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Audi says 13% of A3 sales are E-Tron plug-in hybrids

Audi's most recent metric for plug-in sales of its A3 Sportback line brings up the classic "glass half full" or "glass half empty" conundrum. The German automaker says that almost 13 percent of its A3 sales during the past year have been of the E-Tron plug-in hybrid variety. That's a decent rate, and a notable one because Audi said late last year that it was hoping that as much as a quarter of its global sales will be plug-in vehicles by 2025. The 2017 model-year Audi A3 Sportback E-Tron has the same specs as the 2016 version, featuring a 1.4-liter engine paired with an electric motor that together deliver 204 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. The 2016 version was rated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as having an 86 miles per gallon-equivalent rating, and was estimated to be able to go as far as 16 miles on electricity alone. Audi notes that the EPA hasn't yet rated the 2017 version, but we expect it to be the same. The plug-in hybrid can zip from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 7.6 seconds. As for that 13-percent figure, Audi didn't specify if that meant US or global sales. The company moved 19,622 A3s in the US through July. At 13 percent, Audi would've sold about 2,500 A3 plug-in hybrids. To put that in perspective, the Ford Fusion and C-Max Energi PHEVs have moved 8,576 and 8,155 units this year, respectively. Audi of America president Scott Keogh said on the eve of last year's Los Angeles Auto Show in November that he wanted 25 percent of Audi sales to be plug-ins by 2025. The following month, Audi said it was hitting that 25-percent threshold in Norway and the Netherlands, where citizens tend to be a bit more plug-in-centric than Americans. But it's a good start. Check out our First Drive impressions of the 2016 A3 E-Tron here. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron News Source: Audi Green Audi Hybrid PHEV e-tron audi e-tron sportback a3

Audi R8 LMX illuminates the City of Light with lasers

Hard as it may seem to believe, the Audi R8 has been around for the better part of a decade. But does that make us love it any less? Hardly, especially not when Audi keeps rolling out ever-more enticing versions like the one you see here.
Debuting at the Paris Motor Show, the new Audi R8 LMX is the most powerful version of the supercar we've seen yet, thanks to a 5.2-liter V10 engine tuned to deliver 570 metric horsepower. That's 562 by our count, making it ten horses more potent than the R8 GT, or 37 more than the standard ten-cylinder R8 5.2 FSI - enough to propel the LMX to 62 in 3.4 seconds.
That's not all that sets the LMX apart, however, as Audi has fit it with cutting-edge laser-beam headlights. It comes exclusively as a coupe in Ara Blue with carbon fiber trim, special wheels, red brake calipers and a black leather cockpit. Only 99 examples will be made, and with those laser headlights banned in the US, your best chance of seeing one is in the gallery of live images above.

Audi debuts all-new R18 E-Tron Quattro with novel secondary hybrid system

This is the new Audi R18. It looks like the Bond villain of race cars (it has red running lamps), and if Audi's past is any indication, it'll prove difficult to beat in the LMP1 class of the 2014 World Endurance Championship.
The car's full name is the Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro, just like last year's car. Also like last year's car, the new R18 draws its power from a V6 turbodiesel, which powers its rear wheels, and Audi's E-Tron hybrid system, which runs its front axle. Unlike last year's car, though, this R18 has a secondary hybrid system. Audi has fitted the V6 with an electric turbocharger and figured out how to capture waste heat generated when the engine reaches its boost limit. That power can then be stored and fed back into either the turbo or the front axle's hybrid system under acceleration.
There are a number of changes to the body on the new car, forced in large part by series regulation changes. The car is narrower, particularly at the front, but it's also taller. The front end is set off by a new wing, as part of a new WEC regulation. Audi seems quite pleased about this, citing an improvement in front-end downforce and a reduction in cost. Like Formula One, the WEC contenders now have to contend with a ban on the so-called blown diffuser, which forced exhaust gases over the diffuser, creating downforce. That's necessitated some changes from Audi, although as we have no rear shots of the car, we can't tell you what it looks like.