More news on the diesel front: Audi has finally decided to bring a diesel variant of its very popular A3 to America as a 2010 model. The A3, which is sort of the car that people buy when they want more than a Volkswagen and less than a bigger Audi, has been intensely popular. Small and compact enough for urban duty, yet able to travel long distances with ease put the car on a spectrum of car buyers’ short lists.

The only thing missing, for the American market, has been a diesel option. The oil burners have been available since the get go in Europe, where diesel is a popular fuel choice, but Audi has been reluctant to bring any of their diesels to North America. This has been something of a downer for those that want an Audi and are either the frugal type, or more green conscious, but now that’s all set to change.

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Audi is getting into the mini-car market for real with their new A1, and its production will start this fall. Audi felt compelled to answer both BMW’s MINI as well as the Euro only A-Class from Mercedes with the A1. As you would expect, it looks like a shrunken head version of an Audi: just like the big ones, only crammed onto a smaller frame. Although there are no plans for a U.S. version, Audi isn’t saying no either.

Production of the new A1 will begin in Belgium this October. That’s according to Alfons Dintner, head of Audi’s Brussels plant. He also stated that Audi will shut down the plant for the coming five weeks in order to ramp up for production of the A1 which will hit Audi’s European showrooms in the beginning of 2010.

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More word from Europe on engines and models that car companies should be bringing to these shores. Audi, maker of all things all wheel drive and quick, has just announced some new engines for the euro market that would be really nice to see here in America (along with a model we should see too).

The most interesting of the new mills is an entry-level diesel that will be available for both the Audi Q5 SUV and the A4 Allroad Quattro crossover. It’s a 2.0-liter TDI with a nifty common rail high-pressure injection setup that cranks out 143 HP and a maximum of 236 lb-ft of torque between 1,750 and 2,500 rpm. Pretty impressive grunt for such a small engine. There’s also a new base 2.0-liter gasoline fueled that puts out 180 HP and 236 lb-ft of torque from 1,500 to 3,900 rpm for the Q5 SUV. Both engines get a 6-speed manual gearbox.

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>> Review by Peter Newton | >> Photos by Derek Mau

Pros

• Taut and controlled handling
• Roomy cargo for a compact car
• Cool-looking LED DRLs
• Just above average Bose sound system

Cons

• Too few controls available on steering wheel
• Sunroof cover did not fully block light
• Trip/car computer non-intuitive
• No iPod integration

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Review by Twain Mein

Pros

• Zippy and economical 2.0T
• Smooth shifting S-tronic gearbox (a.k.a. DSG)
• Audi’s über-cool LED daytime running lights
• Magnificent suspension setup and Audi ride quality

Cons

• Pricey with options
• Back seat legroom worse than flying Economy Class on Southwest

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ACK! No more W12 engine for Audi’s big sedan?! Actually, it’s not as bad as it sounds. Since the range topping 8 series is getting a redesign in 2010 and set to debut in the 2011 model year, Audi will discontinue the model only for one year.

Audi also announced that they will no longer be using the VW-sourced VR6 motor any further. Dating back to the early 90s, the VR6 engine is a 3.2-liter unit capable of producing up to 250 horsepower. Most recently the VR6 was used in the A3 and TT model ranges. According to Edmunds, Audi decided to drop the motor because it doesn’t fit with the company’s move toward more advanced direct-injection motors,

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Review by Alex Kramer | Photographs by Derek Mau

Pros:

• Versatile supercharged engine w/direct injection delivers performance and efficiency
• Excellent balance between handling and ride quality
• Quattro all-wheel drive provides unflappable traction
• Top notch interior materials
• Good overall value in its class

Cons:

• Multi Media Interface controls are awkwardly placed
• Rear seating could use a bit more room
• Exterior styling is still a bit conservative

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I have a bit of a confession to make. Even though I’m a dyed-in-the-wool sports car guy, a guy that lives by Colin Chapman’s axiom of “To go fast, add lightness”, I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for big, fast, high tech sedans. Did I mention them being fast was a good thing. Take Audi’s A8 for example. What a brute, what a road trip car. Imagine blasting across the country in one of those, or even better, in an S8.

Yes, it would be fun, if not exactly as sporting as doing it an Enzo. Audi, it would seem, understands this paradox, and has decided to off some rather nice tuning bits for it’s top of the line luxo-sedan.

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ABT, a Euro tuning house, has been up to all sorts of fun/crazy stuff these days, a heavily modded VW Scirocco Coupe and a worked over Audi Q5 and R8 to mention three. They continue on in that vein with their new massaged Audi S5, which they dub the AS5-R and whose most outstanding feature is 510HP.

The AS5-R makes its debut at next month’s Geneva Show. The ABT version of the A5 coupe includes an updated version of the current S5’s 344HP 4.2-liter V8 engine, modified to crank out 510-horsepower. ABT is staying schtum on any more info on the AS5-R, but aside from the massaged engine, you’ll also notice a new body kit, larger alloy wheels along with a modified suspension and a more powerful braking system. About what you’d expect.

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Ah-HA! Remember what I said about the new for 2010 VW’s Touareg Hybrid already sharing a platform with it’s corporate siblings, the Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q Series, and that we could expect other hybrid SUVs?

Turns out that will be happening for Audi in 2010 as well.

Audi’s hybrid program was on again/off again but now it seems like it is definitely on, with a production launch coming as soon as late 2009 as a 2010 model. And curiously, the upcoming Q5 hybrid is expected to launch in the U.S. market before the rest of the world gets it. Makes sense, since the U.S. is the 2nd largest hybrid market in the world at the moment (Japan is first).

The new Q5 hybrid is needed to compete with the likes of the Lexus RX450h and the upcoming BMW X6 hybrid, according to Audi powertrain development boss Wolfgang Hatz.

Despite moving to hybrid production, Audi would prefer to go the diesel route, due to manufacturing costs. According to Wolfgang Hatz, it costs 50 percent more to develop a diesel powertrain versus a conventional petrol system. Hybrid powertrains costs 3-4 times as much to develop. So, if the demand for hybrids begins to significantly increase, the business case could change, but for now, Audi’s focus will remain on TDI.

Source: AutoBlogGreen

One of the annoying, on going problems with owning a sports car can be ground clearance. You know, speed bumps and sloped driveways and potholes and what not.

Well worry no more, or at least you can stop worrying about ground clearance issue if you’re the proud owner of a Porsche 911 or an Audi R8.

Porsche tuner Cargraphic has come up with a solution for this problem in the form of the “Airlift Suspension System”. Available for the Porsche 996/997 and in the near future, the Audi R8, patented automatic level control system enables the car’s front suspension to rise by 55m.

Cargraphic’s “Airlift Suspension” will automatically lower the car back down to normal ride height once it has reached a speed of 50 km/h (31mph), which is a common feature on other aftermarket systems of this sort.

One unique feature of Cargraphic’s suspension system is that in the 911, it can work with the Porsche factory PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management). There are 2 versions of the Cargraphic Airlift Suspension available, a complete kit that includes BILSTEIN B16 suspension or as an upgrade kit for OE coil over suspensions

OK you lucky owners of Porsche 996/997 or Audi R8s, get cracking.

Source: CarScoop

What a frickin’ brute.

Pictured here is Audi’s top of the line R8 with the new, and long awaited V10 engine. Said mill cranks out a very respectable 525 horses and over 390 foot pounds of torque, all of which is sent to the ground via Audi’s Quatro all wheel drive system. It has enough computer controls, and-slip, anti-skid, ant-moron, boxes in situ that all you have to do is point it, and mash the loud pedal, and you’re gone (without being, er, gone … y’know, like gone daddy, gone).

And here’s the best part: The Audi R8 V10 5.2 costs $183,700

That’s less then Ferrari’s least expensive entry model; about a tenth of what a Bugatti goes for; yes, more than a 911, but quicker.

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By Twain Mein

Pros:

• (Useful) bells and whistles
• quattro® all-wheel drive
• Handling and comfort
• Beautiful interior
• Cruise control that works going down hill
• Good gas mileage; 22.6 mpg combined

Cons:

• Disappointing styling
• Rear seat room
• No telescoping steering wheel!
• Price

This is a review of the redesigned 2009 Audi A4 quattro with 265 hp 3.2 liter V6 engine. The base price is $40k but it came with $10k worth of options, including
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By Kurt Gensheimer

Horsepower. Raw, tire-melting horsepower. Every man worth his chest hair can’t deny it’s one of the first criteria for buying a car powered by a V8. Typically, the more the horsepower and the lower the MSRP, the more attractive it looks. It was the formula that made the muscle car era a piece of American history. But nowadays, American automakers aren’t the only ones making rear-wheel-drive radial roasters; Japan and Germany have also gotten in on the unmitigated horsepower wars, albeit with a little more luxury and refinement.

We recently had a Bridgestone bar-b-que with three fire-breathing, rear/all-wheel-drive V8s representing each of the three respective automaking countries. Japan arrived respectfully in the Lexus IS-F, Germany showed up to the cookout well dressed in the Audi S5, and the United States arrived rockin’ a mullet and Miller Lite in the Dodge Challenger SRT8. Three different V8s, three different countries, and three very different cars.

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Well color me happily surprised, if this turns out to be true, but the R4, Audis baby-R8 might actually see the light of day.

Back in March, der boys from Ingolstadt said their Boxster/Cayman competitor was dead-dead0dead, but now … seems like that initial diagnosis was a bit off. The new mid-engined R4 is on (or so says AutoBlog & AutoExpress). The R4 will be above the TT and below the R8 in the company line-up, and prices will start around £35,000 (around 56K in greenbacks). Like the R8 it will be a two-seater only, available as either a coupe or roadster.

Unlike its Porsche cousins, the R4 will get Quattro AWD and aluminum construction. Mills range from a 2.0L turbo, all the way up to the new supercharged and turbocharged 335-hp 2.5L five-cylinder from the TT RS. And, be-still my heart, a high-performance diesel V6 are also said to be in the mix. The gearbox will either be a traditional six-speed manual (standard) and a seven-speed, S-tronic twin-clutch, semi-automatic as an option (yes please).

Yeah, 56K is kind of steep for me, but if the mighty R8 led to the R4, then maybe Audi will make an even babier (and lighter) R2 or something in the future.

Source: AutoBlog