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2016 Audi TTS Roadster opens up for all to see

The five-door Sportback concept may be garnering the lion's share of attention as far as the TT goes, but that's just for show. The more tangible news from Audi's stylish sports car range at the
this year is the Roadster.
Like its predecessors, the new Audi TT Roadster ditches the coupe's fixed roof and rear seats in favor of an open two-seat cockpit with a traditional folding fabric enclosure that's quieter and lighter than the previous TT's mechanism.

Audi says 13% of A3 sales are E-Tron plug-in hybrids

Audi's most recent metric for plug-in sales of its A3 Sportback line brings up the classic "glass half full" or "glass half empty" conundrum. The German automaker says that almost 13 percent of its A3 sales during the past year have been of the E-Tron plug-in hybrid variety. That's a decent rate, and a notable one because Audi said late last year that it was hoping that as much as a quarter of its global sales will be plug-in vehicles by 2025. The 2017 model-year Audi A3 Sportback E-Tron has the same specs as the 2016 version, featuring a 1.4-liter engine paired with an electric motor that together deliver 204 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. The 2016 version was rated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as having an 86 miles per gallon-equivalent rating, and was estimated to be able to go as far as 16 miles on electricity alone. Audi notes that the EPA hasn't yet rated the 2017 version, but we expect it to be the same. The plug-in hybrid can zip from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 7.6 seconds. As for that 13-percent figure, Audi didn't specify if that meant US or global sales. The company moved 19,622 A3s in the US through July. At 13 percent, Audi would've sold about 2,500 A3 plug-in hybrids. To put that in perspective, the Ford Fusion and C-Max Energi PHEVs have moved 8,576 and 8,155 units this year, respectively. Audi of America president Scott Keogh said on the eve of last year's Los Angeles Auto Show in November that he wanted 25 percent of Audi sales to be plug-ins by 2025. The following month, Audi said it was hitting that 25-percent threshold in Norway and the Netherlands, where citizens tend to be a bit more plug-in-centric than Americans. But it's a good start. Check out our First Drive impressions of the 2016 A3 E-Tron here. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron News Source: Audi Green Audi Hybrid PHEV e-tron audi e-tron sportback a3

2014 Audi A6, A7 and Q5 TDI diesel models get pricing and fuel economy figures [w/videos]

Last year, Audi announced that it was expanding its lineup of TDI models for 2014 with the Q5, A6 and A7 joining the diesel-burning Q7 and A8 L models already in existence. The Q7 TDI has been out for a few years now and we recently drove the A8 L TDI, but now Audi has released the pricing, performance and fuel economy details for the 2014 Q5 TDI, A6 TDI and the ever-stylish A7 TDI. Down the road, Audi has also promised a TDI version of the next-generation A3 that will debut for 2014.
Until the new A3 TDI shows up, the Q5 will be the most affordable diesel model in Audi's lineup, with a starting price of $46,500 to go with fuel economy estimates of 24 mpg city and 31 mpg highway. The closely related A6 and A7 will get identical fuel economy numbers of 24 city and 38 highway in diesel form, with the A6 TDI starting at $57,500 and the A7 TDI starting at $66,900. In the three new TDI applications, Audi's 3.0-liter V6 produces 240 horsepower and 428 pound-feet of torque, and all models are paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. Scroll down for videos (stock running footage) and more information on the Q5 TDI, A6 TDI and A7 TDI, all of which go on sale in late summer.