2011 Audi R8 V10 on 2040-cars

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Audi waxes poetic about Le Mans

Audi did it again this year at Le Mans, but it wasn't arguably a harder job than it's been in the past few years. The Four Rings has put together a five-minute recap of the 24 hours in the wet and the dry at La Sarthe, showing a lot of the low points and the one high point that makes them all worth it.
Perhaps even better than the footage are the driver interviews. Audi has owned Le Mans for more than a decade, but none of the drivers take it for granted - team driver Marc Gene said, "I also think that Le Mans picks the winner... At some point, he just decides which car and which drivers are going to win that race."
You can check it out in the video below. And be sure to hang around for the tribute at the end.

Junkyard Gem: 1987 Audi 5000 S

U.S.-market Audi sales climbed steadily in the 1980s, and the third-generation Audi 5000 (known as the Audi 100 outside of the United States) was a big part of that success. Then, in 1986, "60 Minutes" aired the infamous "Out of Control" report about the 5000's alleged propensity to put itself into gear and crash into stuff at full throttle. U.S. Audi sales went into the crapper straight away, and they stayed there for years. Here's one of the '87s that did sell in the aftermath of the unintended acceleration debacle, spotted in a California wrecking yard. The 5000 was big, comfortable, futuristic-looking (sporting flush glass long before most of Audi's competitors), and lent an air of European sophistication to its American drivers. Sure, 5000s broke down frequently, but daily-driving cutting-edge technology comes at a price. Just 82,699 miles, and the interior is in excellent condition. Perhaps this car was driven sparingly and religiously maintained, or maybe something expensive broke 20 years ago and it sat in a garage until now. I am assuming that there was a heart in this sticker, not a skull-and-crossbones or other non-love-related symbol. Audi recalled all the automatic-equipped 5000s extant in the aftermath of the unintended acceleration drama, installing these stickers on the gearshift consoles. Sure, the problem was more likely to have been caused by drivers mixing up the pedals than by mechanical failure (unlike, for example, the all-too-real "park-to-reverse" defect in 23 million vehicles that Ford didn't have to fix, a few years earlier), but Audi's fixes may have saved some lives. Here's an Audi PR film about the issue, released about the time today's Junkyard Gem was rolling off the showroom floor. Audi dumped the 5000 name for the 1989 model year, calling these cars 100s and 200s. There's a lot of interesting automotive history in your local U-Wrench-It yard! Related Video:

2014 Audi R8 V10 Plus

Ignore the naysayers who say the Audi R8 is too refined to be a proper supercar, or that it has begun to show its age - after a few tweaks for the 2014 model year, the automaker's flagship remains one of my favorite exotics.
Audi has treated all of its R8 models to a host of enhancements for the 2014 model year that include new LED headlights and tail lamps, larger steering wheel-mounted shift paddles, new exhaust finishes, updated alloy wheel designs and fresh exterior colors. However, the most significant news is the arrival of a proper seven-speed S-Tronic dual-clutch automatic transmission (it replaces the six-speed R-Tronic). The rapid-fire gearbox shaves a coupe tenths off the 0-60 sprint and improves fuel economy for both the eight- and ten-cylinder models (thankfully, a traditional six-speed manual is still on the order form).
I recently spent time with the new-for-2014 V10 Plus model, which is only available in a coupe body style. Compared to the standard V10 models, the Plus sheds upwards of 130 pounds thanks to lightweight manual seats (not fitted to my test car), carbon-ceramic brakes, reduced sound bay insulation, a smaller fuel tank and an assortment of carbon-fiber pieces (including side blades, front splitter, rear diffuser and spoiler). But that's not all, as the V10 Plus also receives a bump in output that pushes its ten-cylinder to an even 550 horsepower.