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CARB found another emissions-defeating device, this time from Audi

The California Air Resources Board has discovered another emissions-cheating device on an Audi earlier this summer, reports German newspaper Bild am Sonntag. The device is different from the software found in the VW Group's diesel-powered engines, as it alters the way the cars' automatic transmission shifts. The latest device, according to Bild am Sonntag, measures how far the cars' steering wheel is being turned. If the wheel is turned less than 15 degrees, indicating that the vehicle is being tested in laboratory conditions, a program in cars with certain automatic transmissions changes the way the gearbox shifts. The change in the transmission allows the engine to produce less carbon dioxide than when driving in normal conditions. When the wheel is turned more than 15 degrees, the program automatically turns off, claims Bild am Sonntag. The paper reports that Audi took the software out of its vehicles, which was used in both diesel- and gasoline-powered vehicles in Europe and the US, earlier this May after CARB discovered the program on one of the automaker's older cars. Several engineers that were connected with the emissions-cheating device have already been suspended, reports Bild am Sonntag. As the German newspaper points out, the device, which is fitted to certain Audis with an automatic transmission, is different from the cheat devices found on the automaker's 3.0-liter TDI turbodiesel V6 engine and Volkswagen's 2.0-liter turbodiesel motor, even those were also designed to beat emissions tests. The 3.0-liter engine is found in the Audi Q7, Volkswagen Touareg, and Porsche Cayenne models. Audi didn't immediately respond to our request for a comment. Related Video: News Source: Bild am Sonntag via ReutersImage Credit: Reuters / Michaela Rehle Government/Legal Green Audi Volkswagen Emissions Diesel Vehicles vw diesel scandal

Audi doesn't even need December to set new global sales record

In 2011, Audi broke its previous-year global sales total at the end of November. It did it again in 2012. It did the same in 2013, and it's done the same again this year. The brand sold roughly 1.575 million cars last year. As of November 30 this year - its 47th record-breaking month in a row in the US - it had found new owners for 1.591 million cars around the world. Where is the action happening? Everywhere, with double digit growth year-on-year in China (16.4 percent, led by the Q3), the US (15.4 percent, led by the Q5) and Mexico (10.6 percent), and triple-digit growth in Brazil (105.2 percent). Even Europe, still struggling to break free of its retail lassitude, returned a 4.3-percent gain, with the UK and Swedish markets up by more than 20 percent. In November alone, Audi's deliveries increased 10.8 percent compared to last year, and it broke the company record for monthly sales, getting 146,250 units out the door. You can find more numbers and details in the press release below. AUDI AG: new sales record after 11 months - Full year 2013 volume already exceeded in November - Sales chief Luca de Meo: "Strong year-end sprint for Audi" - New-generation Audi A6* launched in the first European markets Ingolstadt, 2014-12-09 - Audi continues to post double digit growth in November too: Deliveries climbed 10.8 percent to a new record breaking figure for a single month of around 146,250 cars. The company once again grew significantly in all regions around the globe. Demand for the four rings rose in the Asia Pacific region in particular with sales up 17.7 percent. Since January, the premium manufacturer has delivered around 1,591,100 cars (+10.1%) to customers, thus topping last year's sales total after just 11 months. In the whole of 2013, the Ingolstadt based company sold around 1.575 million units. "Our performance in November shows that we are keeping up the pace as we sprint towards the year-end," says Luca de Meo, Member of the Board of Management for Sales at AUDI AG. "Our large export markets in particular are driving the growth of the four rings at this time." In China Audi handed over 52,544 vehicles (+18.5%) to their new owners. The Audi Q3* provided a strong boost, with demand for the compact SUV growing by 49.8 percent. Since January, the Ingolstadt-based company has sold a total of 516,356 cars in the Middle Kingdom – and thus more than half a million units for the first time.

Audi's next R8 snapped running the 'Ring nearly naked

Following the debut of the Lamborghini Huracán, work is now well well under way on its cousin. That, of course, would be the next-generation Audi R8, the followup to the model that put Ingolstadt on the supercar map in 2006 and has been on the market ever since. That's an eight-year lifespan, though to be fair, for 2014 it has gotten a pretty meaningful update. Still, that's a long lifecycle, even if the Gallardo with which it shares its underpinnings was around even longer. In other words, it's about due for replacement.
Fortunately, that's just what Audi has in the cards. We've seen prototypes wearing heavy camouflage lapping the Nürburgring a couple of times over the past few weeks, but now it's been snapped nearly completely undisguised, with largely bare black bodywork giving us an even better look at what to anticipate.
So what are we looking at here? A sharper-looking take on the existing design, for starters, so onlookers and customers alike shouldn't have any trouble identifying this as an R8 - but a newer one at that. It seems to take some cues from the new TT, particularly around the headlights, with more squared-off elements throughout. There's an adaptive rear wing poking out the back and more pronounced side-blade intakes between the doors and the rear wheels, which themselves are wearing ultra low-profile rubber.