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2015 Audi RS5 Coupe Sport is one of 75

Audi has released a new limited edition of its V8-powered RS5, with the 2015 Sport edition. Limited to just 75 units and designed by the German manufacturers Exclusive customization team, the stylish RS5 starts at $87,575. That's nearly $17,000 more than the standard RS5, although you might struggle to see why. The Sport adds beautiful 20-inch 5-V-spke wheels, along with plenty of nice leatherwork in the cabin. That includes the black-and-Crimson-Red Nappa leather seats, which feature an embossed RS logo in the seatback, as well as Crimson Red leather door inserts. Contrast stitching in the leather-wrapped wheel and shifter boot match the shade on the seats and door inserts. Audi will paint the limited-edition RS5 in either Daytona Gray or Nardo Gray for no charge or, if you're willing to pay a bit more, you can chose from one of the shades from the manufacturer's Exclusive catalog. There's no mention of how much these custom hues will cost, though. Beyond that, the RS5 Sport is the same thumper that's been on sale for several years, with a 4.2-liter, 450-horsepower V8 under the hood and a seven-speed, S-Tronic transmission dispatching power to a Quattro all-wheel-drive system. Featured Gallery 2015 Audi RS5 Sport View 9 Photos News Source: Audi Audi Coupe Luxury Performance

Jon Olsson's 1,000-hp Audi RS6 Avant stolen at gunpoint, burned

Swedish professional freeskier Jon Olsson loves some insanely modified vehicles, like his Rebellion R2K, but tragedy recently struck for one of his crazier former rides. The custom Audi RS6 Avant was a wild wagon with DTM-inspired bodywork and an engine tuned to a claimed 1,000 horsepower. Unfortunately, the machine was stolen in a brazen armed robbery. Making matters even worse, the crooks torched the car at the end of their joyride. Olsson drove the tuned RS6 in this year's Gumball 3000, and later sold it to a dealer in the Netherlands, according to Auto Evolution. Recently, the wagon was taking part in a photo shoot in Amsterdam. That's when two armed men showed up to steal the Audi. Somehow in the chaos, the robbers' van caught fire, and they got away with the RS6. The criminals weren't too clever, though, because they didn't think to grab the key from the owner's pocket, Car Throttle reported. That would have made the Audi much more difficult to start again, if they shut if off. Although, that apparently never became a problem. The crooks sped off and eventually dumped the car before police were ever able to get them. In a final act of destruction, the thieves also incinerated the one-of-a-kind RS6. An investigation is ongoing. Olsson's Instagram post below shows how little is left of this once incredibly cool wagon. "But now I am more motivated than ever to follow this build up with something just as good," Olsson wrote on his website. Poor poor #RS6DTM Such a sad sight! ??? Who would do such a thing! #hurtsmyheart A photo posted by Jonolsson1 (@jonolsson1) on Oct 15, 2015 at 8:03am PDT Related Video:

Despite premium carmakers going downmarket, luxury auto sales stick at 10-11%

According to research conducted by global information company IHS Automotive, the leporine birthing of new models by luxury manufacturers over the past six years hasn't increased their market share in the US. Even as car sales reached 15.6 million units, IHS says what's happened instead is that luxury buyers are merely moving from one brand to another, moving from larger luxury vehicles into hot segments like compact luxury crossovers or leaving the market at the same rate as other buyers enter.
Whether broken out by makes or by segment, market share has rollercoastered inside a narrow band from 10.5 to 11.5 percent since "at least" 2008. Closer investigation reveals the shifting boundaries in the aspirational pond, with brands like Mercedes-Benz and Audi gaining territory as Lexus and Lincoln lost it, and Saab and Hummer were buried, dead, under it. One neat note is that Tesla has gone from a share of zip to .12 percent.
The subcompact and compact crossover segments show growth, with those little high-riders jumping from .3 percent to 1.16 percent of overall industry sales. Their rise, though, is concomitant with the decline of four other segments: compact and midsize cars and fullsize cars and SUVs. We think the next few years that will tell if the small-car expansion can overcome the large-car retraction, with a phalanx of smaller offerings like the CLA only recently hitting the market and others like the GLA, Macan and Q1 doing so in the near future.