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The Audi A1 has been showing up all over the place since its launch and this new music video from the German band House Rockerz is just another example. Here is a snippet from the source and the video after the jump. Enjoy!
Continue reading ‘Audi A1 featured in German pop video’
It’s that time of the year again when APR offers the best sale of the year on the entire APR product line and gives one lucky APR supporter a Free APR Stage III of their choice!*
Every purchase at www.goapr.com of $1000 or more will be automatically entered into the Raffle for a Free APR Stage III!*
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*Up to a $5000USD Retail Value. No Purchase Necessary to Enter. For Complete Details visit www.goapr.com/raffle/
The influential Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) chose three Audi models – the Audi A3, Audi A4 and Audi Q5 – as 2011 TOP SAFETY PICK winners.
With its TOP SAFETY PICK list, IIHS recognizes vehicles that do the best job of protecting people in front, side, rollover, and rear crashes based on good ratings in Institute tests. Winners also must have available electronic stability control, a crash avoidance feature that significantly reduces crash risk. The ratings help consumers pick vehicles that offer a higher level of protection than federal safety standards require.
Last year the Institute toughened criteria for TOP SAFETY PICK by adding a requirement that all qualifiers must earn a good rating for performance in a roof strength test to assess protection in a rollover crash.
Overall, the Institute selected 66 vehicles for its highest honor. This marks the third year in a row that these three Audi models have earned the Institute’s top recognition.
“Safety stands at the forefront of Audi vehicle development, so it’s rewarding when an evaluator with the credibility of IIHS recognizes this work,” said Johan de Nysschen, President, Audi of America.
“Safety is a priority among this crop of winners,” said Adrian Lund, IIHS President. “From the start these manufacturers set out to design vehicles that would
earn TOP SAFETY PICK, even though we’ve made it harder to win.”
Audi broke its annual vehicle sales record in the U.S. Monday evening when it recorded its 93,507th transaction of 2010. The sale eclipsed the old U.S. record of 93,506 vehicles sold in 2007.
“This is truly an historic moment for Audi as the brand continues on its established course to become the most successful premium brand in the U.S. and globally,” said Johan de Nysschen, President, Audi of America. “Setting a new sales record reflects on the exceptional work done by the Audi team and our dealer partners. But credit for this achievement also belongs to the American premium car consumer who is choosing the advantages of Audi engineering innovations.”
Mark Del Rosso, Chief Operating Officer, Audi of America said there is no question that the brand will exceed 100,000 2010 vehicle sales by the end of December and that it will aim for another record-breaking year in 2011.
“We are on target to surpass the 100,000 mark,” Del Rosso said. “And, with an energized dealer body and exciting new products still to come, we believe that topping the new record is our next objective.”
The U.S. will be the fourth market for Audi globally with sales exceeding 100,000 vehicles, joining China, Germany and the United Kingdom.
The Audi A7 sportback was launched in North America at the Los Angeles Auto Show just last month. Audi just released this impressive commercial for the car which is likely running somewhere in Europe. The theme of the advertisement is “Imagination meets engineering” and shows what it might have gone on inside the the brain of Audi’s Head of Design, Stefan Sielaff, while he was dreaming up this new car. The commercial is set to a modified version of Basement Jaxx’s ‘Dracula’. Enjoy the commercial after the jump!
Continue reading ‘New Audi A7 Sportback “Imagination meets engineering” commercial’
Friday marked a big day in Audi Motorsport history as the all new Audi R18 TDI Le Mans Prototype race car was unveiled in Ingolstadt on Friday. Now we’ve all read the press release and seen the amazing photos, but they still leave us desiring more. Thankfully the guys over at Dailysportscar.com videotaped the event and captured a new level of detail that goes beyond what we have seen so far in photos. There are 3 videos total and we have them all for you right after the jump.
Continue reading ‘Videos from the launch of the Audi R18 TDI’
Audi aims to continue its string of victories at the Le Mans 24 Hours with a completely new LMP1 sports car development. Since its debut in 1999, the brand with the Four Rings has won the world’s most important endurance race as many as nine times with the R8, R10 TDI and R15 TDI models. In doing so, Audi has equaled this feat in the race’s roll of honor with Ferrari. With the new R18, which was presented at the Audi Sportpark in Ingolstadt on the evening of Friday, December 10, 2010, Audi is aiming for its tenth Le Mans success in 2011.
For the first time since 1999, Audi will contest Le Mans with a closed coupe again. “In the future, aerodynamic efficiency will be even more important at Le Mans than it was in the past,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “A closed car has clear advantages in this respect. Our computer simulations have been confirmed in the wind tunnel and during initial track tests.”
Significantly smaller engines than those used before will be prescribed at Le Mans in 2011 as the rule makers aim to achieve a substantial reduction of engine power. By opting for a 3.7-liter V6 TDI unit, Audi retains the diesel concept that saw its first victorious fielding in 2006. “From our point of view, the TDI continues to be the most efficient technology,” says Ulrich Baretzky, Head of Engine Development at Audi Sport. “There are good reasons why the share of TDI units among Audi’s production models is as high as it is.”
Through the innovative V6 TDI engine for the Le Mans 24 Hours, motorsport is yet again performing pioneering work for the production arm at Audi where there is a growing trend towards smaller, more economical but yet powerful engines.
Another new development is the six-speed transmission in the R18 which has been specifically modified for use with the smaller engine.
Numerous detailed solutions
With regard to the chassis Audi Sport wants to live up to its promise, expressed in the brand’s “Vorsprung durch Technik” tagline. Unlike those of the closed Le Mans prototypes, the carbon fiber monocoque of the R18 does not consist of two halves but features a single-component design. This saves weight and increases stiffness.
For the development of the closed R18, engineers at Audi Sport were able to draw on the experiences gained in 1999 with the R8C and in 2003 with the LMP1 of the corporate “sister brand” Bentley that was victorious at Le Mans. “Also the Audi A4 DTM, which for example, features a heated windshield, allowed us to shorten the development cycle with respect to the ventilation of the cockpit, the doors and the heating of the windshield,” explains Dr. Martin Mühlmeier, Head of Engineering at Audi Sport.
The chassis and aerodynamics package contains a lot of know-how from the R8, the R10 TDI and the R15 TDI whereas the fitting of identically sized front and rear wheels is new to an Audi Le Mans sports car. This configuration allows a more balanced weight distribution.
The R18’s headlights, which are the first to completely consist of LEDs with optimized amount of light, are a technical highlight. The new generation of headlights was developed in close cooperation between Audi Sport and the Technical Development (TE) division of AUDI AG and by using at Le Mans, will be prepared for future use in production vehicles. Audi’s light designers had the chance to make their mark on the development as well: The LEDs of the daytime light form the shape of a “1” which is intended to inspire associations with Audi’s historic brand logo.
The Audi R18 has been designed for progressive electrification, which Audi Sport is planning to drive forward step by step. “But efficiency is always the crucial factor for us,” says Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “No matter which form of energy recovery we may choose the key aspect for Audi – in motorsport as well as on the production side of the house – is that it provides a true advantage.”
The development of the new Audi R18 started in mid 2009. The V6 TDI engine has been running on the dynamometers since the summer of 2010. The R18, with Allan McNish at the wheel, completed its first test on a racetrack at the end of November.
The racing debut of the Audi R18 is planned for the Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) 6 Hours on May 8. Prior to the event, the new prototype will be able to do its first laps on the race track at Le Mans during the official test day on April 24 and gather important data for the race on June 11 and 12.
Audi is planning to field three Audi R18 cars at Le Mans, which will be entered by Audi Sport Team Joest, the most successful Le Mans team of all time. In addition, Audi Sport Team Joest will contest the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC), consisting of a total of seven endurance races on three continents (including the Le Mans 24 Hours) with two cars. At the opening race at Sebring on March 19, the team will use two “R15 plus plus” cars. “Sending the R18 into a race at such an early point in time would be difficult in terms of logistics and interfere with our development program,” explains Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich.
Dual project in the DTM
In parallel to the commitment with the R18 in the sports prototype class, Audi aims to bring the DTM title back to Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm. As the DTM technology freeze continues in 2011 the main focus for the engineers at Audi Sport during the winter will be placed on development work with the DTM’s new exclusive tire partner. “In 2010 the tires were a really crucial topic which caused us to fall a little behind our competitor,” says Dr. Martin Mühlmeier. “This mustn’t happen again.”
As before, Audi Sport is again planning to field a total of nine vehicles entered by the proven Audi Sport teams Abt Sportsline, Phoenix and Rosberg. The driver line-up will only be decided in January of next year.
But not only the twelve DTM events (including one show race at the Olympic Stadium in Munich) have to be tackled in 2011. In addition, Audi Sport is working on the successor model of the current Audi A4 DTM, internally designated as the “R17,” for the new Technical Regulations that will come into effect in 2012. The first tests are planned for next summer.
Customer sport to be expanded and restructured
AUDI AG’s customer sport program that was launched in 2009 will be expanded and restructured. The responsibility for the further development of the Audi R8 LMS, sales of the vehicles and technical support for the worldwide customer and importers teams has been delegated to quattro GmbH.
Whereas the main focus was previously on Europe, the Asian market will be served as well in 2011.
The participation in the 24 Hour races at the Nürburgring (June 25/26) and at Spa-Francorchamps (July 30/31) spearheads the customer sport commitment with the Audi R8 LMS. Audi will also support entries at other endurance races such as the 12 Hours at Bathurst (Australia) as part of its customer sport commitment.
In addition, Audi is planning a modular customer sport concept that will include an endurance version of the TT RS and a GT4 version of the Audi TT. The TT RS has already successfully completed first runs on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife and will continue to be developed during the winter. A concept of the TT GT4 was presented at the DTM race meeting in Shanghai. Delivery of the first customer vehicles is planned for 2012.
Audi Motorsport Events in 2011
Audi R15 TDI
Mar 19 Sebring 12 Hours (USA)
Audi R18
Apr 24 Test day, Le Mans (F)
May 08 Spa-Francorchamps (B) 6 Hours
Jun 11/12 Le Mans (F) 24 Hours
Jul 03 Imola (I) 6 Hours
Sep 11 Silverstone (GB) 6 Hours
Oct 01 Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta (USA)
Nov 12 China (CN) 6 Hours
Audi A4 DTM
May 01 Hockenheim (D)
May 15 Zandvoort (NL)
Jun 05 Spielberg (A)
Jun 19 EuroSpeedway Lausitz (D)
Jul 03 Norisring (D)
Jul 17 Show event Munich (D)
Aug 07 Nürburgring (D)
Sep 04 Brands Hatch (GB)
Sep 18 Oschersleben (D)
Oct 02 Valencia (E)
Oct 23 Hockenheim (D)
Nov 06 Shanghai (CN)
Audi R8 LMS
Jun 25/26 Nürburgring (D) 24 Hours
Jul 30/31 Spa-Francorchamps (B) 24 Hours
Full Gallery of Audi R18 TDI
HERNDON, Va., Dec 8, 2010 - An Audi engine earned a spot on the prestigious Ward’s 10 Best Engines Award for the ninth time in the past 11 years. The listing for 2011, just released by Ward’s, named the 3.0 TFSI Supercharged DOHC V6 in the Audi S4 among the world’s most advanced powertrains.
This marks the second year in a row that the 3.0 TFSI engine in the Audi S4 made the Ward’s list.
“Audi distinguishes itself through excellence in engineering and there’s no better example of that than the 3.0 TFSI Supercharged V6 engine, ” said Johan de Nysschen, President, Audi of America. “It’s an exceptional demonstration of how Audi pushes to maximize efficiency without reducing performance.We’re gratified by this important recognition from the editors of Ward’s.”
Continue reading ‘Audi S4 engine wins influential Ward’s 10 Best Engines Award for second year in a row’
After much speculation, Audi Motorsport boss, Dr. Ullrich, has announced that the successor to the R15, known as the R18, will be unveiled this Friday in Ingolstadt. The team at Audi Sport has done a great job keeping this new car under tight wraps, but the wait is almost over. It is generally expected that Audi will join Peugeot and campaign a closed cockpit car but we can’t be sure until the official unveiling. We expect to receive a full set of official photos once the launch has concluded and will update the site immediately with any information we get. It also worth noting that Audi has pledged their continued support of the ILMC series for 2011 and beyond.
We have posted a unique photoshop mock up of what the previous generation R15 would have looked like as a coupe (created by Endurance-Crea). We have also included the official Le Mans article on the subject below.
Continue reading ‘The Audi R18 Le Mans prototype race car to be unveiled on Friday’
- November marks eighth record-breaking month of year and four consecutive months of record-setting achievements for the brand
- November 2010 new sales of 9,365 vehicles surpass previous November record set in 2006
- Best November on record for Audi A3 with 788 vehicles sold; strong sales debut for the redesigned 2011 Audi A8 flagship model
Audi sustained its 2010 momentum with record-setting November U.S. sales, which surpassed the prior November record set in 2006. Leading into the close of the year, November 2010 sales of Audi cars and SUVs not only marked the eighth record month of 2010, but also comes on the heels of the best-ever October U.S. sales for new and certified pre-owned vehicles in Audi U.S. sales history.
The November results keep the German luxury automaker on track to set a vehicle sales record in the U.S. by year-end. The existing annual sales record for Audi in the U.S. is 93,506 vehicles sold in 2007.
For November, Audi sold 9,365 vehicles, a 37.5% increase over the 6,810 vehicles sold in November 2009. Year-to-date in November 2010 Audi new sales rose more than 20% versus its prior year-to-date total of 73,686 vehicles sold.
Continue reading ‘Audi reports best-ever November U.S. sales; brand on pace to set all-time sales record in 2010′
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