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MT's Jessi Lang recounts her harrowing Autobahn R8 crash

Automotive enthusiasts know the name, face, voice and stories of Jessi Lang well. And if they don't, they should. The longtime Motor Trend video presenter and host of The J-Turn is a regular fixture on the automotive scene, and one of our favorite to watch. But a year ago, Jessi vanished from the scene. And we're sad to say she hasn't been kicking back enjoying umbrella drinks on the beach all this while. A year ago Lang went on a pilgrimage to Germany, driving a Porsche 911 GT3 on the Nurburgring and an Audi R8 modified by Abt on the Autobahn when the unthinkable happened. A car swerved out of its lane and into Jessi's path. A catastrophic collision ensued, and Lang was seriously injured. Jessi's been recovering from the multiple fractures and life-threatening lacerations ever since, and in her first appearance back on the net, has returned to tell her harrowing but courageous story. We wish her all the best on her long road to recovery, hope to see her back to her old self again soon, and invite you to watch the heart-rending story here.

2017 Audi S4 goes running naked through the Alps

Audi just launched its new A4 sedan barely more than two months ago, bringing with it a raft of improvements over the outgoing model. And you know what that means: A new S4 performance model is just around the corner. Fortunately, that's just what we have here in these latest spy shots, snapped completely undisguised. Spotted testing in the Alps, the new Audi S4 is closely based on the new A4 we've already seen, benefiting from all its enhancements and weight savings. Only it promises to be more potent. Where previous S4s packed V8 engines and the current (outgoing) model pressed a supercharged V6 into service, this new model is tipped to switch to a fresh turbocharged V6. Expect power to rise from 329 horsepower up to 340 or more, and with less weight to motivate, we can expect performance to improve markedly in the process. Along with a more powerful engine, the S4 clearly stands out visually from ordinary A4s with bigger intakes, upgraded rolling stock, quadruple exhausts, and more. We'll have to wait a little longer to find out all the sordid details, but from the look of it, we won't have to wait long. In fact, we'd be surprised if Ingolstadt didn't take the opportunity to unveil it at the Frankfurt Motor Show this month, so watch this space for more and scope out the photos in the gallery above in the meantime.

Audi celebrates 25 years of TDI

Nope, the diesel engine never really did go out of style for Audi. Now, the German automaker has released a video reminding the world of its persistence with the oil-burners and is commemorating the Silver Anniversary of Audi's first commitment to turbodiesels in 1989. And, yes, there are some road racers shown in the clip, so some of those bad boys actually move pretty well. Audi engineers on camera admitted to some of the early TDI engines being "slow" but still valuable for their torque and, obviously, their fuel economy relative to gas-powered engines. A bunch of tinkering later, though, and Audi says its diesels can be a legitimate "part of a performance car" and has even overcome the issue of noisiness that's often associated with diesels. The automaker made some news in these parts a few years back when its Audi A3 TDI won the 2010 Green Car of the Year at the annual LA Auto Show in late 2009, and the model even succeeded a fellow diesel (the Volkswagen Jetta TDI) to boot. Granted, diesel sales aren't nearly as popular in the US as they are in Europe. Still, Audi last year boosted its diesel sales in the US by 40 percent to 10,076, which was about a tenth of what sister company Volkswagen sold in diesels last year in the States. And things have looked even rosier this year for Audi's TDI sales. Through June, Audi diesel sales have almost quadrupled from a year earlier to more than 8,100 units. Check out the 150-second video on Audi's 25-years of TDI production below.