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The 2018 Audi RS3 sedan priced above the BMW M2 and Mercedes CLA45 AMG

Today, Audi finally released pricing for the 2018 RS3 sedan and it's not quite the performance bargain you may have been hoping for. The RS3 sedan, available for the first time in the US, will start at $55,875 when it hits dealer lots later this year. That's thousands more than the competition from BMW and Mercedes-Benz, though it's not quite a straight one-to-one comparison. View 23 Photos For reference, a BMW M2 starts at $53,495 while a Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG will set you back at least $50,875. With an all-new 400 horsepower inline-5 under the hood, the RS3 is packing more punch than its German rivals, and, unlike the M2, sends power to all four wheels. Standard features include LED lighting, Audi pre sense basic, and blind-spot monitoring. Other standard equipment hasn't been announced yet, so it's difficult to make a straight comparison to the M2 and CLA45 AMG. The RS3 sedan will make its North American debut next week in New York. While the car will hit full production for the 2018 model year, there will be a limited number of 2017 RS3s produced. At $55,450, the 2017 model is slightly less expensive than the 2018 RS3. That small batch will be preconfigured with carbon trim, Audi virtual cockpit with MMI Navigation plus, a Bang & Olufsen sound system, 19-inch, five-arm-blade design wheels, red brake calipers, and the RS sport exhaust system with black tips. Sounds like a good deal if you've already got your heart set on the latest from Audi Sport. Related Video:

New Audi A5 to debut in Ingolstadt on June 2

Audi will introduce the second-generation A5 during a late-night lightshow at its Ingolstadt, Germany, museum on June 2. In the announcement, the company only called out the standard model, but a new S5 coupe is probably not too far behind. Details on the next A5 have been scarce, and spy shots haven't revealed much. Our most recent images come from June of last year and show a vehicle that more or less follows the current A5's theme – a two-door A4 with a few small visual tweaks to distinguish it from the sedan, including a wider stance. Expect an interior treatment very similar to the A4's as well. The new coupe's mechanicals should mirror those of the four-door as well. The A5 will likely stick with a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder (the A4's currently makes 252 hp) and ditch the current car's eight-speed automatic transmission for a new seven-speed dual-clutch. Unlike the sedan, the coupe is likely to continue offering a six-speed manual, as it is positioned as a sportier option even if it shares the A4's platform. Front-wheel drive will be standard, while Quattro all-wheel drive will be the one to buy. The S5 should definitely offer a manual again, along with the S4's 354-hp turbo 3.0-liter V6 and standard all-wheel drive. A seven-speed dual-clutch will be an optional extra, again, just like on the S4. Timing of the new A5's arrival appears to have shifted. A leaked product roadmap originally called out April 2016 for the A5 and S5 hardtop and May 2016 for the Cabriolet versions. Based on the June 2 debut, it looks like Audi pushed those dates back, so we'd expect the new convertibles to make their debut sometime in July. The new A5 is pegged to arrive as a 2018 model. We'll have all the details on the new A5 Coupe when it debuts early next month. Related Video:

New Audi Quattro concept coming to Frankfurt?

We first saw the Audi Quattro Concept at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, and since then we've been tugged this way and that by a series of rumors as to whether the car will be built or not, and whether such a car will live at the accessible or the exalted end of the cost spectrum. A report in Germany's Auto Zeitung from June restarted the fires of gossip with a report that a production version of the concept will appear at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and put it firmly in the exalted sphere.
Now, just a month from the show, Auto Bild has a similar report, sketching out an upmarket car but on a different platform. Back when we drove it, the Quattro concept was built on a spaceframe based on the RS5 platform and got its go from a 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine with 380 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque (the show car got 408 hp from a turbocharged five-cylinder). The June report from Auto Zeitung said this new reveal would be powered by a modified version of the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 from the RS7 that would put out something like 650 hp. Auto Bild, on the other hand, reports that the engine will be tuned to something like 600 hp and the new concept will ride on an "enhanced" version of the A6 platform.
Both reports agree that the car we'll see will preview Audi's new design language with "tauter, more angular lines." Lightweight and exotic materials will be used in efforts to reach a supposed target weight of 1,200 kilograms (2,640 pounds), down from a target of 2,900 pounds in earlier report. Auto Bild says that Audi still hasn't decided whether to make a production version, but if they are correct about the direction of the concept, any retail offering based on it isn't going to be cheap.