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Five cylinders, no waiting | 2018 Audi TT RS First Drive

A five-cylinder engine is an odd duck in the modern automotive world, so why put it under the hood of a sophisticated sports car like the 2018 Audi TT RS? We're posing this question to an engineer when a loud, guttural sound interrupts the conversation. A TT RS blasts by, growling and percolating as it shoots down the front straight of the historic Circuito del Jarama in Spain. Oh, that's why. The RS treatment brings the sound and the fury to the TT, transforming a cute, sporty little car into a sports car with mettle. With 400 horsepower channeled to all four wheels, a stiffer suspension, and styling flourishes like organic LED taillights, the RS makes for a big-time upgrade over the 292-hp TT S and the mild-mannered 220-hp TT. Who wants a four-cylinder, anyway? We're considering the five-pot's potential as we mash the throttle and explode onto Jarama, an old Formula 1 course that still looks ready to host top-level racing. There's a couple of long straights and lots of curves and elevation changes. Sure, it's a bit trite to praise a sports car after a few laps in a controlled setting, but the TT RS has legit performance chops. The engine sounds just as good inside the car as it does to spectators, and it's more satisfying since we're the ones provoking the five cylinders to anger as we approach triple-digit speed. It's all real, too. There's no pumped-in sound or fake flatulent exhaust. "It's the unadulterated sound of the engine – we didn't change it," says Philipp Ade, Audi technical project manager for powertrain. Speaking trackside through an interpreter, he admits the exhaust system adds resonance but also filters out other noises to produce a clean engine note. Trust us, you'll want to tune in. The five-cylinder is not a glorified sound check. It's a new engine developed for Audi's smaller performance cars, though the TT RS is the only one confirmed for the United States. The 2.5-liter mill uses aluminum for its block and crankcase and magnesium for the oil sump. This all results in a 57-pound weight loss compared with the old five-cylinder, which was last sold in the US market in the previous-generation TT RS for the 2012-13 model years. That car was brought to the states after a Facebook campaign. This time there was no doubt Americans have an appetite for the hottest TT. A non-enthusiast will wonder: why the fuss over a five-cylinder engine? To Audi and its band of loyal followers, it's a defining element of performance.

2014 Audi RS Q3 breaks out ahead of Geneva reveal

Ahead of its big reveal next month at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, Audi has released a handful of images and plenty of details for the all-new RS Q3. As the first-ever crossover from the marque with RS branding, this will be the fourth RS model to go on sale this year after the RS5 Cabriolet, RS6 Avant and the RS7, and while UK and Germany sales have been confirmed, there is no word as to whether we can expect this high-performance CUV to be available in the North America.
Sharing its 2.5-liter turbocharged and direct-injected five-cylinder engine with models like the TT RS and the RS3 Sportback, the 2014 Audi RS Q3 should deliver on performance, as it pumps out 310 horsepower and 309 pound-feet of torque (peak torque starting at just 1,500 rpm and running up through 5,200 rpm). This potent engine is paired to Audi's seven-speed S tronic transmission and Quattro all-wheel drive. Despite its small stature, the RS Q3 still tips the scales at just over 3,800 pounds. Even so, performance figures are still impressive with a limited top of 155 miles per hour and a stated 0-62 mph time of 5.5 seconds. The RS Q3 also gets a sport suspension that has been lowered by 25 millimeters, launch control and weight-saving front rotors with a wave-cut and cross-drilled design gripped by massive eight-piston calipers.
Looking almost identical to what we saw last year in concept form in China, the 2014 RS Q3 looks just as sporty as its spec sheet suggests that it is. Up front, the fascia gets massive air intakes with silver vertical accents and, like other recent RS models, the Quattro emblem is written across the lower air intake. The silver accent motif also continues on the grille surround, mirror caps, roof rails and rear diffuser trim, and the oval exhaust outlet is also an identifying feature of Audi's RS cars.

Audi buys Ballard fuel cell patents for $80 million

While some auto companies (e.g., Toyota and Hyundai) are giving away some hydrogen fuel cell patents, others are paying a pretty penny to gain access to the H2 tech. Audi announced today that it has purchased a suite of fuel-cell patent from Ballard Power Systems. The deal between Volkswagen Group and the Canadian fuel cell pioneer is worth over $80 million US. Unsurprisingly, the value of Ballard's stock shot up about a dollar (to $2.61 as of this writing) on the announcement. VW and Ballard will also extend their development agreement, originally scheduled to end in 2017, to March 2019, and possibly another two years after that. Thus far, the deal – which revolves around the "design and manufacture of next-generation fuel cell stacks" for VW's H2 demonstration program – and Ballard says it is a leader in "critical areas of fuel cell product design – including the membrane electrode assembly (MEA), plate and stack components – along with certain testing and integration work." At the LA Auto Show last fall, VW showed off a Golf SportWagen and a Passat with a hydrogen hybrid HyMotion powertrain as well as a Audi A7 Sportback H-Tron Quattro. Audi buys fuel-cell patents from Ballard Power Systems Development agreement with Ballard extended until 2019 Audi's Head of Development Prof. Hackenberg: "The entire VW Group will use these patents." Ingolstadt/Burnaby, February 11, 2015 – AUDI AG has acquired a package of patents relating to fuel-cell technology from Ballard Power Systems Inc. In addition, the Volkswagen Group has extended its cooperation with the Canadian clean energy company until 2019. The purchase of these patents will provide new impetus for the development of fuel-cell drive systems at Audi, VW and the Volkswagen Group. As explained by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management for Technical Development at AUDI AG and responsible for the steering of the development departments of all brands in the VW Group: "Audi is acquiring these strategically important patents for the entire group and will make them available to all the brands. In this way, we are securing crucial expertise that will provide new impetus for the further development of this technology." Ballard Power Systems Inc. is based in Burnaby, Canada, and is one of the world's leading companies in the technology of proton exchange membrane fuel cells.