

Audi has released the official pricing info for the all-new A3 TDI Sedan, A3 Cabriolet and the S3 Sedan, and the news appears pretty good all around. As usual, none of the following prices include Audi's unspecified-for-now destination charges.
The big news is the S3, complete with 292 horsepower, a six-speed dual-clutch transmission and Quattro all-wheel drive. Prices start at just $41,100, which is a decent savings over the more powerful, 355-hp Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG.
The new A3 TDI sedan, meanwhile, has a starting price of just $32,600. While you'll be certain to save some money on fuel, you'll be doing so without Quattro all-wheel drive. Still, the improved economy of the 2.0-liter, turbodiesel four-cylinder isn't priced too steeply, relative to the gas-powered A3's $29,900 starting price.

Audi promises next A8 on sale by year's end, LED Matrix lamps to be available [w/video]

Audi has just released details about its new Matrix LED headlamps, but just as illuminating as the new lighting technology is confirmation that the next A8 will appear "on the market at the end of 2013." While Audi is calling the model new, expectations - and the spy shots above - suggest more of a traditional mid-cycle refresh.
Audi says that its new A8 Matrix lights are comprised of 25 high-beam LEDs, clustered in groups of five paired with reflectors. Unlike traditional automatic high-beam setups, the Matrix array is so precise that it "blanks out light that would shine directly onto oncoming and preceding vehicles" while continuing to use full high-beam power on other sections of the road and shoulder not occupied by other vehicles. Further, the camera- and electronic brain-governed system can dim or extinguish LEDs as necessary to deal with traffic. The active system also differs from today's adaptive headlamps by not requiring servo motors to direct light, yet they can still function as cornering headlamps - ones that can predict a road's trajectory because they are linked with the car's GPS system. Interestingly, the system also works with Audi's optional night vision system. When the latter detects a pedestrian in the dark, it automatically flashes a batch of LEDs to put both the driver and pedestrian on notice about each others' presence.
Only one problem in all of this trick lighting business: they aren't legal here in the US, at least not yet. Audi and other automakers are currently petitioning the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, trying to sell the government agency on the technology's safety benefits. For the moment, Matrix headlamps are likely to remain forbidden fruit, but you can check them out and see what you might be missing in the video below. As for the 2015 A8, we're guessing it'll surface at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

Audi to launch 600-hp RS6 Avant Plus?

Much to the dismay of many - but apparently not enough - there's a whole category of power wagons available overseas that we just can't get our hands on. While the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Estate and Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon are both available Stateside, the recently revised Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG Shooting Brake, the Jaguar XFR-S Sportbrake we recently drove at the Nürburgring and the Audi RS6 Avant remain out of reach for American buyers. They all stand on more-or-less equal footing, with forced-induction V8s producing around 550 horsepower. But Audi is apparently taking things over and above with a new RS6 Plus.
Revealed ahead of schedule on a British dealer's website (which leaked details accompanied by a stock photo of the existing model), the RS6 Avant Plus will apparently keep the same 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, but upgrade from 560 hp to a nice, round 600 to put it ahead of the competition and in league with supercars. Considering that the existing RS6 Avant is already capable of cracking the four-second barrier to 60 and tops out at over 190 miles per hour, we're sure the Plus version will positively annihilate the Autobahn, all while bringing your whole family along for the ride.
Unfortunately it doesn't look any more likely that Quattro GmbH's latest Plus model will make the transatlantic journey to American showrooms, but we can hope that maybe Audi will perform similar modifications on the RS7 Sportback we do get here.