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2015 Audi S3 configurator goes live with all the black and silver paint you've hoped for

It has already been nearly a year since we completed our First Drive of the premium pocket rocket Audi S3, with official pricing for the car detailed earlier this summer. Those are facts, but facts won't help you while away your lunchtime in blissful, car-dreaming reverie, will they?
No, for help with imagining just exactly the kind of Audi S3 that you'd like to put in your garage, the freshly launched configurator is just the thing.
Every 2015 Audi S3 will come with 2.0T power under the hood - to the tune of 292 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. The most basic Premium Plus trim (an interesting renaming of "entry level" we'll grant you) starts at $41,100 before destination, while the higher-content Prestige asks $47,000. The extra six grand buys you full LED lighting, tri-zone climate control, S model appearance upgrades like quad exhaust tips and a more advanced infotainment suite with Bang & Olufsen sound.

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.

Jon Olsson's 1,000-hp Audi RS6 Avant stolen at gunpoint, burned

Swedish professional freeskier Jon Olsson loves some insanely modified vehicles, like his Rebellion R2K, but tragedy recently struck for one of his crazier former rides. The custom Audi RS6 Avant was a wild wagon with DTM-inspired bodywork and an engine tuned to a claimed 1,000 horsepower. Unfortunately, the machine was stolen in a brazen armed robbery. Making matters even worse, the crooks torched the car at the end of their joyride. Olsson drove the tuned RS6 in this year's Gumball 3000, and later sold it to a dealer in the Netherlands, according to Auto Evolution. Recently, the wagon was taking part in a photo shoot in Amsterdam. That's when two armed men showed up to steal the Audi. Somehow in the chaos, the robbers' van caught fire, and they got away with the RS6. The criminals weren't too clever, though, because they didn't think to grab the key from the owner's pocket, Car Throttle reported. That would have made the Audi much more difficult to start again, if they shut if off. Although, that apparently never became a problem. The crooks sped off and eventually dumped the car before police were ever able to get them. In a final act of destruction, the thieves also incinerated the one-of-a-kind RS6. An investigation is ongoing. Olsson's Instagram post below shows how little is left of this once incredibly cool wagon. "But now I am more motivated than ever to follow this build up with something just as good," Olsson wrote on his website. Poor poor #RS6DTM Such a sad sight! ??? Who would do such a thing! #hurtsmyheart A photo posted by Jonolsson1 (@jonolsson1) on Oct 15, 2015 at 8:03am PDT Related Video: