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Audi exec suspended over diesel scandal

So far, just one lower-level employee has plead guilty in the ongoing VW diesel scandal. Up high, the VW CEO when the scandal broke, Martin Winterkorn, resigned right after the news came out. Other executives have also quit or been suspended as well. Today, we learn that one more executive is feeling the heat a year into the scandal. Stefan Knirsch, the head of technical development at Audi and Audi board member, is going to be suspended from his position this week because of his ties to the technology that VW Group used to cheat emissions tests. The German newspaper Bild Am Sonntag reports that Knirsch not only knew that the cheating software existed but also lied about it under oath. Knirsch previously worked at Porsche and then Audi's electrification division. He left Audi's EV efforts behind in early 2015. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo Government/Legal Green Audi Volkswagen Diesel Vehicles vw diesel scandal audi diesel diesel scandal

TT Offroad Concept shows Audi's design icon isn't afraid to play dirty

We'll step right out and say we like the TT Offroad Concept, but there's something that's just a bit too... familiar about it. Yes, this yellow five-door looks like a not-so-distant relative of the Allroad Shooting Brake Concept that debuted at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show earlier this year. So, we've seen the production TT, a super-light, high-performance model and now we're seeing a crossover. Does any of this sound familiar? Considering the Detroit concept earned an editors' choice award for that show, you can imagine how we feel about the strikingly similar TT Offroad, which is debuting at the Beijing Motor Show.
The two concepts share a propulsion system - a high-performance version of Audi's E-Tron plug-in-hybrid drivetrain. Total system output sits at 408 horsepower, thanks to a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder and a 40-kilowatt electric motor in front and an 85-kW motor on the rear axle, for all-wheel drive. 62 miles per hour arrives in 5.2 seconds, while the TT Offroad is limited to 155 mph. Fuel economy is impressive, with a claimed 123.8 US miles per gallon on the European cycle.
The most obvious different between these two, then, are their looks. The TT looks a bit tougher, thanks to its larger 21-inch wheels and narrower headlights, but its more conventional belt and roofline give it more of an Audi Q3's look. Out back, a slightly restyled bumper is the sole differentiator between the two vehicles.

2013 Audi RS6 Avant [w/video]

Latest, Greatest Autobahn Bomber Will Not Be Denied - Except To Us
Back in 2008, I was fortunate enough to test the second-generation Audi RS6 Avant in southern France on the supremely well-sorted circuit at Le Castellet, a.k.a. Paul Ricard. I was thrown out there with the 572-horsepower bi-turbo 5.0-liter V10-equipped behemoth behind one of Audi's DTM pros and was convinced in short order that the flaming hippo in my hands was going to get the better of me on one or another of the track's tight esses. I made it out alive and invigorated, of course, but knew that that RS6 Avant was the heaviest that these thunderwagons should ever be allowed to get. At around 4,650 pounds with driver aboard, it was just way more lateral momentum at speed than any pilot needs on a track - or for that matter, on a favorite hot curving road.
Now it's time for the 2013 Audi RS6 Avant to lay us out with a flying scissor kick from the corner ropes. This version of the highway and byway marauder from Quattro GmbH is a decidedly greater piece of work than was the car I drove in 2008. This time, there will only be the Avant body configuration - no RS6 sedan - and, as with the previous generation, North America won't be at the receiving end when deliveries start at the end of July this year.