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Audi boosts A3 Sportback e-tron plug-in hybrid production to 50 a day

Should we try to translate "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" into German? Audi might force us to do that. That's because the German automaker has stepped up production of its new plug-in vehicle – the A3 Sportback e-tron plug-in hybrid – which is never a bad thing. Audi was circulating prototypes of the PHEV as early as 2012 and launched production this summer at a clip of 30 vehicles a day. Now, the company is saying that it's upped that daily production rate to 50. That's not exactly Ford F-150 manufacturing territory, but it's a pretty good sign that more Europeans are clamoring for the plug-in than Audi expected. The A3 E-Tron is priced at about $51,000 in Germany and pairs a 1.4-liter gas-powered engine with an electric motor to produce 204 horsepower and get the car from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than seven and a half seconds. More impressively, the A3 Sportback e-tron plug-in hybrid can go 30 miles on electricity alone plus another 550 miles on gas power, and gets a Euro-based fuel-economy rating of a monstrous 156 miles per gallon. Check out Audi's press release below and take a look at our drive impressions here. On the line and on time: Production of the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron • First plug-in hybrid model drives off the assembly line in Ingolstadt • Assembly processes integrated into the A3 line • Maximum safety for employees, top quality for customers Production of the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron: Assembly – On the engine and component assembly line, the electric motor and transmission are fitted to the engine. Approximately 50 cars every day, with the same timing and on the same assembly line as the other models: Audi is now ramping up production of the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron*. The premium manufacturer is producing its first plug-in hybrid model at the brand's main plant in Ingolstadt. "We started series production of the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron in the summer," said Dr. Hubert Waltl, Board of Management Member for Production at AUDI AG. "Most of the assembly work is integrated into the A3 line; no separate manufacturing is necessary. That demonstrates the flexibility and efficiency of our production planners and employees." With the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron, Audi is launching the mobility of the future. The compact five-door combines a 1.4 TFSI combustion engine with a 75 kW electric motor, resulting in a total system output of 150 kW (204 horsepower).

2017 Audi A4 2.0T Quattro Second Drive

Never mind the impending bubble burst, it's technology's time and Audi couldn't be happier. The 2017 A4 is the latest attempt to prove beauty and brawn can't beat intelligence outright. And this is the company's best case in 20 years. For two decades, the A4 has been the backbone of Audi's lineup and key in its resurgence in the post-Unintended Acceleration days. This car has managed to build up a successful following by being an alternative to the more popular BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class while being nearly as good, if not actually better, than the competition. Audi chose to stake a claim in simple clothes covering technology that was more intuitive than some, being different without being difficult. But Audi is as much a part of the establishment as its big rivals now, so it's not getting any alternative breaks anymore. It's the young tech startup that's finally a grownup – and learned to dress like one. While Jonathon Ramsey got to drive this new A4 last fall in Italy, Audi sent me to San Diego last week to drive the US-spec model that goes on sale in a couple of weeks. And, in short, if you liked the old A4, you'll really like this one. If you liked the old A4, you'll really like this one. The fact this model is known internally at Audi as "B9" is a coincidence when you think about its exterior design. The new A4 is certainly attractive, but you'll have to be a huge Audi aficionado to differentiate this over the old car at a glance. And I dare you to find someone who's actually offended by any part of the design. Some creases lower down on the side of the new car help eliminate the bloated look of the outgoing model, without adding too much fuss. Audi still has Acura beat in the "precision" race. Other new details of note are a wider grille and slimmer headlights (xenons are standard, full LEDs optional) that make the front of the A4 look lower than before, and new sequential turn signals out back that are just fun to watch in traffic. Changes are far more noticeable inside. The tall, somewhat slab-sided dash of the old car is gone and replaced by something with a more airy feel that we've seen in the TT and Q7. There's less of a black dash to get in the way of the expansive windshield and generous side glass, all unusual in today's automotive landscape. You're going to enjoy the fact you can see out of the A4.

Audi calls R18 E-Tron Quattro its 'most complex race car'

Technically speaking, Audi's R18 E-Tron Quattro is quite technical. The German automaker says the diesel-hybrid is the "most complex race car" it's ever created. And we'll take their word for it. The Audi, which pairs a V6 turbodiesel powering the rear wheels with two electric motors, is all about connectivity, giving the car's crew the opportunity to constantly monitor the vehicle while it's racing. The car sends in a host of data each lap to the crew's computers, and the vehicle's telemetry system constantly keeps tabs on things like hybrid energy levels, cockpit temperature and boost-pressure levels. In all, the amount of data parameters is more than 100 times greater than in 1989, when Audi first tested a race car equipped with automatic data transmission capabilities. Audi first released specs on the updated version of the R18 E-Tron Quattro late last year, trumpeting the vehicle's advantages in competing in the LMP1 class of the 2014 World Endurance Championship (WEC). Audi made the car a little narrower and a little taller and it complies with a new WEC regulation requiring the front end set off by a new wing. Take a look at Audi's most recent press release below. AUDI R18 E-TRON QUATTRO WITH COMPLEX ELECTRONIC ARCHITECTURE • Telemetry connection between race car and pit lane • Permanent acquisition of far more than 1,000 parameters • Various electronic control units interlinked by a multitude of CAN Bus systems Ingolstadt, May 5, 2014 – The Audi R18 e-tron quattro is the most complex race car created in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm to date. This not only applies to the mechanics. The electronics of the most recent LMP1 race car with the four rings is more sophisticated than ever before. The age of electronic data transmission from the race car on track began for Audi in 1989. At that time, an Audi 90 quattro in the IMSA GTO series radioed eight parameters to the garage where engine speeds and a few pressures and temperatures were plotted on printouts – a tiny step from today's perspective, but one that provided important insights at the time. Today, an Audi R18 e-tron quattro on more than a thousand channels, in cycles that in some cases only amount to milliseconds, generates data of crucial importance to a staff of engineers at Audi Sport. At Le Mans, the engineers constantly monitor their race cars for 24 hours.