I was extremely excited when Jeff Kuhlman, VP of Marketing at Audi USA informed us that they were going to be at the 2010 SEMA Show. Last year I came to the show for the first time as a member of the media. It was quite an experience, and no where near the amount of work and pain as it was when I ran a booth here. My goal was simple, come to SEMA and feature all the Audis and new products for Audis. However there was one major problem, there were no Audis! OK, there were 5, but they were lame. 3 of them were stock, and the only decent Audi there (Audi R8 V10) had the ugliest wheels known to man. Fast forward to this year, Audi is here and playing a major role in the show! Audis are all over and this is by far the biggest year for Audi at SEMA ever. The theme of Audi’s booth is to highlight the new levels of after sales products and services highlighting their customers ability to personalize their car. We will do our best to describe the booth cars and their features to you.

The highlight of this new level of Audi involvement at SEMA is of course Audi USA’s first ever official SEMA booth. The booth is located in the North Hall of the main show building and Audi has chosen 5 of their vehicles to display. We will go through each one in greater detail but they include a 710HP Supercharged R8 built by Stasis Engineering, a Q5 with a 3.0T engine, a S4 with aluminum optics, an A4 with some great looking upgrades, and a A5 as well.

Audi also is showing off some impressive technology. These new technical items bring a new level of high tech gadgetry to the Audi product line. Some of these include a wireless cell phone charger, lighted logo floormats, and a car monitor system for the iPhone and iPod touch.

2010 Audi R8 – 710HP Tuned by Stasis Engineering

The 710HP Audi R8 V10 features a supercharger and custom tuning. From the outside you can see the brilliant red paint job as it glistens in the florescent lighting of the expo hall. It acts as a magnet, drawing in every person who walks by the booth. Most don’t realize that it is a very rare and very potent supercharged version of the V10 motor. It features  a TVS Magnusson/Eaton blower which is the largest one in production. It creates the power using a low 7.5 lbs of boost and increases power output by an astounding 35%. An independent water cooling system helps keep the engine cool and happy. All intake components are custom made out of CNC’d billet aluminum for long term durability and reliability. A car with this much power better be able to stop fast, so they added a set of lightweight 390mm brakes in the front and 355mm brakes in the rear. And the best part about this Stasis Signature Series Audi R8? It comes with a 4 year/50,000 mile warranty and can be serviced at your local authorize Stasis Signature Series dealer.

2010 Q5 3.0T Concept

I was really impressed with the matte charcoal Audi Q5. Then I popped the hood. I was taken back by the beautiful 3.0T engine sitting in the engine bay. I did a double take, and then picked my jaw up off the floor. I was in love! This might just be the perfect car for me. S4 powerplant in the Q5 chassis. Not only is this 3.0T looking nice, it packs a punch as well.

It has been tuned to a boastful 408bhp via software and a custom dual intake. It also has a custom “Active” exhaust which has been seamlessly tied into Audi Drive Select with multiple sound levels. So when you put the car in Sport mode, it increases sound and power!  It has been lowered with 60mm custom suspension kit, and also features a 60mm wider stance. This might just be my next car, should Audi bring it to the states.

2010 Audi S4

This beautiful IBIS white S4 features several upgrades from the Audi product line. Most notably it features the 18” Audi hollow spoke Cortada wheels (made by BBS) with Michelin Sport Pilot II tires. They make the car stand out in a crowd and give it a character of its own. The roof of the car sports an Audi roof rack showing off a custom Burton Audi graphic snowboard. The Aluminum Optic Trim including Badge & Lower sills finish the car off nicely.

2010 Audi A5

This Ibis white Audi A5 features a front lip spoiler, upgraded side skirts, rear stanchion spoiler and a rear diffuser. As you can see here they painted all these parts to match the color of the car. They are subtle yet add a nice sport touch that sets the car apart. Like the S4 it is sporting the the 18” Audi hollow spoke Cortada wheels (made by BBS) with Michelin Sport Pilot II tires.

However the coolest part of this car is the Qualcomm 125 Kilohertz magnetic resonance charging system that is built into the center console! Simply drop your cell phone into the holding area and it automatically charges the device. Don’t go rushing off to your Audi dealer to order his just yet, pricing and availability are in the works.

2010 Audi A4

By now you are probably sensing a theme, yes this A4 is also Ibis white and is showing off Audi’s new LED Lighted A4 logo’d floor mats. It sports a roof rack and a nice Cannondale road bike. I wonder if they would let me borrow it later to ride around the show? My feet could use a break! They took a bit of a different route with the styling of this car, albeit a subtle one. Instead of body color matching the front lip and rear diffuser, they highlighted them in Piano Black finish. The car also sports a very nice lip spoiler. And yup, you guessed it is completed with a set of the matching 18” Audi hollow spoke Cortada wheels (made by BBS) with Michelin Sport Pilot II tires. It is almost like a sports team, all wearing the same shoes.

Audi Car Monitor system for iPhone/iPod

I’m really excited about one product in particular. It is the new Audi Car Monitor system designed for the iPhone and iPod touch. It is a fully featured diagnostic, logging and GPS tool that would allow an Audi owner to stay in touch with their car at a whole new level. Not only does it do logging and data acquisition it allows you to map out this data on a Google map showing you the route you drove and your engine performance, fuel efficiency and speed throughout the drive in 3d. Better yet, after your drive is complete you can upload to the Car Monitor website and share and compare with friends! Like the other technical items shown here to day, availability and pricing are TBA. So that is it for our first post. We will be back later with more updates. Including a similar write up on the Stasis Engineering booth Audis and an in depth look at all of the Audis from around the show. Check back later!

Gallery