Tag Archives: Audi

Audi hybrid wins at LeMans

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Audi R18 e-tron hybrids placed first and second at the 80th running of the 24 hours of Le Mans that just ended. The win is the first for a hybrid car in Le Mans competition and is another technical milestone for AUDI AG which now has eleven Le Mans victories.

After 378 laps, Audi No. 1, driven by last year’s winners Marcel Fässler of Switzerland, Germany’s André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer of France took the checkered flag in front of a crowd estimated at nearly 200,000. The team of Dindo Capello of Italy, Tom Kristensen of Denmark and Briton Allan McNish took the runner-up spot with the second R18 hybrid.

“By achieving this further success at the world’s most important endurance race our engineers demonstrated their high technological expertise in a particularly impressive way,” commented Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, who personally watched the race on location. “With the e-tron quattro in combination with ultra lightweight design, we put a completely new technology on the grid and immediately won with it – this cannot be taken for granted by any means, particularly here at Le Mans. This weekend again showed the type of things that can happen in this race and how important perfect preparation is.”

Italian rookie Marco Bonanomi, England’s Oliver Jarvis and Mike Rockenfeller of Germany brought their conventionally powered R18 ultra came in third, completing the fourth one-two-three victory for Audi and the first since 2010. Frenchmen Romain Dumas and Loïc Duval and Spaniard Marc Gené brought the last Team Joest Audi across the line in fifth place.

With this latest win, Audi has extended its lead in the World Endurance Championship. The second-place finish returned Capello, Kristensen and McNish the top of the drivers’ world championship standings.

Rocky Mountain Automotive Press Vehicle of the Year Awards

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Winners of the sixth annual Rocky Mountain Automotive Press Vehicle of the Year Awards were announced at the opening of the Denver International Auto Show.

The field for the 2012 awards included every significant new car, pickup, crossover and SUVs for sale in the region. More than 70 models received test-drive evaluations in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming by members of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press. After assessing manufacturer-provided models for value, performance, fuel economy, comfort and safety, RMAP presented awards in five categories:

RMAP 2012 New Vehicle of the Year (Any 2012 new nameplate or redesigned vehicle.)
2012 Range Rover Evoque, for its blend of show-car styling and traditional Range Rover toughness.
RMAP 2012 Rocky Mountain SUV of the Year (Crossovers and body-on-frame SUVs.)
2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee, for unstoppable off-road ability and impressive on-road performance.
RMAP 2012 Rocky Mountain Pickup Truck of the Year
2012 Ford F-150, a do-everything pickup featuring Ford’s ground-breaking EcoBoost twin-turbo V-6.
RMAP 2012 Rocky Mountain High-Mileage Vehicle of the Year (Any powertrain eligible. Winner best blends all-around appeal with high mileage.)
2012 Nissan Leaf, the first modern mass-produced pure-electric vehicle showcases one facet of future mobility.
RMAP 2012 Rocky Mountain Car of the Year (The best new car to own and drive in the Rocky Mountain West.)
Audi A6 3.0 TFSI, for supercharged performance, all-wheel-drive grip, and sophisticated design.

Audi brings A3 E-Tron to the U.S.

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Audi today kicked off the A3 e-tron electric vehicle pilot program in the U.S. with the goal of defining the requirements of premium car buyers. Audi made the announcement today at TED2012 in Long Beach, California.

The A3 e-tron pilot program will take place in the San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Denver markets.

The program marks the first step by Audi into the expanding U.S. electric vehicle landscape. Audi wants to create a dialogue about the role transportation will play in the global megacities of the future. The Audi Social Space at TED2012 will present a variety of perspectives on this topic on touch-screen video installations allowing attendees to pose new mobility scenarios for future urban spaces and contribute in real time to Audi’s live Twitter feed.

Elements of Audi balanced mobility initiatives will provide a backdrop for the interactive Social Space and spark conversation on future urban mobility and how to achieve CO2 neutrality across the mobility chain. Initiatives include: the lightweight A2 concept EV that features technology built specifically for the megacity of the future, like traffic-friendly piloted drive technologies for stop-and-go congestion; the Audi e-gas project, which utilizes offshore wind turbines to generate clean power for the production of electricity, hydrogen and methane; and futuristic cityscapes designed by partner architects of the Audi Urban Future Initiative.

“As part of the long-range Audi corporate goal of moving toward CO2-neutral mobility, there will be e-tron plug-in vehicle products exhibiting all of the performance and design attributes Audi drivers have come to expect,” said Johan de Nysschen, President, Audi of America. “Audi is committed to refining Audi e-tron technology and we expect our plug-in vehicles to become a significant choice for our buyers within a growing line of advanced, efficient Audi powertrains over the coming years.”

Audi’s A3 e-tron pilot program will help the automaker identify challenges and opportunities as premium car buyers become attracted to EV technology. Audi will study the effects of climate, driving habits and performance in several geographic regions throughout the year-long program.

“The A3 e-tron pilot program serves as an important innovation platform for Audi to develop greater insight into electric vehicles and how American driving conditions affect use of the progressive technology in everyday life,” said Jeff Curry, e-mobility and sustainability strategy lead at Audi of America. “We will integrate the data generated from this program into the launch of a range of Audi e-tron models for American drivers.”

Audi engineers are researching multiple technologies to meet different driving needs including full battery-electric (BEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and extended range electric (EREV) versions. The company plans to have the optimum solution, or solutions, for its customers.

Based on the standard Audi A3, the A3 e-tron features a fully electric powertrain with a 26kw lithium-ion battery. The car has 199 lb-ft torque, a battery range of approximately 90 miles and a top speed of 90 mph.

Audi rolls out a really hot hybrid

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The 80th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans takes place on June 16 and 17 and Audi will be there with four LMP1 sports cars. For the first time, two of the cars will be equipped with hybrid drives.

It’s fitting that Audi would be first to make this technical leap; Audi was the first to win the Le Mans event with a diesel-powered car in 2006 and the first to win with a TFSI engine in 2001.

“To develop the hybrid technology for Le Mans is at least as ambitious and challenging as our diesel project was in its early stages,” explains Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “The first test results are very encouraging and we are intrigued to see just how this technology performs in combination with our ultra lightweight technology on the race track at Le Mans. As before, we still, however, see potential with the conventional drive – just as our colleagues do in production development. This is why we are absolutely delighted that the ACO and FIA selection committee has accepted our entries and that we can join the grid with four cars at the commemorative running of the Le Mans race.”

The cars to watch at this year’s running are Audi cars 1 and 2 piloted by André Lotterer and Allan McNish, respectively.

The new Audi sports prototype with hybrid drive will be presented at the end of February. The first competition following the debut is the 6-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps on May 5.

Audi has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans a total of ten times since the year 2000 and is, hands-down, the most successful brand in the race’s recent history.

Audi Allroad Quattro returns to America

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One of the big announcements from Audi of America is the return of the Allroad Quattro to the U.S. market. Shown this week at the North American International Auto Show, the Allroad Quattro will replace the A4 Avant in Audi’s 2013 U.S. lineup.

One of the archetypes of today’s crossover vehicles, the Allroad made its original debut in 1999. Although it was designed with the U.S. market in mind, sales never met expectations and Audi of America shifted its focus to the Q-series SUVs after 2005. The Allroad continued in production for Europe where its capabilities (it remains the only passenger car to complete the official Land Rover test course) have kept in in production. It has seen frequent use as a “get-through-anything” transport for emergency medical personnel.

The Allroad is built on an A4 platform that has been modified to meet the requirements of a true AWD vehicle, including an additional 1.5 inches of ground clearance.

The new Allroad features a 2.0 liter TFSI engine with 211 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque making it both faster and more fuel efficient than its predecessor. The engine works through a standard eight-speed Tiptronic transmission and Audi’s Quattro permanent all-wheel-drive system to deliver power to each wheel as needed.

The exterior features a unique single-frame grille design with vertical chrome struts, stainless steel skid plates and side sills, and raised aluminum-optic roof rails. As was true with the original Allroad, matte finished lower bumpers and wheel arches are standard but customers now have the option of having them painted in the body color.

The Allroad’s interior is well-appointed with a standard Panorama sunroof, 8-way power seats, and Aluminum Trigon inlays. Options include heated front seats, driver memory, a choice of three wood inlays, and a 505-watt Bang & Olufsen Sound System. Audi also offers a sports interior package featuring 12-way power front sport seats, and a three-spoke steering wheel with shift paddles.

Like other members of the A4 family, the Allroad offers several advanced technology features such as adaptive front lighting and Audi side assist, which monitors the space behind and beside the A4 by radar and detects any vehicles in neighboring lanes. There’s also an optional Driver Assistance package, which features adaptive cruise control that keeps the A4 at a constant distance from the preceding vehicle, active lane assist, and dynamic steering. Dynamic steering varies the effort as well as the steering ratio at different speeds. Active lane assist allows the steering to help maintain lane discipline should the driver begin to veer outside of the lane markings without setting the turn signal.

An Audi first is factory-installed wireless internet, the core of the Audi connect infotainment system. With Audi connect, the onboard MMI Navigation system is enhanced with Google Earth maps and real-time SiriusXM Traffic information, for a true aerial view of the route. Audi connect also features real-time localized weather, news and live fuel prices; Google Local Search for detailed information about travel destinations, such as restaurant or hotel hours, pricing and customer reviews; the myAudi Destination feature, which allows registered users to log on to Google Maps from any location and download up to 50 destinations to the vehicle; and a rolling Wi-Fi hotspot, allowing up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices to simultaneously use the wireless connectivity.