2011 Audi 3.0t Prestige on 2040-cars

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Audi Adaptive Cruise Control is the 2017 Autoblog Technology Feature of the Year

Adaptive cruise control is not a new concept, but it is evolving, and Audi is at the forefront. Those advancements were enough for us to name Audi's Adaptive Cruise Control the winner in the feature category for the 2017 Autoblog Technology of the Year awards. The simple name is somewhat misleading. In addition to keeping the car a set distance from the car ahead in traffic, Audi's adaptive cruise takes into account topography, curves, and speed limits. Pass a speed limit sign and the set speed will reset it to match. Or when traveling on a winding road, the car will slow appropriately for the slower corners. With a navigation destination set, it will even slow the car so you can make the turn without hitting any pedals. It's currently available on the Audi A4 sedan and Allroad as well as the Q7 crossover, and will be optional on the upcoming S4, A5/S5, and Q5 and other future Audi models. Audi's advanced cruise system beat out two other finalists in the feature category, Jaguar's Activity Key and the Cadillac Rear Camera Mirror. To us, the Audi system represents a bigger step forward and a greater impact on safety. It will also inform future full-autonomous features and marks a step in that direction. For more on our 2017 Autoblog Technology of the Year awards, including the winner in the car category, check out our awards page. Audi Technology Technology of the Year Autonomous Vehicles Luxury Videos

Audi re-illuminates Sport Quattro with Laserlight concept for CES

Automakers typically spend months working on a concept car, then unveil it at a car show and move on to the next. But Audi has demonstrated a propensity at refining the same concepts and bringing them back for more. Just look at how many time Audi iterated its E-Tron concept, and how many diesel R8s it toyed with. It brought the Italdesign Parcour out of retirement and rechristened it the Audi Nanuk, and it's been doing the same with the Quattro concept for the past several years. The German automaker rolled out the first Quattro concept back in 2010, and followed up with the reborn Sport Quattro concept less than a year ago. And now it's preparing to unveil yet another.
Called the Sport Quattro Laserlight concept, this time it's not as radical a departure from the Sport Quattro concept as that was from the first Quattro concept. In fact, there's really only one vital difference. That'd be the laser headlights "that leave all previous systems in the dark," according to the press release below. The system uses matrix LEDs around the outside of the element as low beams, and lasers on the inside for high beams. Measured in mere microns, the laser diodes are significantly smaller than LEDs, while lighting up the road ahead for nearly half a kilometers (1,640 feet), providing twice the lighting range and three times the brightness of LED high beams.
Otherwise the concept car you see here and which Audi will display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week is essentially the same as the one it showed in Frankfurt this past September. It's got the same measurements, wearing the same CFRP bodywork, with the same interior and the same 700-horsepower hybrid powertrain, only the yellow exterior has been repainted Plasma Red and the black interior redone in a more low-key Slate Grey, as you can see from the high-res image gallery above.

Audi reveals 'rightsized' 2.0 TFSI engine for next A4

Downsizing engines is a trend sweeping the industry. It's not a new thing, and downsizing helps automakers cut fuel consumption and emissions while employing techniques like turbocharging and direct injection. Audi, however, is taking a different approach with its latest engine. Revealed at the Vienna Motor Symposium in Austria is Audi's newest trick powertrain. Where others are going with smaller engines, Ingolstadt's latest displaces a nice round 2.0 liters, employing a shorter intake time to use less fuel. It's sort of like the Miller cycle that Mazda brought to market on the old Millenia, only turbocharged (instead of supercharged) and brought up to date. Audi calls the four-pot "rightsized," producing 190 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque across a broad rev range, while getting 47 miles to the gallon – and that's on the US cycle, which is tougher than the European standard a company like Audi would usually quote. In short, it's designed to provide power where needed but only sip at the fuel tank when it's not, but the geekiest among us will want to delve into all the intricacies outlined in the announcement below. The engine is set to power the next-generation A4 before being rolled out in additional models in the future. Ingolstadt/Vienna, 2015-05-07 World premiere at the Vienna Motor Symposium: new high-efficiency engine from Audi - New 2.0 TFSI four-cylinder engine with innovative combustion method - Top figures: 190 hp, 320 Nm (236.0 lb-ft), less than 5 l/100 km (47.0 US mpg) - To be implemented in the new Audi A4 by the end of 2015 - Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg: "A prime example of the Audi rightsizing strategy" Audi presents the most efficient two-liter gasoline engine in its class. The new 2.0 TFSI with 140 kW (190 hp) demonstrates the engine expertise of the brand – with a ground-breaking new combustion method. Audi will be using the engine for the first time in the next generation of the A4. Over ten years ago, Audi was the first manufacturer worldwide to bring the TFSI engine with turbocharging and direct injection into series production. This made the brand with the four rings the trendsetter in downsizing and downspeeding. "We're now taking a crucial step further with rightsizing," said Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management for Technical Development at AUDI AG.