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2017 Audi A4 pricing drops before Detroit debut

With its spring 2016 on-sale date rapidly approaching, Audi confirms the official pricing structure for the new A4 sedan. The four-cylinder-only A4 line starts at $38,250 – a $1,400 increase over last year's model – but like the similarly priced BMW 328i and Mercedes-Benz C300, that figure climbs quickly. For one, unless you're planning on living with a front-wheel-drive Audi, you'll need to add on $2,100 for the automaker's torque-vectoring Quattro all-wheel-drive system. And unless you want the basic Premium trim, plan on tacking on $3,800 for the Premium Plus trim or $8,600 for the range-topping Prestige. What's all this mean? For that, we'll turn to the newly switched-on online configurator. The standard A4 doesn't sound like a terrible deal, offering standard bi-xenon headlights, LED taillights, three-zone climate control, leather seats, a sunroof, and a seven-inch MMI system. Moving up to the Premium Plus switches up to full LED headlights, heated front seats, a 19-speaker Bang and Olufsen 3D stereo, push-button start, and an S-line exterior treatment. Finally, the top-line Prestige's notable standard items include an 8.3-inch, nav-equipped MMI system, Audi's excellent virtual cockpit (an Autoblog Tech of the Year finalist), and a head-up display. If you're balking at the trim packs, rest easy knowing Audi has spread the options around liberally. You can get navigation and heated seats on a base model – they're $2,400 and $900, respectively – and Virtual Cockpit can be added to the mid-grade model. The base can be had with standard 18-inch wheels, while the Premium Plus allows drivers to ditch the 18s and move up to 19s. Even the top-of-the-line Prestige has a few options, including an $1,800 Driver Assistance pack (adaptive cruise, auto high beams, and lane keeping assist ) and a $1,450 Warm Weather Pack (vented front sport seats). While you can get an A4 for $38,250, you can also build one up to $55,375. Look for the 2017 Audi A4 in dealerships this spring. And head over to the online configurator to build your ideal Audi sedan now.

Refreshed A1 packs Audi's first three-cylinder gas engine [w/video]

Back in 2010, Audi debuted the diminutive A1, and it's sold over half a million of them since. Now, more than four years later, the German automaker has given its smallest and most accessible model a facelift and some updated equipment.
The latest version of the A1 benefits from a range of updates, including a sharpened take on the company's familiar styling with a reshaped single-frame grille, new bumpers front and rear as well as new wheel and color choices. But the biggest news is the introduction of Audi's first three-cylinder gasoline engine.
The turbocharged, direct-injected 1.0-liter three-pot churns out just 94 horsepower, but that's still six more than the previous base 1.2-liter four offered, all the while returning better fuel economy and emissions figures. Of course, that turbo three is not the only engine on offer, joining the 1.4-liter turbo four in 123- and 148-hp states of tune and the 113-hp 1.6-liter TDI. And of course there's still the 228-hp S1 performance model. Depending on specification, the engines are mated to a five- or six-speed manual, but can all be optioned with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission as well.

Mattias Ekstr?m unleashes bonkers 600-hp Audi S1 Supercar on World RX

Mattias Ekström doesn't need to prove anything. He's won the DTM title twice and before that the Swedish Touring Car Championship. But being a racing driver as he is, Ekström has been looking for new challenges. He's contested the Swedish Rally six times, the German Rally twice, he's driven in V8 Supercars and in NASCAR. He's even won the Race of Champions. Twice. Heck, we're surprised his long-time sponsor Red Bull hasn't let him try out one of its F1 cars. But this season it's on to a new challenge: the inaugural FIA World Rallycross Championship.
Ekström drove a Volkswagen Polo fielded by Marklund Motorsport in the Swedish rallycross round last season and came in second, but this year he's diving in head-first with his own team and his own car. His outfit EKS is hard at work preparing the new Audi S1 for competition in the World RX Championship, and will field two of them this season: one for Ekström and another for JWRC champion Pontus Tidemand.
Built to compete in the top category of the championship, the EKS Audi S1 Supercar will pack a 2.0-liter turbo four with 600 horsepower, all-wheel drive and a 0-60 time of 1.9 seconds. It's expected to make its debut late in May at the World RX of Great Britain where it will have to tangle with specially prepared versions of the Citroën DS3, Ford Fiesta ST and Peugeot 208 driven by the likes of Tanner Foust, Ken Block, Jacques Villeneuve and Petter Solberg. The sole North American round will be held in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, in early August, on the same circuit that once hosted Indy Lights, ALMS, Grand-Am, Can-Am and Trans-Am races.