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2015 Audi S8

You've gotta hand it to the Audi A8. Last year, Mercedes-Benz launched the truly stunning S-Class, putting the rest of the high-dollar luxury flagship class on notice. With the brand-new S-Class turning heads and garnering all sorts of praise from the automotive press, classmates like the BMW 7 Series, Jaguar XJ and Audi A8 started to look, well, old. But Audi didn't see fit to just let its big sedan carry on and let the Mercedes take the cake.
So when Audi refreshed its A8 line for the 2015 model year with only minor updates, I kind of shrugged it off as just a quick way to keep the big sedan fresh until an all-new, hopefully S-Class-trumping version arrives. But then I drove the S8 pictured above, and I'm no longer so sure the Merc's shadow is as big and imposing as it once was.
Spoiler alert: the Audi S8 is simply fantastic.

VW Group exploring F1 options, would likely wait until Ecclestone is out

The real hurdle is that Volkswagen overlord Ferdinand Piech doesn't like Bernie Ecclestone on a personal or professional level. Superbugs. They are antiobiotic-resistant bacteria and viruses, fiends that defy eradication no matter how much counteracting agent you throw at them. Reports that Audi is going to join Formula One? They are the superbugs of rumors; for five years they've been coursing through the blood of motorsport, and no amount of denials or Audi's continued non-presence in F1 has been able to make them go away. Not even a month ago we contracted another bout of it, courtesy of Auto Express, citing sources who said Audi would leave endurance racing and DTM - handing Le Mans over to Porsche, instead of the other way around - and buy either Red Bull or Toro Rosso for an entry in 2016 with an in-house powerplant. Within 24 hours of that story, Audi Sport sent the tweet, "Audi in F1? There rumors keep appearing with regularity since years. It's pure speculation again this time and without any foundation." Now, few things are impossible in F1, but lining up on the grid in 2016 is not far away from needing to be ready tomorrow, in F1 terms, which is why these announcements come long in advance. Honda, you'll recall, gave us almost two years' notice of its F1 reunion and Porsche gave us three years notice about Le Mans. A brand-new report in the BBC says that Audi is using new hire and ex-Ferrari technical director Stefano Domenicali to lead a feasibility study into an F1 program. According to that story, the real hurdle to the foray, however, is that Volkswagen Group overlord Ferdinand Piech doesn't like F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone on a personal or professional level, so one of them would need to leave his position before Audi could say yes, feasibility be damned. Since we're talking about two men who define professional longevity, that day might not come soon. The BBC story goes on to say that Martin Winterkorn, head of the VW Group management board, would like to see the group in F1, and that if it happened it would be with a "car designed and made in Germany." Ladies and gentlemen, you know where to file this one...

A luxury crossover for people who like to drive | 2018 Audi Q5 First Drive

1.6 million. That's how many Q5s Audi has sold since the model's 2008 debut, making the agreeable but stylistically neutral sport-ute the best-selling premium SUV on the planet. One in four Audis sold is a Q5, which is a big part of why the German carmaker made significant improvements intended to ensure the 2018 Audi Q5 is another success story. For starters, the Q5 has swollen in size. Not by much – we're talking 1.3 inches in length, half an inch in wheelbase, and incrementally more height – but enough to boost rear legroom by 0.39 inch and add 0.31 inch to rear headroom. If you're worried that curb weight has bloated in direct proportion to the larger footprint, fear not: The 2018 model is actually up to 198 pounds lighter than the model it replaces, thanks to a carefully modulated blend of high tensile steels and aluminum in the chassis, and incremental weight savings throughout. Two turbocharged engines are available: the Q5's 2.0-liter TFSI engine producing 252 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque (doing the 0-to-62-mph sprint in 6.4 seconds), and the SQ5's 3.0-liter TFSI mill that turns 354 hp and 369 lb-ft (capable of whisking it to 62 mph in 5.2 seconds). The 2.0-liter meets a new seven-speed dual-clutch S tronic transmission, while the beefier 3.0-liter gets a conventional eight-speed torque-converter-equipped gearbox to handle the higher torque. Audi's new Quattro ultra setup (already seen in the A4 and Q7) offers fully variable torque distribution that helps achieve 20/27 mpg with the 2.0-liter and 18/26 mpg for the 3.0-liter. The system can de-couple the rear axle via an electronic clutch, which improves fuel economy; with 100 percent of torque directed to the front wheels during straight-line driving, the parasitic losses of running power needlessly through the rear differential are avoided, while a second clutch controls front/rear torque distribution. Audi says the ultra setup works proactively, not reactively, using torque vectoring to distribute power and anticipating changes in vehicle dynamics 500 milliseconds before the torque is redistributed. While there are numerous tech updates under the skin, the body itself is very familiar. In person, the Q5's looks are tweaked ever-so-slightly thanks primarily to a curvier, crisper character line that is so sharp, it casts its own shadow under certain lighting conditions. Inside, a Q7-like upgrade gives the cabin a more sophisticated feel.