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Audi changes the guard at Quattro GmbH

Although it may not have the brand recognition that Mercedes-AMG does or BMW's M division, Audi's Quattro GmbH department is responsible for its most exciting products - including the RS line of performance models and the R8 supercar. For the past year and a half, Quattro GmbH has been led by Franciscus van Meel, but soon it will get a new leader.
According to reports, van Meel (46, pictured right) is being reassigned to head up the Audi R&D center in Beijing. In his place, Audi is promoting Heinz Peter Hollwerweger (60, pictured above) to the post. The move is expected to be confirmed in advance of the Geneva Motor Show, at which point we can expect Audi to claim that it was part of a planned rotation. However sources suggest that van Meel's departure came at the behest of R&D boss Ulrich Hackenberg, who was apparently unhappy with how van Meel has been handling development of the next R8 and of the R8 E-Tron project.
Why Hackenberg would have van Meel reassigned to run one of his own R&D centers is beyond us, but Hollerweger is apparently expected to be able to get the job done faster and better. Whether he'll have any major changes in store for the Quattro division and its products is another matter, but we're looking forward to finding out.

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.

Justin Bell laps Willow Springs... in the dark... using only night vision

Night vision has made its way into quite a few luxury cars as a night-driving safety feature, but eBay Motors wanted to see if the technology could be used to actually drive the car. Former racer and World's Faster Car Show host Justin Bell grabbed the keys to an Audi A7 and headed to Willow Springs Raceway to find out.
As if driving in the dark of the desert night wasn't hard enough, the car's windshield and side windows were blacked out, so Bell's driving relied completely on the three-inch night vision display located in the gauge cluster. In addition to navigating the track, his producers also threw in a few surprises for Bell on the track. We don't want to spoil too much for you, but based on the speeds exhibited in the video, we don't think 24-hour endurance races will be adding this tech any time soon; that being said, he probably drove the car faster and better than we could have.
Scroll down to watch how Bell does lapping the track using only the car's night vision.