Audi’s Forbidden Fruits

                Many times car brands will release a model overseas and not release it in the states, and Audi is no different. Audi has released the A1 and the sportier version the S1, the Sportback and Cabriotlet versions of the S3, and A6 allroad to the European market. And that makes sense as Europe enjoys the smaller, sportier cars while North America gravitates towards the larger SUV style. But Audi has held out some of their newer SUVs from the American market. The Q2, RS Q3, Q5 TDI and Q7 e-tron TDI have all been kept away from those who crave them.

In America the Q3 is Audi’s answer to the subcompact SUV, but in Europe, there exists the Q2. The Q2 has a wheelbase virtually identical to the Q3, But the Q2 is shorter overall, narrower and has a slightly lower roofline. The Q2 produces a range of 116 to 190 hp depending on whether or not you choose the gasoline or diesel powertrain. This is the pinnacle of the small luxury SUV, but Audi doesn’t believe that the Q2 would have success in the states.

Audi also produces the RS Q3, which represents a perfect mix of style and performance with its turbocharged, 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine that develops 340 hp as well as 332 lb.-ft. of torque. This little speedster goes 0-60 in 4.8 seconds and tops out at 155 mph, just not on American roads

While we will be getting the new 2018 Q5, we will not be getting the 2.0 and 3.0 TDI engines. These TDI models would add to the Q5 being the bestselling Audi in our market, but do to the emissions problems that Volkswagen/Audi has been dealing with over the last couple years, they will stay overseas.

And what could be the crown jewel out of the bunch, the Audi Q7 e-tron TDI. This beast is a rare combination of a plug-in hybrid SUV that’s equipped with a diesel engine. It’s turbocharged V6 and electric motor combine to produce 258 hp, and in full hybrid it can be pushed to 374 hp. Oh and by the way, this Q7 can go to 0-60 in 6 seconds.

Audi Sportbacks are coming!!

Are you a fan of Audi? Do you like hatchbacks? Well Audi is about to make your dreams come true. Audi has confirmed that they will be releasing the A5 and S5 Sportback models in the US. And they should be here in the spring of 2017.

The A5 and S5 Sportback’s have been a popular option in Europe for years, and now that the Sportback is coming to America and it will be just as popular as in Europe. In Europe, the A5 and S5 come in a wide variety of gas and diesel engines and offer both manual and automatic transmissions. We will be limited to two engines here, both have automatic transmissions.

The A5 Sportback will have a turbocharged four-cylinder that produces 252 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque and has a seven-speed transmission. This is the same powertrain that A5 coupe and sedan as well as the A4 sedan.  The S5 Sportback gets a 354-horsepower turbocharged V6, which also makes 369 lb-ft of torque and sends power through a conventional 8-speed automatic. Both of the Sportback models are just as fast as the coupe counterpart, reaching 60 mph in 5.7a and 4.5 seconds respectively. The A5 will also be equipped with Audi’s Quattro all-wheel-drive.

                The A5 and S5 Sportbacks will feature the same interior design as their coupe and convertible counterparts.  A couple of the features that are included in the Sportbacks are the Virtual Cockpit LCD instrument panel and MMI system.  The big advantage to the Sportbacks is Audis claim of twice as much cargo room as the coupe and the backseat is much more spacious than the coupe.

                While we wait for the A5 and S5 Sportbacks to arrive in the spring, check out our other great Audi Vehicle Inventory and Contact us now to schedule a test drive and take home your new Audi today!

Audi has Pothole Power

With the arrival of more and more self-driving and electric cars, Audi is taking innovation to the next level. Audi is creating a suspension that will recharge your batteries as you go over bumps and potholes.

Audi has been working on all-electric cars for a while now, and they have already succeeded with the widely successful e-Tron. Now, Audi is trying to make it easier for you to charge your car without taking up time at your charging station. By using the motion already generated while your cars drives. Currently Audi using Regenerative Braking to help recharge the batteries, but they are planning on moving to a system that harnessing the energy generated by bumps in the road and potholes that litter the streets.

Today, most cars use a traditional coiled metal spring in tandem with a fluid-filled shock absorber that controls the vehicles movement over bumps and around corners.  On luxury and high end vehicles, they have started using a variable-valve or magnetically controlled shocks. Audi has changed the game with eROT (short for electromechanical rotary damper). This uses suspension arms and a series of gears as leverage on an electric motor.

This new system has three main advantages to this system.

1.    The system is more compact than existing suspension systems, and thus gives designers more room for trunk and cabin space and close hugging bodywork.

2.    Instead of physically pushing oil through a shock absorber, this systems allows for more flexibility allowing engineers to tune suspension via software.

3.    And finally the most significant is that the motor harvests energy with every bump, storing kinetic energy to be used later.

"Every pothole, every bump, every curve induces kinetic energy in the car. Today's dampers absorb this energy, which is lost in the form of heat. With the new electromechanical damper system in the 48-volt electrical system, we put this energy to use. It also presents us and our customers with entirely new possibilities for adjusting the suspension."

-Stefan Knirsch, Audi board member for Technical Development

While it is still a ways off that Audi will implement this technology, we are looking forward to its arrival. Until then check out Audi’s current electric vehicle the e-tron and contact us to test drive your today!

Audi R8 Spyder is the King of Convertibles

For those who want supercar performance and open-top cruising, you can now order the new Audi R8 'Spyder' convertible. 

The Audi R8 Spyder features a convertible roof that can close in 20 seconds while going 31 miles an hour, meaning you only have to deal with the rain for a short period of time before the top is up. To compensate for the lack of a roof, the Audi R8 Spyder has been given a touch of structural reinforcement.

            It has a weight of 3553 lbs, which is noticeably higher than the V10 Plus Coupe, by almost 150 lbs. Torsional rigidity also takes a hit compared with its hard-top sibling, although the use of the multi-material Audi Space Frame, comprised aluminum and carbon fiber makes the new R8 Spyder 50 per cent more rigid than its predecessor.

Perhaps the saddest news is the monstrous V10 Plus engine output is missing. Even with absurd levels of performance and a bit more puppy fat, the R8 V10 Spyder manages claimed 24.1mpg and CO2 emissions of 445g/mile thanks in part to the addition of stop and start.

The cabin of the car is also a sight to behold, largely because it is stylish and comfortable but also because the usual dials are replaced with a screen. The gauges are now on a 12.3-inch, fully digital display that uses 3D graphics to let you know what is going on in terms of your speed, the song you are currently streaming, navigation directions – all the stuff you want right in front of you. Another addition is the Audi smartphone interface, which originally debuted in the Q7 and A4. Connect an Android or iOS smartphone and certain content is displayed in the aforementioned Audi virtual cockpit display.

                                                                   

"The R8 V10 Plus is not just a formidable supercar, it's one you would willing want to drive to the shops. To work. To bloody anywhere you can think of because, quite honestly, you will never want to venture outside of the cabin."

The Audi R8 V10 Spyder has a starting price of $129,990. Orders are open now and Audi said first deliveries are expected in 'late 2016'.

 Contact us today to get your R8!

Audi on brink of design and tech revolution

 

              Starting in 2017, the next-generation A8, A7, A6 and Range Rover Sport-rivalling Q8 – the first all-new models to be overseen from start to finish by design director Marc Lichte, who joined in 2014 - will all arrive in quick succession (and in that order). Together they will usher in a new era of more adventurous exterior design sleek button-less interiors and autonomous capability, or ‘Artificial Intelligence’ as Audi plans on branding it.

The A8 will also blow raspberries in the Tesla’s general direction with a “level 3 piloted system,” an autonomous function to you and I, that can take total control of the car up to 60mph, with the potential for over-the-air upgrades in future should legislation let driverless speeds increase. A parking pilot function will let you step out of the car and parallel park it, or back it into your garage, remotely via your iPhone, while a smart phone app will let you ditch your car key altogether.

Where Lichte will really lay down his design marker, though, is in late 2017, with the all-new A7. The idea this time around is to create greater differentiation between the A6 and the four-door coupe A7, but make both a lot more dramatic to behold than the current cars. Both the A7 and A6 (and A6 Avant, complete with an even bigger boot) will all be on sale in the UK by mid-2018, and sport a longer wheelbase, plus wider and lower proportions with bigger wheels – up to 20-inchers.

The A7 gets a full-width taillight bar to denote it’s the flagship model in that particular pillar of the Audi range. The A7 also distinguishes itself from the A6 with a flatter, wider grille, a similar plunging roofline to the current car and a second feature line below the traditional shoulder crease that Lichte calls the “equator” line. The new Q8 – a lower, wider, more luxurious five-seater cousin to the Q7, that will sit atop Audi’s burgeoning SUV line up when it goes on sale in late 2018.

The Q8 shouldn’t be confused with Audi’s forthcoming pure electric SUV – a model previewed by the e-tron quattro concept and already confirmed for production sometime in 2018. The car is expected to have a minimum 300-mile range and slot in the space where you’d imagine a Q6 to sit, although it’s expected to wear an e-tron badge rather than being called the Q6. Got all that?

Check out our current line of Audi’s and Contact us today!