2011 White Audi A8 L 4door Sedan on 2040-cars

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Audi already teasing, testing next R18 e-tron quattro

You can't debate Audi's record in endurance racing. With 12 victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it comes second only to Porsche in the history books of the famous endurance race - only in Audi's case, all of those victories have come in the last 14 years, losing only twice: once to its partner team Bentley in 2003 and once to rival Peugeot in 2009. It's won the FIA World Endurance Championship in both of the seasons it's run so far, and has won championships in the European and American Le Mans Series, too.
That's quite a record to defend, and defend it Audi will with an evolved LMP1 racer next year. Only a week after tying up its second consecutive world championship, the German outfit is already back at Sebring this weekend testing the successor to the all-conquering R18 e-tron Quattro. Unfortunately as the new United SportsCar Championship doesn't include LMP1s, the only chance we may have to see it competing here in the United States will be at the 6 Hours of the Circuit of the Americas in September.
Audi is keeping mum on the details for the time being, releasing only this one photo and promising to reveal further details before the end of the month, but we can already discern a more streamlined shape, revised aero and reprofiled headlamps among the changes from the outgoing R18. One way or another, with Toyota upping its game and Porsche returning to top-level competition next season, Audi may be in for its toughest challenge yet - but you can bet it won't take it lying down. Scope out the press release below and watch this space for more.

2015 Audi RS5 Coupe Sport is one of 75

Audi has released a new limited edition of its V8-powered RS5, with the 2015 Sport edition. Limited to just 75 units and designed by the German manufacturers Exclusive customization team, the stylish RS5 starts at $87,575. That's nearly $17,000 more than the standard RS5, although you might struggle to see why. The Sport adds beautiful 20-inch 5-V-spke wheels, along with plenty of nice leatherwork in the cabin. That includes the black-and-Crimson-Red Nappa leather seats, which feature an embossed RS logo in the seatback, as well as Crimson Red leather door inserts. Contrast stitching in the leather-wrapped wheel and shifter boot match the shade on the seats and door inserts. Audi will paint the limited-edition RS5 in either Daytona Gray or Nardo Gray for no charge or, if you're willing to pay a bit more, you can chose from one of the shades from the manufacturer's Exclusive catalog. There's no mention of how much these custom hues will cost, though. Beyond that, the RS5 Sport is the same thumper that's been on sale for several years, with a 4.2-liter, 450-horsepower V8 under the hood and a seven-speed, S-Tronic transmission dispatching power to a Quattro all-wheel-drive system. Featured Gallery 2015 Audi RS5 Sport View 9 Photos News Source: Audi Audi Coupe Luxury Performance

Audi A5 and S5 freshen up for 2017

UPDATE: A previous version of this story mischaracterized the 2017 S5's engine configuration. The article has been updated. Well, here's the new Audi A5 and S5. They look a lot like the old ones, but just a tiny bit better. In other words, the redesigned coupes received the same treatment as their four-door counterparts, the A4 and S4. While the German press materials mention both gas and diesel engines, we expect the A5 to carry on in the US with petrol power only. Like the current A5, a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder will serve as the base engine, but will probably get a similar power bump as the A4 – Audi hasn't released official figures yet. The four-door had its base output bumped from 220 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque to 252 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque. The S5 is a more interesting proposition than the S4. Where the old S5's 3.0-liter, supercharged V6 produced 333 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque, the new, turbocharged, 3.0-liter six-cylinder pumps out 354 ponies, according to the global press materials. That figure, fans of the old 4.2-liter V8-powered S5 will note, is identical to the original S5 that came out for model-year 2008. Torque figures aren't available yet, but we'd bet on at least a small increase in torque. Still, the increase in power is good for a 4.7-second run to 62 miles per hour, a 0.2-second improvement over the current car's 0-60 time. Audi claims it will offer the A5 with both six-speed manuals and seven-speed dual-clutch transmissions, but we wouldn't be so sure about that stick here in the US. The only available gearbox on the A4 is a seven-speed S-Tronic – coupes are inherently more sporting than sedans, but we aren't sure that's justification for Audi to offer a manual-trans A5 here in the US. Audi only mentions an eight-speed automatic for the S5. So no, the German press materials aren't a good indicator of the US-market A5. What we can rely on, of course, are the official images. The original A5/S5 was a handsome car, but Audi's designers have done a swell job styling the 2017 model. It looks good, and is somehow even more refined than last year's car. Audi's new corporate grille works well on a coupe body, although the powerful creases in the hood might be a little too powerful. The tail is lovely, like a prettier A3. The bodies are better looking, but they're also lighter and more aerodynamic, too. The A5's coefficient of drag is down to a slippery 0.25, while Audi's engineers lipo'd 132 pounds of fat.