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Audi TT Ultra Quattro Concept throws lightness at the problem

Audi is celebrating the 2013 Wörthersee Tour with a special concept version of the company's TT. The Audi TT Ultra Quattro concept tips the scales at just 2,449 pounds thanks to some extensive engineering work. The company pulled nearly 95 lbs from the car's body structure and used carbon-fiber reinforced plastics for many of its detachable body components. As a result, the concept weighs in at a full 220 pounds lighter than its production counterpart. Throw in a wicked turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with 310 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, and you get a machine with the power to weight ratio in the supercar realm. 0-60 comes up in 4.2 seconds and top speed is listed at 173 mph.
Inside, the TT Ultra Quattro features plenty of carbon fiber trim, and designers also fitted the seats from the R8 GT to save a little weight. The buckets use CFRP for the seat frames, saving nearly 50 pounds in the process. In a world where automakers seem blind to the negative effect of throwing more heft at a vehicle, we're in love with the Ultra Quattro concept. Check out the full press release below for more information.

Audi's Q8 Concept previews a 2018 personal luxury crossover

Audi revealed the Q8 Concept here at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show, and it's just as we expected: a Q7 with frameless windows, an oversized grille, and a rakish "coupe-like" roofline. This concept is an exaggerated example of a vehicle that will almost certainly enter production to do battle with BMW's vanity luxury utility, the X6, and Mercedes-Benz's GLE Coupe. The coupe moniker doesn't really apply, despite the German automakers' best attempts to redefine the word, but otherwise the Q8 Concept delivers. It's two inches shorter overall than a contemporary Q7, on a similar wheelbase, so the basic proportions of the thing should make the jump to production. View 14 Photos The driveline is equally plausible: a plug-in hybrid setup pairing a 3.0-liter TFSI V6 with a 17.9-kWh lithium-ion battery. The concept's V6 hypothetically makes 333 horsepower and 368 lb-ft of torque, and a single electric motor integrated into the eight-speed automatic transmission adds 100 kW (134 hp) and 234 lb-ft of torque to the mix. Those numbers certainly make sense, considering the gas Q7 makes 333 hp (albeit with a supercharger) and the existing Q7 e-tron, which isn't sold here, pairs a 17.3-kWh battery with a diesel V6. Since this is a concept, production intent or no, the range numbers are also a little theoretical, but here's what Audi claims: a 60-mile EV range, and a total range of around 621 miles. Not shabby if you're taking a long road trip. The adaptive air suspension should also make it a comfortable one. Inside, this is a four-place vehicle; no third row, and no center rear seat, as is the trend with these things. The cabin is very clean and modern – typically Audi, although exaggerated a bit. Expect it to be toned down some for production, but this concept interior is a glimpse into the future. We'll have to wait until next year to see something closer to production-ready, but it's coming. Related Video: Related Gallery Audi Q8 Concept View 30 Photos Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2017 Drew Phillips / Autoblog Green Detroit Auto Show Audi Crossover SUV Concept Cars Future Vehicles Hybrid Original Video 2017 Detroit Auto Show

Autoblog's adventures at the Nurburgring 24-Hour race [spoilers]

The brand-new Audi R8 LMS, said to share 50 percent of its components with the street-legal R8 shown off at Geneva, has won its very first race at the 2015 Nurburgring 24-Hours. The No. 28 car driven by Christopher Mies, Edward Sandstrom, Nico Muller, and Laurens Vanthoor for the Audi Sport WRT team out of Belgium finished only 40.279 seconds ahead of the No. 25 BMW Sport Team Marc VDS Z4 GT3 in second place, for the smallest winning gap since the race began in 1970. Those two cars traded the lead throughout Sunday morning and were less than a minute away from one another for the last two hours. They were part of a total 35 lead changes during the entire race – a record for the event – and both did 156 laps. Third place went to the No. 44 Falken Tire Porsche 997 GT3, one lap down. The Audis did what they always do: lurked close to the front, stayed out of trouble, then pounced when everyone else faltered. For the opening stretches the BMW Z4 teams owned it, running 1-2-3 for a while, but all of them hit trouble. When morning came and the race got over its yellow-flag fever, the No. 28 Audi was in front and stayed there. It was the third Nurburgring 24-Hour win for Audi in four years, the brand's first win only coming in 2012. Last year's winner, the Phoenix Audi team that set a race record by doing 159 laps, had both of its cars retire. One hit an oil patch about 12 hours in, spun and was hit by another car behind, taking on too much damage to continue. The other retired with engine issues. Other Notes Three cars crashed out of the race while leading, after the rains that weren't supposed to happen, happened about 90 minutes in. The No. 20 Schubert BMW Z4 led the first 50 minutes of the race, hopped a crest at Pflanzgarten, landed in a pool of water, and hit the wall on the 30th lap. Then the No. 30 Frikadelli Porsche, with a driver team that included ex-'Ring Taxi driver Sabine Schmitz, hit the No. 31 Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 on the approach to Carrousel and crashed out. Then the No. 1 Phoenix Audi, last year's winning car, took the lead but hit the wall after that oil patch near Pflanzgarten and was out of the race. Aston Martin celebrated a class win in the SP8 category with the No. 49 Vantage GT4 N430. This being the tenth anniversary of the Vantage running the Nurburgring-24, this year's car was painted in the same colors as the racecar from ten years ago.