2008 Audi Rs 4 Cabriolet Quattro Mt6 Nav Bose on 2040-cars

Auto blog

The Audi RS3 shows up at Paris with five cylinders, 400 hp, and a scowl

Last night at the Volkswagen Group Night, almost lost among all the future mobility hoopla about the Volkswagen I.D. autonomous EV concept, Audi parked an RS3 sedan. We have some preliminary information about it – including that it's packing a 2.5-liter TFSI engine, the same five-cylinder powerplant that makes 400 horsepower in the new Audi TT RS we just drove. In the RS3, it'll have the same rating. It'll also have a wider track, because it's surely packing wider and stickier rubber. We also know that it'll have a special Virtual Cockpit gauge display that puts the tachometer in the center, in the tradition of sporty driver-oriented cars. Before you sigh something about the injustice of it not reaching the Americas, like many RS models of the past, great news: this one is almost assuredly coming to the US, according to our best intel. We'll have more details later today after the official press conference, but for now the bottom line is this is both what we expected and also truly exciting. We're in the midst of a real Audi RS boom right now. If you want a taste of what to expect, read our Audi TT RS first drive. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2018 Audi RS3 Sedan: Paris 2016 View 15 Photos Related Gallery 2017 Audi RS3 View 18 Photos Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2016 Drew Phillips / Autoblog Paris Motor Show Audi Performance Sedan 2016 paris motor show

Audi R8 E-Tron back on production map thanks to new battery tech?

Contrary to our October 2012 report, it appears Audi's R8 E-Tron program is back on track, if a report from Australia is to be believed. Drive is reporting that the German brand has changed its mind and won't be sacking the program, despite previously stated concerns about the quality and price of batteries for the R8-based EV.
We last saw the R8 E-Tron prototype in the snows of northern Europe, although footage of the car has been non-existent since that wintry test. This new report claims that a small number of R8 E-Trons will see production, which gels with what we heard back in 2012 and supposed earlier this year. Apparently, some new sort of lithium-ion battery technology has allowed for a drastic increase in range, with rumors of the original 130 miles going up to around 250. According to Drive, this makes the project feasible again.
"Our engineers and technicians are further developing the car and its electric drive system. The range has grown significantly, allowing the potential for a small-scale production," an unnamed, but high-ranking Audi employee told the Aussies.

2015 Audi A3 TDI Challenge

I officially gave up after 758 miles. The 15 or so miles leading up to this decision were spent in the right lane of Southern California's I-8 freeway, hazard lights blinking, climbing uphill at just over 40 miles per hour. After two days of sweating to the oldies (okay, a mix of SiriusXM Classic Rewind and First Wave), I had covered those 758 miles in a 2015 Audi A3 TDI on one tank of diesel fuel. And when I say sweating, I mean it quite literally. In order to maximize fuel efficiency, my co-driver and I kept the air conditioning off, even when the direct sunlight in the California desert had outside temperatures hovering around 90 degrees. I had been doing this hypermiling exercise for two days, the car was getting stinky, and I was ready to hear the sweet "thhhhhhhwack" of satisfaction that would finally come from peeling my sweat-soaked self off the A3's leather seat. Sexy, I know.
Audi had challenged me to drive 834 miles from Albuquerque, NM to San Diego, CA, on just one 13.2-gallon tank of diesel fuel. If you believe the EPA's highway fuel economy rating of 43 miles per gallon, this means I should have sputtered to a stop after 568 miles. But I went a grand total of 758 - that's 59.4 mpg - and I could have kept going. In fact, two teams made it the full 834 miles on their one allotted tank of fuel. That's over 63 mpg. That's twenty miles per gallon better than EPA estimates.
The TDI Challenge took me through three states over the course of two days, and the 834-mile journey wasn't just a simple highway cruise. I negotiated uphill climbs, long series of involving switchbacks through the mountains and elevations that ranged from 220 feet below sea level to nearly 8,000 feet above. I learned that super-crazy-efficient driving like this an incredibly challenging game that takes serious skill. But I also learned that if you're going to attempt to stomp all over the EPA's numbers, the Audi A3 TDI is one heck of a car for the journey.