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2015 Audi R8 Competition ready to rock LA

The heyday of the first-generation Audi R8 is winding down, and the Four Rings already has a bespoke factory to start building the next model soon. In the meantime, the German brand is sending its supercar off with a bang at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show in the form of this limited-edition 2015 R8 Competition - the most powerful production vehicle ever made by the company.
Audi is earmarking just 60 examples of the Competition for the US, and this is more than just a trim package to say farewell. Power for the supercar comes from the usual 5.2-liter V10 that's massaged to develop 570 horsepower, an extra 20 hp over the already quite potent V10 Plus, and the only available transmission is the seven-speed, dual clutch S Tronic gearbox. The tweaks let this limited R8 rocket to 60 miles per hour in 3.2 seconds and achieve a maximum velocity of 199 mph. To haul that speed to a stop, it also gets ceramic brake disks with red calipers.
Of course, having such a rare supercar means showing off a little. Audi takes inspiration from the R8 LMS Ultra racecar for the Competition and tries to bring some of its details to the street. The model wears matte carbon fiber pieces replacing the rear spoiler, mirror housings, side blades, front spoiler and rear diffuser. For an extra mean-looking touch, it also has high-gloss black paint covering the wheels and exhaust pipes.

Audi bringing matrix 'organic' LED concept to Frankfurt

Audi has announced that it's bringing a new concept to the upcoming Frankfurt motor show in September, and now it is teasing the taillights. They adopt organic light-emitting diode technology, which takes advantage of several benefits. For one, it uses a relatively low amount of electricity, between three and four volts. It's also incredibly thin, made up of two layers, each less than a thousandth of a millimeter thick. It casts no shadows, requires no reflectors or any other elements, and emits very little heat. Plus the lights can be formed into different shapes, opening up new possibilities for designers. This isn't the first time we've seen Audi focus on lighting technology, and in recent years it's showcased matrix LED and matrix laser headlights. The company runs through the history of the evolution of its lighting tech in the video above. We'll have to wait a little longer to find out what the team from Ingolstadt will be putting these new taillights on. Audi presents latest lighting technology at the IAA in Frankfurt - Matrix OLED technology makes its debut in a concept car at the IAA - Light attains a new level of homogeneity - Flat light sources open up new design possibilities Audi is presenting its next step in automotive lighting technology at the IAA in Frankfurt. The new Matrix OLED lights enable a previously unattainable level of lighting homogeneity, opening up further creative opportunities for design. As the leading brand in automotive lighting technology, Audi has systematically developed all aspects of OLED technology over the years. Matrix OLED lights combine high-tech engineering and design ideally – initial projects are currently underway to implement OLED technology in production tail lights. They are being shown for the first time in a concept car at the IAA. OLED is an English acronym for "organic light emitting diode." In each OLED unit, two electrodes – of which at least one must be transparent – incorporate numerous thin layers of organic semiconductor materials. A low DC voltage – between three and four volts – activates the layers, each of which is less than one-thousandth of a millimeter thick, to light them. The color is based on the molecular composition of the light source. In contrast to point light sources – such as LEDs – which are made of semiconductor crystals, OLEDs are flat light sources. Their light attains a new level of homogeneity, and its dimming is continuously variable.

Audi Q7 E-Tron Quattro TDI Quick Spin

The operating word is quiet. This refers both to the sound inside the cabin of the upcoming Audi Q7 E-Tron Quattro TDI – even with the diesel engine running – and the company's public statements about its plan for this powertrain in the United States. Basically, while Europe is getting the diesel plug-in sometime next spring (a bit of a delay), all we know for sure right now is that the US will be getting the Q7 E-Tron, probably in 2018, and it will have either a 3.0-liter turbodiesel or 2.0-liter turbocharged gas engine. You may now place your bets as to which one you think the public (or, more likely, CARB) will go for. We're guessing 2.0T. Despite not knowing if we'll ever see this E-Tron TDI on our side of the Atlantic, we recently spent an enjoyable morning tooling around the hills outside Madrid, Spain. As we said, this beast is seriously quiet, and impressively so. Driving Notes The Q7 is a big vehicle, but with powertrain that combines electric motors and diesel thrust, there's a ton of low-end torque. The official 0-62 time is 6.0 seconds, which is basically the same as the 6.1 seconds of the non-PHEV Q7. The Q7 E-Tron is about 500 pounds heavier than the already-4,700-pound Q7, but because of its trick powertrain, never felt sluggish in the hills of Spain. This Q7 E-Tron is a parallel hybrid, with the 3.0-liter TDI diesel engine and the 94-kW disc motor both able to drive the wheels. Overall, they provide 373 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. Despite the parallel system, the not-quite-powerful-enough electric motor doesn't provide the complete electric drive experience that EV fans might be looking for. For example, the Q7 E-Tron has a top speed of 139.8 mph, but that's only in hybrid mode. In EV mode, its top speed is just 78 mph. Audi's Virtual Cockpit display, first seen in the TT, remains an ideal way to give you a wealth of information in an easy-to-see format. It's just as slick in the Q7, where you can toggle the size of the gauges and then pick what you want the screen to focus on, whether that's speed limits, infotainment information, powertrain usage, speed, or navigation.