2007 Audi A4 4dr Sdn Cvt 2.0t Fronttrak White on 2040-cars

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Meet the first of four Audi A4s coming to our long-term fleet

Yes, you read that right, this is the first of a quartet of A4s we'll be looking at over the course of the year. We're kicking things off with an Audi A4 Premium Plus sedan, and we'll be looking at other iterations of the A4 line later on: the A4 Prestige, Allroad, and S4. What we hope to do is provide you with a thorough examination of each variation, and hopefully give you some guidance on what's worthwhile and what isn't. But first, let's introduce you to the A4 Premium Plus. What we got The A4 Premium Plus is the middle child of the standard A4 line, fitting between the entry-level Premium and the top level Prestige. Stepping up to the Premium Plus adds 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, an S Line body kit, Bang & Olufsen sound system, parking sensors, aluminum window trim, and heated power seats with memory. The model we received from Audi has a number of upgrades that bring it quite close to the Prestige trim level. Most notable is the Technology package, which adds the Audi Virtual Cockpit instrument panel, which replaces the physical gauges with a big LCD screen. It also comes with rear cross traffic alert. A First Edition package was added, too, which adds cooled sport seats, a three-spoke steering wheel, and unique wheels and aluminum interior trim. Our favorite part, is the sport package, which adds sportier suspension, a black headliner, and the aforementioned sport seats. What we skipped Really, we didn't skip much here – this particular A4 Premium Plus is pretty loaded. The only packages not included were the Cold Weather package, which includes heated rear seats and steering wheel, and wheel and tire options. The heated steering wheel isn't necessary since winter is almost over (at least we hope). The cost of these packages added up fast, too. Moving up to the Premium Plus trim over the standard Premium added $3,800. The Technology package was $3,250, the First Edition package was $1,100, and the Sport package tacked on $750. Along with the white paint at $575, our Audi has over $9,000 in options. That brought our tester up to $49,825 from a base MSRP of $40,350. We like everything that's been added. If we were to pick packages we could live without, though, we'd probably pick the Technology and the First Edition packages. As slick as the LCD instrument panel is, there's nothing wrong with physical needles and dials.

2017 Audi R8 First Drive

You might think the new Audi R8 is a Lamborghini in a business suit. You'd be wrong; the Huracan is an R8 in a Heinlein shock trooper suit. This is the most raucous, rowdy Audi yet, and it's most certainly a supercar – even when parked next to its bawdier Italian cousin. Although the Huracan has been on the street for nearly a year now, the new R8 and the Lambo were developed in parallel. Audi handled most of the engineering workload, with the Huracan receiving Lamborghini's styling and tuning finesse on top of its Audi-built V10 engine and seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. The R8 gets Audi's motorsports-inspired best. Tally it all up and you have two very different cars built from very similar components. Of course, that could also be said of the R8 and its racing doppelganger, the R8 LMS, the racecar built for WEC endurance racing. That car, in fact, is more closely related to the R8 than is the road-going Huracan – the wheelbases are the same, 50 percent of the parts are shared, and the bodies-in-white are built on the same line. The racecars are pulled off line for occasional tweaks or additions, then slotted back in to run through most of the same workflow as the R8s that will eventually end up on the streets. Like a new pair of your favorite shoes, the new R8 is familiar and foreign at the same time. This development program pulls from the best of a legendary supercar brand's flair for presence and idiosyncrasy. It also takes lessons from the company's customer racing effort, as well as Audi's own impeccable taste in road manners and clean, elegant design. The end result is an inspired supercar with daily-driver comfort and a surprisingly aggressive side. Like a new pair of your favorite shoes, the new R8 is familiar and foreign at the same time. It's more comfortable and compliant on the street, thanks to a new chassis that's 40 percent stiffer, allowing for a more forgiving suspension tune. The completely reworked 5.2-liter V10 engine has a Great White bite to go with its Rottweiler bark, but only after you provoke it from polite mode with a press of either the Drive Select button or the exhaust sound switch. The seats are comfortable – that can be said for both the standard sport seats or optional carbon-shell, race-style buckets. Wrapped in a cabin that's much more futuristic and forward-looking than the last R8, the overall driving experience is refined, luxurious, and high-tech.

Ford GT dominates Le Mans qualifying, gets slapped with performance adjustment

Fifty years after Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon drove the Ford GT40 to victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ford is poised for a historic return to the Circuit de la Sarthe. The new Ford GT took the top two qualifying positions in the LMGTE Pro class, and four of the top five. Ferrari's 488 filled in the rest of the spots in the top seven, the first two from AF Corse. In other words, we're primed for a reboot of the classic Ford-Ferrari feud at this year's race. Or not, as the ACO, which organizes the 24 Hours of Le Mans, announced sweeping pre-race Balance of Performance (BOP) adjustments this morning that make this year's GT class anybody's race. In LMP1, last year's overall winner Porsche locked up the top two spots with the 919 Hybrid and will lead the entire field at race start. Toyota's two-car factory effort followed with qualifying times 1.004 and 2.170 seconds behind the pole lap. Audi rounds out the manufacturer-backed LMP1 class in fifth and sixth. Full qualifying results can be found here. The storyline for the GT cars is perfect - some say too perfect. Ford's class-leading times came after BOP adjustment to the Corvette Racing C7.R before qualifying. BOP is intended to level the playing field in the class by adjusting power, ballast, and fuel capacity. (Check out this explainer video for more, or even just if you love French accents.) But the process is riddled with unknowns and ripe for accusations of sandbagging. That is, if the Ford cars were intentionally slow in practice they could hope for BOP adjustment to improve their race chances. On the Corvette side, last year's GTE Pro winner went from the top of the field to the bottom, barely improving from practice to qualifying. If you think Le Mans is as rigged at the NBA Playoffs, well, it's not that simple. Because if Ford and Ferrari held back until qualifying - the eighth-place Porsche 911 RSR is three-and-a-half seconds off the class pole time - it was a pretty dumb strategy. This morning, the ACO tried to put things back in order by limiting the boost in the Ford GT's twin-turbo V6 and adding 11 pounds of ballast. Ferrari was also given extra weight but allowed more fuel capacity. The Corvette and Aston Martin teams were both given breaks on their air restrictors, which will allow their engines to make more power. Both Ford and Porsche also received extra fuel capacity.