This new Audi A4, it looks classier than before…

Audi has moved its game on, as indeed it had to. With squarer proportions than the ubiquitous 3-series, this forthcoming A4 looks decidedly more imposing on the road. There’s a considerably longer wheelbase – look at that BMW-esque front-wheel-in-the-front-corner stance. In turn, that pushes the engines further behind the front axle line to increase the balance. But it’s the R8-style daylight driving lights that really make the A4 stand out in an instant, even if you need to opt for the £775 xenon light pack to get them. Is Audi chasing the pushy BMW image? It makes us wonder…

Longer wheelbase? Isn’t a cramped interior a given in compact execs?

It’s increasingly less the case. But while each new iteration of any car inevitably involves an increase in size these days, the A4 gains an extra 54mm in the wheelbase, most of which appears to have gone into increasing rear legroom. That, according to Audi’s figures, makes it the roomiest of the three German contenders. The A4 is long, too, an eye-catching 200mm longer than the BMW and Mercedes. But while that puts the latest A4 on a par with earlier versions of the A6, it’s still a long way short of the layabout space you get in a new Mondeo.
continue reading "Audi A4 3.2 quattro"

This is the new 2010 Audi A8, scooped on test in Europe sporting a very BMW-style swirly whirly disguise. The A8 won’t be at next week’s 2009 Frankfurt motor show, and we’re expecting to see it at a later date in 2009 around November time.
Audi has already issued a teaser sketch of the new A8’s headlamp, but now we can see the full dimensions and shape for the first time.
continue reading "Audi A8 (2010)"

The A3 has been with us since 1996, while the second-generation model arrived back in 2003. Yet this is the first time a cabriolet has been offered, and it’s incredibly late in the model cycle. The official line is that Ingolstadt has been struggling to meet demand – it produced 231,000 A3s in 2007 alone – but that the bottleneck has now been eliminated, paving the way for the cabriolet.
But Audi won’t have the niche to itself. Almost simultaneously, BMW is launching the A3 soft-top’s only direct rival: the 1-series convertible.

What’s the Audi A3 cabriolet range?

There are two petrols and two diesels to choose from, all turbocharged and featuring direct injection: in the petrol corner there’s a 158bhp 1.8-litre petrol complemented by the 197bhp 2.0-litre engine already found in the Golf GTI; oil burners come in 103bhp 1.9-litre or 138bhp 2.0-litre trim. The S-tronic paddleshift gearbox is offered throughout the range. Sixteen-inch wheels come as standard fit, while Sport spec introduces 17s plus sports seats and a 15mm reduction in ride height. There’s also the option of 18in alloys and the S-Line trim pack with its bolder grille and bumper treatment.
continue reading "Audi A3 Cabriolet 2.0T Sport"

After the rapturous reception given to the brilliant new RS4 we’ve got high hopes for the S6.

As well you might. All the ingredients are there: V10 Lamborghini engine, grippy Torsen four-wheel drive transmission, special 19-inch rims, four tailpipes and various S6 and V10 badges dotted around. There are even daytime LED lights mounted beneath the headlights – one for each cylinder to let people know you’re driving something special.

But you have to admit it looks like Audi has save the best stuff for the RS6.

Yes, even with those tweaks, the whole is so subtle that the chances of being mistaken for a 3.0 Tdi are not small. The V10 has been detuned from the 450bhp it makes in the S8 to keep the marketing men happy too. When the RS6 arrives it will do so with a twin-turbo version producing over 520bhp and probably get to 62mph nearly a second quicker than the 5.2sec it takes the S6. It will also come with massive wheelarches even bigger than the S6’s 14mm flares, and the clever Dynamic Ride control system from the RS4 and the old RS6+ that connects diagonally opposing dampers so the car doesn’t bounce along the road like this one. But then the S6 costs £55,375; the RS6 is likely to command a £10k premium.
continue reading "Audi S6"

Audi doesn’t make many RS-badged cars. Since 1992 it has only applied them to five high-performance, low-volume models: the original RS2 estate, and two versions each of the RS4 and RS6. Each had a monstrous engine shoe-horned into a saloon or estate body, and made BMW’s M-cars and Mercedes-Benz’s AMGs look pretty common by comparison.

So any new RS model deserves your attention. This new TT RS marks the first time the badge has been applied to a sports car; you can have it as either a coupe or a roadster. And when Audi bills this car as an homage to the iconic fast Audi – the original, 1980 Quattro – your expectations are nudged a little higher still.

The Audi TT RS will need more than 200bhp this time…

Audi doesn’t currently make a five-pot as used in the original ur-Quattro so the RS gets a virtually bespoke 2.5-litre five that shares only the design of its block with a US-market Volkswagen engine. In the TT RS it makes a massive 335bhp between 5400 and 6500rpm and 332lb ft of torque between 1600 and 5300rpm. But its combination of direct injection and turbocharging is also good for efficiency: Audi claims average fuel consumption of 30.7mpg, and carbon dioxide emissions of just 214g/km for the coupe.

To handle the torque Audi had to borrow the six-speed ‘box from the Volkswagen Transporter van. And they’ve deliberately left off the black plastic cover that hides most modern engines. Instead, when you open the bonnet you get an eyeful of red cam cover studded with five HT leads: very ’80s.
continue reading "Audi TT RS Coupe (2009)"