The S7 is the high-performance version of the A7 sedan. It has a coupe-like roof line with a cavernous trunk.

The spot features a group of twenty-somethings partying in the woods. Music is playing, the bonfire is going and the guests are sipping from blood-donor pouches. To bring home the point that they’re vampires, a couple runs up a tree like in a scene from the Twilight series.

At the same time, a man is making his way to the party in the hero car, a new Audi S7. He cruises through the woods until he finally pulls up at the shindig with the new light-emitting diodes blazing. The vamps start vaporizing when the super-white light hits them. After about 20 are vanquished ,the commercial ends with the Twitter hashtag #SoLongVampires.

Cute, but we’d like to think that Audi has something better to tout than its new headlights, quattro perhaps, or maybe the V10 R8.

Now, if the LEDs could take out vampire-movie lovers–that’s something we could get behind.

source form: autoweek

2011 Chevrolet Volt pre-production prototype, January 2010

Audi USA president Johan De Nysschen gained infamy late last year for remarking that the plug-in electric hybrid 2011 Chevrolet Volt is a “car for idiots.” Vindication of his hatred of electricity–Audi’s own all-electric e-tron sports car concept notwithstanding–came last week in the form of an electrical fire above the Audi stand in Cobo Hall at the Detroit Auto Show.

The fire, which caused no harm to people or property, forced evacuation of the show hall for several hours on Thursday due to volumes of smoke filling the air.

De Nysschen’s earlier criticism of the Volt centered around the impracticality and lack of value in electric-powered personal transport. De Nysschen eviscerated the Volt for its high costs, low savings in running costs and poor performance. It’s fair criticism–just last week Green Car Reports’ John Voelcker got the inside scoop on the Volt’s true costs. Though the car has been popularly reported as coming in the low-$30,000 range, that figure is only valid after a $7,500 government tax rebate, putting the car’s retail price around the $40,000 mark–a lot to ask for a compact sedan with limited EV-only range.

Audi e-tron Concept

Enlarge Photo

Audi USA’s forthright chief went on a few months later to describe the U.S. government as being “in love” with EVs–and to criticize the EV-favoring policy as an impediment to cost-effective near-term solutions to energy efficiency.

With last week’s fire now as further ammunition, we’re just waiting for De Nysschen’s next pronouncement against electricity. Surely the scathing indictment won’t fail to include the inefficiencies of the union labor used to install the faulty display lighting, or the fact that using fossil fuels could have eliminated the middle man and delivered a much more efficient, cost-effective fire without all the overhead of an electricity-based system.

2009 Audi Design Challenge Entries eOra and eSpira

December’s L.A. Auto Show is only a few weeks away, and carmakers from around the world are gearing up for the event, which promises to be a bit livelier than last year’s rather somber proceedings. During the show, the Los Angeles Design Challenge competition will be held, showing off the latest from the minds of some of Southern California’s best design studios.

Audi will is one of the many participants, but unlike some, Audi leveraged its social media ties to come up with its design entries. How? By tapping 400,000 Facebook fans through discussion threads, polls and direct feedback on photos and videos. This dialogue helped shape the design and selection process.

So what sort of features came out of this interaction? A host of communication tools are built into the final designs, letting the digital world meld with the automotive. Social media messaging, social networking and mobile broadband are all incorporated into the designs.

The high-tech results, and the method, are appropriate: the theme for this year’s competition is “YouthMobile 2030,” intended to envision what young people of the future might require of a vehicle.

In addition to the high-tech communications and networking elements, the designs also offer futuristic control interfaces. Using what Audi calls “next generation vehicle control logic” the two cars–called eOra and eSpira–take account of even the smallest body movements and gestures of the driver to enhance control. How this is executed isn’t clear–nor is what might happen in the event of the inadvertent sneeze or scratch.

Still, it’s interesting to see what the current vision of the automotive future is like, especially when many of its details are crowd-sourced, giving us a hint of what the modern car buyer expects us to see in 20 years time. Of course, all it takes is a walk through the Disney archives to see how right and how wrong that vision can sometimes be.

[Audi]

Source:motorauthority.com

MIT and Audi’s AIDA robot driving assistant

The idea of conveying information to humans in a compact, effective way in a short time has long been a challenge for the computer industry. As computers play more and more central roles in our cars, that problem becomes one central to daily driving as well.

It’s compounded by the fact that most of the time we’re in our cars, we’re actively participating in an activity that requires most of our focus: driving. So finding a way to get information to the driver without creating unnecessary distraction or loss of meaning is all the more important, especially if that information is driving directions, safety or weather details, or even information about the car or its entertainment systems.

Enter AIDA, a collaborative project between MIT and Audi. The AIDA acronym explains the system well: Affective, Intelligent Driving Agent. It’s intended to play the role of an involved, knowledgeable companion that helps the driver whenever possible.

The most important aspect of the communication system AIDA uses may be the facial simulation. Humans innately understand facial expressions and though AIDA’s face isn’t human in nature, it’s easily interpreted according to the same basic rules. It’s also a very quick way to express emergent information, particularly with accompanying voice information. Speculative fiction authors like Neal Stephenson have explored this concept as a form of human-machine interface for decades now, but it’s finally entering the realm of reality, and it’s pretty exciting to watch.

To make itself useful, AIDA learns your habits behind the wheel, including recognizing when you go to the grocery store, when you need fuel, and where you’re going once all your errands are done. It constantly monitors the environment around it, suggesting reroutes as necessary to avoid traffic or accidents.

The AIDA system is a lot like Nissan’s Pivo robot-car concept shown off at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, with a similarly cute and quirky robotic assistant inside. The AIDA system is understandably more advanced, however, due to the innovations made in the past two years.

For more details on the AIDA system, including footage of it in action, watch the video below.

Source:carsmart101.com

2011 Audi A1 spy shots

Audi’s new A1 premium compact is expected to hit showrooms in late 2010 as a 2011 model but today we have the first spy shots of actual prototypes taken as the car was undergoing testing in Germany. Aimed squarely at other upmarket compact cars, namely the Mini Cooper, the new A1 will be available in several different variants–just like the Mini family.

The lineup is expected to be filled with the regular three-door and five-door hatchback models, but a stylish convertible and a compact MPV are likely to be launched as well.

The latest images clearly show the shape of the grille and LED detailing in the headlights. Powertrain options will range from about 1.2- to 1.6-liters in displacement and output up to 200-horsepower in a performance ‘S’ variant. A mild hybrid model may also be offered, as previewed by the 2008 A1 Sportback Hybrid Concept.

Audi CEO Rupert Stadler has reaffirmed on a number of occasions plans to boost the brand’s lineup to 40 models by 2015, as well as expanding its production facilities. Audi has already confirmed it will invest €200 million in its Brussels plant to prepare it for the new A1 range.

Audi was originally planning to build around 100,000 A1s per year but with the new upgrades production can now be boosted closer to 120,000 units annually.

There’s a strong chance the A1 will be arriving in North America. Last month Peter Schwarzenbauer, Audi’s head of sales, revealed that the A1’s launch in North America could help the automaker reach its goal of surpassing BMW and Mercedes-Benz in sales in all markets by 2015.

Though the A1′s position as a premium compact isn’t something U.S. buyers have had much exposure to, the credit crunch and subsequent curtailing of salaries may have opened the door–along with higher average fuel prices–for a feasible, if small, sales market for the car.

Source:motorauthority.com

2010 Audi TT

As fuel economy rules tighten, sales stagnate or grow slowly and carmakers seeks ways to deliver more for less, some re-shuffling of products is inevitable. At Audi, that means cutting V-6 engines and (mostly) replacing them with turbo four-cylinders, including in the 2010 Audi TT.

The 3.2-liter V-6 is completely gone from the TT range, in S tronic and manual quattro trims, Coupe and Roadster alike. Instead, the 2010 TT offers only a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder rated at 200 horsepower and 207 pound-feet of torque, sent through a dual-clutch transmission. Those with a hankering for more power in a TT package can upgrade to the TTS Coupe or Roadster which retains its turbo five-cylinder engine rated at 265 horsepower.

Other Audi cars also see the V-6 removed from some trim levels, including the now-defunct A4 3.2 quattro Tiptronic and A5 3.2 quattro manual. The A5 Coupe gains the 2.0T quattro trim we brought you word of back in July. The Audi A3 TDI joins the range this November, while the A3 3.2 S tronic quattro says goodbye for 2010.

For the TT, that’s about the sum total of changes, since the exterior and interior stay largely the same, and with the 2.0T engine the only option, fuel economy of 21 mpg in town and 39 mpg on the highway is near-brilliant, even considering its slightly slow (compared to the competition) 5.9-second (Coupe) and 6.2-second (Roadster) 0-60 mph times.

Source:motorauthority.com

2009 Audi R8 ePerformance preview

Audi currently sells two versions of its R8 supercar, the original 4.2-liter V-8 model and the recently revealed 5.2-liter V-10 version, but there are several more versions in the works, two of which may be on display at next month’s Frankfurt Auto Show. The two new versions are the R8 Spyder convertible, as well as the long-rumored electric R8 ePerformance concept car.

News earlier this year claimed Audi would present an electric concept version of the R8 at the upcoming Frankfurt event, though it wasn’t clear whether it would have been some kind of hybrid or an all-electric version. Audi has since tried to downplay suggestions that an electric R8 is in the works but with Mercedes-Benz already confirming development of an electric version of its upcoming SLS AMG sports car and BMW set to reveal a new environmentally friendly sports car concept Audi would be left as the odd one out.

If the ePorformance concept is in the works, it’s expected that to feature significant changes to the standard R8 bodywork, as this computer generated rendering suggests.

This year’s Frankfurt event will be very busy for Audi as the event is also expected to see the debut of the new A5 Sportback model, which you can read about by clicking here.

Source:motorauthority.com

Porsche Volkswagen Merger

In late July Porsche announced Wendelin Wiedeking would be leaving his position as the company’s CEO to be replaced by Michael Macht, clearing the way for the supervisory board at Volkswagen to lay the foundation for an integrated company with Porsche under VW leadership. Yesterday reports broke that the Auto Union name could be revived to brand it and that Porsche’s American arm would operate autonomously, and today VW has announced it will finalize the merger with Porsche by purchasing 42% of Porsche’s shares by then end of 2009.

The purchase will tie the two companies very closely together, though in a somewhat reversed role from Porsche’s initial conception of the arrangement. Porsche had hoped to take over the VW Group by buying up its voting shares, but due to German state laws and its own debt, it was ultimately forced to turn to VW itself for help, leading to the VW Group’s purchase of Porsche stock. Qatar, which has recently sought a share of Porsche and VW both, has also been welcomed into the deal as well as a key shareholder.

According to a statement released by the VW Group on the announcement of the acquisition, “The integrated automotive group will be formed from the progressive participation of Volkswagen in Porsche AG and the subsequent merger of Porsche Automobil Holding SE and Volkswagen AG. Porsche will remain an independent company headquartered in Stuttgart.”

While VW re-affirms Porsche’s independence, the Auto Union name is also being considered to help preserve the idea that it’s not Volkswagen running the whole show.

The Auto Union name was originally given to a merger of four German carmakers – Horch, Audi, DKW and Wanderer – in 1932. The brand went on to fame in motorsports through the 1930s, but was disrupted by World War II, and subsequently went through a number of reformations, eventually ending in a renaming to Audi AG in 1985.

VW board chairman Martin Winterkorn described the company’s plans in July, saying, “Volkswagen and Porsche have excellent know-how at their disposal and can use their resources even more efficiently by combining them. For this reason, we expect additional growth opportunities, safeguarding existing jobs and creating new ones.

“At the same time, we can call on our considerable experience in the integration of proud and successful brands rich in tradition. Like Audi today, Porsche can also continue its independent development under the aegis of Volkswagen and preserve its own identity. We have great respect for the achievements of the Porsche workforce and are convinced that Porsche can enrich the Volkswagen Group – just as Volkswagen can vice versa enrich Porsche.”

With today’s announcement of VW’s plans to buy into Porsche, the merger of the two companies is all but complete, but in other respects, it is only just beginning. Now the work to fit Porsche and its products together with the other 9 brands under the VW Group – or Auto Union – umbrella without conflicting with others, like Audi and Lamborghini, begins. How that is to be handled is an issue of great concern for Porsche enthusiasts, as it could dramatically re-shape the Porsche lineup.

Source:itechnews.net

2010 Audi S4 Sedan

Price cuts are the name of the game this year as carmakers fight to keep or gain market share in a highly compressed sales atmosphere. Audi in particular is fighting hard to remain competitive, today releasing pricing for the 2010 S4, A5 Cabrio and S5 Cabrio.

The S4 gets a major price drop, going from a base price of over $57,000 to the 2010 model’s starting price of $45,900. Audi says it has repositioned the car “to be more attainable without compromises in performance or features.” The huge price gap is thanks in part to the substitution of a supercharged V-6 for the 4.2-liter V-8 found in the old model.

It’s certainly been repositioned, and with the updated third-gen MMI interface, SIRIUS traffic information for the nav system and voice-based input features, Audi makes a strong argument for features, too. It will need all it can muster, however, since it’s now going heads-up against the highly successful and very competent BMW 335i.

Rated at 333 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque, the S4′s 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 engine is right on par for the segment, letting it dash to 60 mph in just 4.9 seconds. The supercharger also lets the S4 move around with increased efficiency, snagging 18 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway, a major improvement over the 2008 model’s V8 engine, rated at 13/20 mpg.

Pricing for the S tronic S4 sedan starts at $47,300. The new S4 will be available in the U.S. at the end of August.

Also priced today, the Audi A5 Cabrio starts at $42,000 for the manual-equipped front-wheel-drive version or $44,100 for the Tiptronic quattro. The sportier S5 Cabrio is only available with the S tronic transmission and starts from $58,250.

Audi’s introduction of the A5 and S5 Cabrios marks the replacement of the A4 and S4 Cabrios, and an expansion of the U.S. A5 lineup. The A5 Cabrio will be available in the U.S. sometime this fall, but the S5 cabrio will join the S4 Stateside in late August.

Source:itechnews.net