2002 Audi A4 1.8t Quattro on 2040-cars

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Spy video shows Audi RS4 Avant twin-turbo V6 lapping the Nurburgring

Nurburgring testing season is in full swing, and Audi took some of its newest upcoming models for a spin. That means our first listen to Ingolstadt's new, turbocharged RS engine under the hood of the RS4. Based off the updated A4, the new RS4 Avant is a return to the performance variant's roots. The original RS4 (and early versions of the S4) used twin-turbo V6 power, although more recent models stuffed the beloved 4.2-liter V8 under the hood. The turbo engine in the new model is also rumored to find its way into the back of the R8 supercar. We don't know horsepower figures yet, but with 450 horsepower as the benchmark from the last RS4 we expect big numbers from the six-cylinder. The new engine might be just as powerful as the old V8, but as you'll see in the video, it's missing the phenomenal growl that the 4.2-liter made as it revved to the sky. This new car is quiet, especially compared to the ear-tingling five-cylinder note of the TT RS testing alongside the wagon. A quiet performance car is fine if you like stealth, but with its flared wheel arches, oval exhausts, and big wheels, the RS4 is a car that's anything but subtle. Related Video: News Source: Car Spy News via YouTube Spy Photos Audi Wagon Luxury Performance Videos

Adam Carolla is world's the least helpful test drive co-pilot

If you were going to test drive a new car, who would you want to take with you? Your spouse? A friend? Maybe an automotive journalist? Well take it from us: there's one of us riding shotgun just about every time we go to drive anything, and we're not all we're cracked up to be.
How about a celebrity comedian? Well, that largely depends on which comedian we're talking about here. Some - say, Jerry Seinfeld or Jay Leno, for example - might be more helpful than others, being more or less schooled in the finer points of the modern automobile. Adam Carolla might seem like he belongs on that list too, but in this latest video for a friends at Edmunds.com, the one-time host of The Car Show on Speed TV seems bent on being as comedically intrusive as possible. Which may be funny, but helpful? Not so much. See what we mean in the video below, and the next time you go to test drive a new car, you just might find the world's most popular podcast host climbing in with you.

A few pre-race notes and a lot of photos from the 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 82nd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is on.
Audi has won 12 of the last 15 events, the scion of Auto Union is trying to make it 13 this year. To do so, it will have to overcome a situation faced only three other times during its dominance of La Sarthe: underdog status. Toyota has won the first two races of the year and claimed pole for this race, the rumor being that this year it's Toyota's race to lose.
And then there's Porsche. It's been 16 years since the Stuttgart brand raced on the top rung at Le Mans, three years years since it announced its return, just a year since it acquired Mark Webber in a signing that wasn't subtle and a few months since we got eyes on the 919 Hybrid.