2008 Audi A4 Quattro Base Sedan 4-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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Audi Airomorph is a sleek shape-shifting senior thesis

Eric Kim just graduated from the from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, at the end of the spring 2014 semester, and for his senior thesis project he came up with this futuristic Audi endurance racer called the Airomorph. He even got some input Audi designer Kris Vancoppenolle.
The Airomorph imagines a future Audi racer for Le Mans that features adjusting fabric panels to fine-tune the car's aerodynamics as it laps the course - a technology inspired by catamaran racing. "I started from scratch and had the freedom to deliver and execute a white space design for the future," said Kim to Autoblog via email. It's also somewhat similar to the idea behind BMW Gina concept, although Kim says that wasn't an inspiration for his design. The body here is made from a single piece of a silver, expansion-resistant material stretched over a frame underneath. The fabric anchors at the wheels, front and rear section with movable cables, and hydraulic actuators pull the wires to shift the aero as needed.
The actual shape echoes Audi endurance racers from the past and present. In profile, you can easily see the current R18 with its arcing cockpit and fin down the rear. Of course, that's interpreted through a little bit of Blade Runner with the covered wheels sticking out from the body. The front shows the rectangular shapes from the earlier R15. There doesn't appear to be any way to actually see out of the vehicle, though.

Next Audi RS4 to get V6 turbo, US sales still unclear

Audi's high-performance S models have forged a reputation in the US for offering wonderful driving dynamics in a package that doesn't scream, "I bought a sport sedan." However, its even higher-performance RS models are still somewhat of a rarity here. While the RS5 and RS7 are in the current US lineup, many of the wild RS models that Europe gets, like the RS6 Avant (pictured above), never make it to these shores. Unfortunately, that might not be changing anytime soon with the next-gen RS4.
The RS4 will follow the lead of the next BMW M3/M4 and (rumored) next Mercedes-Benz C-Class AMG and make the switch to a smaller turbocharged powerplant. According to an Audi insider speaking to Car and Driver, the next RS4 will drop the last generation's 4.2-liter V8 in favor of a turbocharged V6. The engine block will likely be shared with the supercharged 3.0-liter V6 in the regular S4 but fitted with two turbochargers. Power would likely be around 400 horsepower to match the 425-hp M3 and rumored 450-hp C-Class AMG.
Unfortunately, the RS might not make it across the pond to our waiting hands because the source says no decision has been made to export them yet. Obviously, we hope that Audi makes the right decision and brings the next RS4 here.

Audi recalls 850,000 A4 models globally for airbags that won't deploy

Audi has announced that it will be recalling 850,000 A4 sedans, wagons and Allroad models across the globe due to a software problem that could prevent the front airbags from deploying. All 850,000 vehicles were built after 2012.
Audi has already adjusted production of new A4s to eliminate the software glitch. Meanwhile, the German manufacturer was quick to emphasize that Takata did not manufacture the affected airbags.
According to Reuters, 250,000 of the affected A4s were built for the Chinese market, while another 150,000 were sold in Germany. Audi didn't provide a breakdown beyond those two countries, although it'd be a surprise if there weren't at least some affected airbags in the US market.