Premium Plus Navigation All Wheel Drive Audi Navigation Heated Seats on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Audi updates A3 with Virtual Cockpit, more goodies

Audi has announced a series of updates to the A3 family. And though we're still waiting for confirmation on its arrival here in North America following its introduction back in Europe next month, the revisions bode well for Ingolstadt's baby. Chief among the enhancements for the latest A3 is the inclusion, as promised, of the company's Virtual Cockpit infotainment system. One of our finalists for 2016 Tech of the Year, the Virtual Cockpit moves many of the controls and menus you'd expect to find in the center console display into the instrument cluster to make them easier for the driver to navigate (albeit at the expense of a co-pilot's assistance). Audi also used the occasion to install some of its latest driver assistance systems, including active lane assist, pedestrian protection, and available traffic jam assist that helps the vehicle crawl along in bumper-to-bumper conditions. The revised A3 also features new front and rear fascias, incorporating a sharper grille and new head- and taillights, with available Matrix LED units up front. Globally speaking, Audi is offering the updated model with six different engines – three gasoline and three diesel – including a 1.0-liter inline-three for the first time. There's the hybrid E-Tron model as well, and the flex-fuel G-Tron model that can run on natural gas. More enticing though is the new S3, which benefits from a ten-horsepower boost to produce a more substantial 310 hp and as much as 295 pound-feet of torque. With sedan, convertible, and three- and five-door hatchback bodystyles, that makes for a lot of combinations, though not all engines will be offered in all forms. Watch this space for word on US availability. In the meantime, you can scope out all the details on the various variants in the press release below and the high-resolution images in the exhaustive gallery above. Related Video: Technology Update for the Compact Bestseller – the new Audi A3 - New engines: 1.0 TFSI and newly developed 2.0 TFSI - Infotainment and assistance systems from the full-size class - First deliveries in summer The successful model from Audi is now even more attractive: The Audi A3* approaches the starting line with new driver assistance systems and engines as well as newly designed headlights and taillights. Also new on board is the innovative operating and display concept, Audi virtual cockpit. The new A3 is available in a three-door version and as a Sportback, a sedan and a Cabriolet.

Audi Prologue concept goes for A9, we give it a ten

If you've been waiting for Audi to roll out a new design language, you need wait no longer as Ingolstadt is displaying just that at the Los Angeles Auto Show this year with the Prologue concept you see here.
Penned by Audi's new design chief Marc Lichte, the Prologue is earmarked to introduce a shift (if not quite a complete change) in design direction for the German automaker. The trapezoidal grille sits wider and lower than on existing models, with the wedge-shaped laser headlights positioned higher above new air intakes with blade elements. The profile rests balanced across its wheelbase to visually emphasize the all-wheel drive that is part of Audi's DNA, with flared arches inspired by the legendary Ur-Quattro. The rear section is inspired by yachts, angled forward to suggest motion, with a narrow strip of LED taillights, full-width diffuser element and twin trapezoidal exhaust tips.
Inside it's all light and surgically clean, with a horizontal dashboard integrating four touchscreen displays running its full width. The system even allows the passenger to select the route for the navigation system and swipe it on over to the driver's display. The headrests on the rear seats and the "sound spoiler" on the rear shelf deploy only when needed, unobstructing the rear view when not.

Audi teases even more of the next TT ahead of Geneva in latest video

Audi is just a few days away from launching the third-generation TT at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, but the new sports coupe has been so thoroughly teased, sketched, and spied that it almost seems like an anti-climax. Even the interior was thoroughly hinted at during this year's CES. But that's not keeping Audi from slowly revealing more and more parts of its new baby.
The TT is a modern automotive design icon. The first generation looked like nothing else on the road when it debuted, and the second generation added a needed dose of sportiness with the TTS and TT RS. The latest teaser video for Ingolstadt's sporty coupe shows more of its aluminum body than we've ever seen before, but the biggest mystery still lingering about the new TT is what engine Audi is slipping under the hood. Thankfully, the wait to find out will be quite short. Scroll down to get the best glimpse yet of the new coupe.