2011 Audi A8 Quattro on 2040-cars

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Audi readying 650-hp Sport Quattro Concept for Frankfurt

Remember Audi's perfectly lovely Quattro Concept from the 2010 Paris Motor Show? Of course you do. The latter-day Ur-Quattro is laser-etched in our brains as well - and not just because Audi was kind enough to offer our man Michael Harley a mountain drive of its seven-figure showcar. At the time, Audi hinted that the coupe might have a showroom future, but the gossip pipeline has long since gone dry, leading us to believe that the car's production hopes had soured.
That 2010 concept was powered by a 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine yielding 380 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque, a relatively modest but appropriate engine configuration in light of the Ur-Quattro's five-banger. Given the Quattro Concept's size and specs, it wasn't clear exactly where such a vehicle might fit into the company's lineup, though, as it already already offers the successful A5/S5/RS5 lineup.
Apparently, Audi might have a solution to that conundrum. A new report from Germany's AutoZeitung suggest that the automaker is posed to reveal a production version of the concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September - on the Ur-Quattro's 30th anniversary, no less. Word is that Audi is taking the Quattro Concept upmarket in a big way, with a tuned version of the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 from the RS7 churning up in the neighborhood of 650 horsepower. Naturally, all-wheel drive will get all that power to the ground, and new bodywork is expected as well. In addition to the powertrain switch-up, there is talk of extensive use of lightweight materials, including magnesium, carbon fiber and aluminum, with a target weight of under 2,900 pounds. Magnetic ride control suspension and carbon-ceramic brakes are also expected to find their way onto the model. Unsurprisingly, all of that extra equipment is likely to impact the car's bottom line - reports suggest its sticker price could crowd that of the mighty R8 at around $150,000.

2014 Audi R8 V10 Plus

Ignore the naysayers who say the Audi R8 is too refined to be a proper supercar, or that it has begun to show its age - after a few tweaks for the 2014 model year, the automaker's flagship remains one of my favorite exotics.
Audi has treated all of its R8 models to a host of enhancements for the 2014 model year that include new LED headlights and tail lamps, larger steering wheel-mounted shift paddles, new exhaust finishes, updated alloy wheel designs and fresh exterior colors. However, the most significant news is the arrival of a proper seven-speed S-Tronic dual-clutch automatic transmission (it replaces the six-speed R-Tronic). The rapid-fire gearbox shaves a coupe tenths off the 0-60 sprint and improves fuel economy for both the eight- and ten-cylinder models (thankfully, a traditional six-speed manual is still on the order form).
I recently spent time with the new-for-2014 V10 Plus model, which is only available in a coupe body style. Compared to the standard V10 models, the Plus sheds upwards of 130 pounds thanks to lightweight manual seats (not fitted to my test car), carbon-ceramic brakes, reduced sound bay insulation, a smaller fuel tank and an assortment of carbon-fiber pieces (including side blades, front splitter, rear diffuser and spoiler). But that's not all, as the V10 Plus also receives a bump in output that pushes its ten-cylinder to an even 550 horsepower.

Get lost in Evo's sublime 2013 Car of the Year testing

Every year Evo stages its Car of the Year test, bringing the best performance cars in the world to one location for an epic shootout. This year the magazine pitted eight CotY finalists against each other on Route Napoleon in Southern France - Evo claims it's the "best road in the world" - and then proceeded to nitpick the smallest of faults on each car until the winner could be named. You see, this year's lineup of machines was just so good that only one car obviously wasn't CotY material from the get-go. Can you guess which one judging from the list below?
- Aston Martin V12 Vantage S
- Audi R8 V10 Plus