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Audi prepping A5 Sportback for US market

Audi is prepping one of its European-market models for the US market. No, it's not the RS3. Or the RS6. Or even an RS model at all. Sorry. Instead, just be happy we might be finally seeing the handsome A5 Sportback on American roads. Automotive News is citing Audi of America boss Scott Keogh, who hinted that a third A5 body style would be offered in the very near future. And since there are only three A5 body styles – coupe, convertible, and Sportback – and Americans can already buy the first two, the five-door variant is almost certainly what he was referring to. "I feel confident that there will be another variant of the A5 that will be a real home run," Keogh told AN during the US launch for the new A4. Keogh then went on to make the same argument we made above, that Audi only has one more A5 body to sell over here. Audi sells the Sportback with a number of powertrains in Europe, including gas, diesel, and S performance varieties, but we'd expect the US-spec model to mimic the new A4. That means the only choice facing owners would be whether they went for front- or Quattro all-wheel drive. According to Automotive News, we can expect some kind of announcement on the A5 Sportback ahead of the second quarter of 2017, when it's expected to go on sale. We're impatient, though, so we reached out to Audi for confirmation. As soon as they respond, we'll update this post. Related Video:

Audi commits two R18 E-Tron Quattros to final Sebring race for LMP1 cars

We were baffled a few weeks back when the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series announced new classes that will make up their combined racing program in 2014. Gone from the list is the Le Mans Prototype class, otherwise known as LMP1. The LMP1 class has long been the top dog of endurance racing, both in Europe and the US, so we couldn't figure out why this newly minted racing series was jettisoning it like yesterday's donuts.
It appears as if Audi is confused by the move as well. The German brand has announced it will participate in this year's ALMS opening round, the famed 12 Hours of Sebring, as it does every year, and bringing two Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro hybrid race cars with which to compete. Unlike every other year, Audi is treating this year's race as its potential swan song in this famous Florida race.
There's a good reason that Audi is so fond of the 12 Hours of Sebring, as it debuted the gas-powered R8R there in 1999 that kicked off its participation in the upper echelon of endurance racing. The R8R preceded the R8, which debuted at Sebring in 2000 and won that race, starting an amazing career for that car that included five more wins at Sebring. The R8 was followed by the R10, then the R15 and R18, and finally we wind up at today's R18 E-Tron Quattro - all winners, all dominant, all exciting to watch.

Audi SQ7 spied for the first time

Audi isn't really hiding that its engineers are hard at work on a high-performance version of the latest Q7. However, we haven't seen any of the fruits of this labor, until we got these fresh spy shots of the SQ7. With seemingly no camouflage on the car, these photos might give a very good idea of what to expect from Audi's speedy SUV. One big tip-off of the model's performance aspirations is the redesign of the front end's lower portion. New ducts beside the foglights send cool air to what appear to be intercoolers. This test model rides on a very cool-looking set of basket-weave style wheels, and the big, cross-drilled brakes are easy to spot behind them. At the rear, the quad exhaust tips also signal something special. Our spies also snapped some shots of the interior. If there is any question about whether this is the SQ7, these photos certainly assuage it. The badging is plain as day on the gauges, but at this point the changes appear to be fairly minimal beyond that. We know the SQ7 is going to get more power, but the method isn't officially confirmed yet. Although, Audi technical boss Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg said bluntly last year that it would use an electrically turbocharged engine, possibly an evolution of the V6 diesel in the RS5 TDI Concept. Hackenberg also suggested that the SQ7 would go on sale in 2016. Though, the actual debut might come earlier. Regardless, the tweaks should make the SUV quite a performer. Even on the standard version, it weighs 700 pounds less than the previous generation, while remaining about the same size.