1997 Audi A6 Wagon Quatro Automatic Low Miles Lqqk on 2040-cars

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US-bound Audi A3 Sedan spied testing

As the Audi A3 sedan gets closer to its debut, Audi has camouflaged prototypes to take it on the streets for final testing. Last time we saw the A3, it was testing almost in the buff, but it was on a closed track so our spy shooters were kept at quite a distance.
Now that the newest Audi sedan is testing on public roads, our latest batch of spy shots gives us a more detailed look at the entry-level luxury player despite the swirly camo. Except for the oversized wheels and the fancy exhaust outlets and door mirrors, the production version of the car should look almost identical to the A3 sedan concept we saw in Geneva a couple years ago. Some of the details we can see include a good-sized panoramic roof that stretches almost halfway into the rear passenger space and signature Audi LED-accented headlights and taillights.

Mercedes may be working on a new electric car dubbed 'Ecoluxe'

Automobile has a lengthy piece this month on how the four German mass-market luxury manufacturers each plan to go after Tesla with their own electric vehicles. It was written by Georg Kacher, the magazine's European bureau chief, and the English version came a month after he wrote the German-language original for Autobild. Tesla isn't exactly a threat to the Germans, but, according to the report, the Model S is planting the right kinds of seeds in niches that are important to the luxury players. The thinking is that - in addition to needed electric vehicles anyway for stricter US regulations - it's better to start designing the machinery now. The article posited Porsche's attack would rest on the coming Panamera platform, but a big hurdle would be battery placement. Unable to find one large space for a lithium-ion pack, engineers would instead put batteries everywhere they could, for a supposed tally of some "108 battery pouches" throughout the body. A few days after the Automobile piece, however, Porsche publicly said it had no intention of challenging the Model S, because the enthusiastic driving the brand is known for doesn't jive with useful range. In Kacher's retelling, Mercedes' plans are even more ambitious, supposedly taking aim at the Model S and the coming Model X. It would do this with an investment in excess of $2 billion in a program called "Ecoluxe" – Mercedes has no brand division akin to BMW's i and Audi's e-tron. The new brand would create a four-strong family of bespoke electric vehicles: a smaller platform with a wheelbase around 106 inches and a larger one with a wheelbase around 118 inches. In addition, the range would have "provisions for rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive, and rear-wheel steering." The numbers are impressive: seating for seven in the larger vehicles, both longer than 16 feet, front and rear storage areas, ratings of up to 610 horsepower and production capacity of 80,000 units per year. When would we see such creatures? Perhaps as soon as 2019. We do know that if Tesla can knock the Model X over the outfield fence, automakers are going to have to do something. We don't know what the chances are that Ecoluxe is Mercedes' first move - but such a plan could help explain the weird Mercedes concept spied in October.

XCAR shows how Audi engineers let loose with A1 Quattro

In its ultimate mortal guise, the Audi A1 Black Edition - the littlelest little guy Audi makes - costs 22,340 pounds ($33,705 US) in the UK and comes with a turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder that outputs, at most, 182 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. The Audi A1 Quattro - still employing the body of the littlelest little guy Audi makes - costs more than 41,020 pounds ($61,888 US) gets a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder from the Audi TTS with 252 hp and 258 lb-ft. And quattro. And 17-inch, center-locking, white wheels.
The crew at XCAR gets the A1 Quattro on video, to both question how the A1 Quattro happened and then to praise it even if they never found the answer. The hosannas come too late for anyone in the UK who was waffling about buying one, however, since all 19 meant for the 'sceptered isle are sold out. You can see what we missed out on in the video below.