Audi's new Q5 crossover goes on sale in Europe this fall and in North America next spring, but Britain's CAR magazine has already had an opportunity to sample it. The Q5 is a mid-sized CUV based on the platform of the new generation A4 and will offer a choice of three engines. The 2.0L TFSI four cylinder is fueled by gasoline while the the other two engines eschew spark plugs in favor of diesel fuel. The 2.0L four cylinder diesel churns out 170 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. The 3.0L V6 is the same one that will come to North America at the beginning of 2008 in the Q7. It generates 240 hp and 359 lb-ft of torque.

CAR gave a somewhat mixed review of the Q5 feeling that the even the standard 18" wheels looked small on the Q5. The magazine thought the Audi's styling was rather tame. The Q5 is about the same size as the Acura RDX. Having seen the Q5 in Germany just prior to its debut at the Beijing Motor Show in April, I have say that I thought the Q5 is quite a handsome vehicle and wears Audi's current design language well. One element CAR didn't complain about was the mileage of the Q5, especially with the 2.0L TDI they drove. In the Q5 with the Quattro all-wheel-drive system and a 7-speed S-Tronic dual clutch transmission, it gets 35 mpg (US) in all around driving. The torque of the 2.0L diesel was found to be more than adequate to move the Q5 capably. Unfortunately American drivers will likely only see a 3.2L FSI gasoline V6 when the Q5 launches here so we won't get anywhere any of these mileage numbers.


[Source: CAR]

Click above for a hi-res gallery of the Audi Metroproject quattro concept

Volkswagen had been expected to make a decision this week on where it would build its new US plant,and an announcement should come soon. And what of Audi? Rupert Stadler, the division's CEO, told a German newspaper this week that it would not make a final decision on building a dedicated US factory until next spring. Audi could end up just building cars at the Volkswagen factory, since some of its cars share their underlying architecture with VW models.

One new Audi that won't be coming to the US is the upcoming A1, a premium small car meant to compete with the MINI. Unfortunately, building such a car in Europe and exporting to the US is apparently not an option. Thanks to the weak dollar, the car would likely be too expensive. Even the current entry level Audi, the Golf-based A3, is proving a tough sell with its $26,000 starting price. Instead, Audi will focus on larger cars like the A4 and Q5, which can be sold at prices that allow them to be profitable. Stadler did say that the company plans to join VW in offering an electric car early in the next decade, but he gave no further details.


Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd]

It has been said numerous times that German automakers are upset with European proposals which would limit CO₂ output to around 120 grams per kilometer. Perhaps we shouldn't be lumping Volkswagen or its subsidiaries into that category. Martin Winterkorn, CEO of VW, has admitted that the VW brands, including luxury carmaker Audi, can achieve those low carbon standards. In fact, Winterkorn believes that the standards are achievable today, not by 2015 as proposals would require. Technologies which would allow the low carbon output are already being used. Direct injection and turbocharging are quickly becoming a staple of automakers like Volkswagen and Audi since those technologies allow the production of more power and the reduction of fuel consumption.

Another interesting tidbit from Winterkorn is that he believes that plug-in electric vehicles will become the fuel-saving technology of choice in the coming years. As you may be aware, Germany gets the vast majority of its power from coal, which is an extremely dirty process. For this reason, the VeeDub leader suggests that the country take a look at nuclear for its power needs.

[Source: Automotive News Europe - sub. req'd.]

Audi looks set to go on a major engine downsizing kick in the next few years in an attempt to reduce fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. It doesn't look like Audi plans any significant power reductions, but many of its engine will move smaller displacements and fewer cylinders with boosting. The result is lighter weight, smaller engines with smaller thirst most of the time and power available on demand. Audi's upcoming mini, the A1, will have gas engines ranging from a 1.2L 86hp TFSI to a 170hp 1.4L TFSI along with the usual assortment of diesel engines. In the larger sporting models, like the S5 and S6 and the next generation S4, the current 354hp 4.2L V-8 will be discarded in favor of a new turbocharged 3.0L V6 generating around 330hp. It seems the only Audis that won't be following this path are the top of the line RS models and the R8 which sell in low enough volumes that they don't significantly impact fleet averages. All of this engine shrinking is part of Audi's plans to grow annual sales by more than 50 percent to over 1.5 million in the next decade.

[Source: Autoweek.nl, Audiblog.nl via WCF]

Last year, Lexus became the first automaker to introduce a production eight-speed automatic transmission in the latest LS460. Recently, German transmission manufacturer ZF announced a new eight-speed of its own which is claimed to provide a 14-percent boost in fuel efficiency compared to a five-speed. It looks like Audi and BMW will likely be the first to directly challenge Lexus when they start using the ZF. Audi may be first out of the gate in 2009, with eight-speed installations in the A8, Q7 and the expected A7 coupe. BMW will probably follow a year later with the X6 and the next-generation 7 series getting the extra gears. Mercedes-Benz already has a seven-speed that it builds on its own. Mercedes' powertrain chief admits that an extra gear could be added to the unit but that the incremental improvement would be limited. As more gears are added, the weight and complexity of the system increases and the improvements become smaller and smaller. Seven and eight-speed transmissions will likely remain the maximum for the foreseeable future and six-speeds will probably take the bulk of volume in mainstream segments.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd]

While Audi's exhaustive press release accompanying the launch of the newly-revised-for-2009 A3 mentioned both the availability of new diesel engines along with a seven-speed version of the dual-clutch S tronic transmission, Audi's arm in the UK has decided it's worth mentioning them again. This time, though, statistics regarding the reduction of carbon emissions are given, so decided we'd share them too. For instance, the revised '09 2.0 TDI with 140 horsepower, which was rated at 52.3mpg (US) last year, jumps to 55.4mpg, while reducing CO₂ output from 143g/km to 134g/km. Audi also points out that the new 105 horse 1.9 TDI e offers a low CO₂ output of 119g/km while gaining standard manual air conditioning. The e series from Audi, like the Bluemotion models from VW, are designed specifically with low carbon emissions in mind. Too bad the 1.9 TDI e engine comes paired with a five-speed manual only, as the mileage would likely increase with the addition of the seven-speed S tronic. See all of the available powertrain combinations in the press release after the break.

We recently told you that Audi has no electric car plans for the immediate future. We were right. Those plans seem to be some years away according to the CEO of Audi, Rupert Stadler. In an interview published yesterday by Welt am Sonntag, Stadler stated that diesel would hold the interest of the market for the next 5-10 years, but in that time electrics would become more generally accepted and Audi would then offer emission-free cars. Reminded that Mercedes and BMW already have high performance lithium ion batteries, the Audi boss was asked if he wasn't worried about lagging behind. Stadler seemed to shrug off the suggestion saying he wasn't concerned because their research capacity was larger than many of his competitors.

Earlier in the interview, at the end of a discussion about the merits of diesels versus hybrids, the CEO had this to say about hybrids, "Außerdem sehen wir den Hybrid langfristig lediglich als Durchgangsstation zum vollelektrischen Fahren." Which, according to the Babelfish (slightly cleaned up), translates as "In addition, we see the hybrid on a long-term basis only as stepping stone to all-electric driving." The bottom line here seems to be: more diesels for the immediate future with electric vehicles coming into play a few years down the road, by which time the 2006 R-Zero electric concept design (pictured above) will seem quaint.

[Source: Welt an Sonntag]

Audi reportedly has no plans to offer electric cars anytime soon. That's a shame, since as you can see from the picture of the R-Zero concept above, the German automaker is quite adept at creating mouth-watering EV designs. The thought of a Quattro all-wheel-drive electric car alongside the R10 diesel makes us truly hope that Audi has a change or heart.

There's another Audi for Number 15.

Nobody is going to argue that the Audi R8 diesel will be saving the earth. It won't. But, like the Tesla Roadster, a diesel version of the awe-inspiring Audi supercar could go a long way towards convincing consumers that diesels don't have to be smelly, dirty, noisy and slow. Chances are that the Audi's V12 diesel won't be making it behind the passenger compartment of the R8, but rumor has it that a 4.2 liter TDI V8 might. Yes, please ... and why not fill it up with biodiesel while we're at it.


Number 14, anyone?

With Audi recently dashing American hybrid hopes it doesn't come as a shock that, unlike the other German manufacturers, they have no plans for an all electric vehicle in the near future. It's a shame, too, because if they could make one that looked like their 2006 R-Zero electric concept (pictured above), they could probably rack up more than a few sales at a price that would guarantee a profit.

We only bring it up because our hopes were briefly raised by the headline, "Audi ponders the all-electric car" above an interesting interview with Willibert Schleuter, head of Audi AG electronics development in Tuesday's EETimes. He puts it all down to the state of today's battery technology offering a product that, in his opinion, is still too heavy and expensive. That, and a desire by Audi to focus on their successful diesel program for now. When pressed, he does admit to a belief that there will be a role for such a vehicle in the not-too-distant future as a second car for city driving and grocery getting and such. In the meantime we will wait and see what BMW and Daimler are planning to offer up in the way of (potentially) carbon-free driving.

[Source: EETimes]

Click the Q7 4.2 TDI for a high-res gallery

At the 2007 Detroit Auto Show, Audi made a big show of the Q7 TDI that they were planning to introduce to the U.S. market. That particular model is coming late this year or early next and will be powered by a 3.0L V-6 diesel. At the same show the Germans also showed a concept version of the Q7 powered (or should I say torqued?) by a new 6.0L V-12 TDI paying homage to the success of the R10 TDI Le Mans race car. Last month at the Geneva Motor Show, Audi announced that the V-12 Q7 would be going into limited production later this year.

In between those two diesel extremes lies a third Q7 TDI that's been available in Europe for the past year. This third model uses Audi's 4.2L V-8 diesel and it won't be coming to the U.S. market. However, thanks to the kind folks at Honeywell, we had a chance to sample a Q7 4.2 TDI recently in and around Ann Arbor. Like fuel and exhaust system supplier Bosch, Honeywell has a vested interest in promoting diesel adoption in the U.S. market. Honeywell is the owner of the turbocharger manufacturer formerly known as Garret and they supply turbos for many of the diesel engines currently on the market. To help promote the technology they have a fleet of current European diesel models that they are exposing to American media including this Q7. Read on after the jump to find out how the Q7 TDI comported itself.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

A little over a month ago we learned that a hybrid version of the big bad Audi Q7 SUV would be sent to our shores. Now, thanks to the American dollar crashing like Elliot Spitzer's career, we can scratch that. Apparently, Audi has just realized that heaping all that hybrid tech under the hood added too much cost to the bottom line. Besides, who would buy a gas-hybrid when there's an efficient 500 horse V12 TDI diesel on offer? Not me, that's for sure. Well, I wouldn't buy either version of the Q7, but then again, I don't have a boat the size of the Queen Mary to haul around.

Audi hasn't abandoned its plans to sell the Q5 (euphemistically labeled as a crossover) hybrid in America. Yet. That vehicle is making it's debut at the Beijing Motor Show in April and is currently scheduled to arrive stateside in 2009.

[Source: Cars-Spot]

Yesterday Audi opened up a brand new engine test facility in Neckarsulm, Germany, for doing development and durability testing of their powerplants. The new facility is equipped with nineteen new dynamometer cells that are capable of running gasoline, diesel or racing engines. The lab has forty employees working on two shifts and it has been acoustically engineered to limit the disturbance to the surrounding area. The new test cells are large enough to provide plenty of work space for the technicians and engineers as well installing the complete original exhaust systems on the engines. With the emissions and fuel economy requirements being placed on new cars, getting accurate test results is critical. When running up to nineteen engines at a time, a lot of power is being generated and this new facility is recapturing it from the dynamometers to provide electricity for the test facility and the neighboring assembly plant.

[Source: Audi]

Click above for high-res gallery

Following the official introduction of the Audi A4 Avant in Geneva, Audi is ready with the station wagon version. In the European markets, two gasoline engines and three diesels are available, offering between 143 and 265 HP. All engines have direct injection technology (FSI for gasoline, TDI for diesel). The three four-cylinder have also turbochargers. Audi claims that the new compact station wagon is 10 percent lighter than the previous model. All of these improvements give the A4 Avant wagon solid mileage numbers (all rating in this post are in U.S. gallons). The 1.8 TFSI produces 160 HP while consuming 7.2 l/100 km (33 mpg). The other gasoline version is a 3.2 V6 FSI that consumes 9.1 l/100 km (26 mpg).

The TDIs come in three different flavors, all featuring piezo-electric injectors: 2.0 liter 143 HP (an engine found in Seats, Skodas and Volkswagens) and 320 Nm (236.02 lb-ft) of torque, with an impressive consumption of 5.7 l/100 km (41 mpg). Then there's an more powerful 2.0 liter with 170 HP and 350 Nm (258.15 lb-ft) of torque that burns 5.8 l of diesel every 100 km (40.5 mpg). For motorists with higher needs, Audi installed the 3.0 TDI V6 good for 240 HP and 500 Nm (368.78 lb-ft) of torque, while still getting 7.1 l/100 km (33 mpg) to run.

Click image for a hi-res gallery of the Q7 V12 TDI

The next stage of Audi's performance diesel onslaught is about to begin at the Geneva Motor Show. A year before we saw the mighty Audi R8 V12 TDI at the Detroit Auto Show, Volkswagen's premium brand showed the same engine in the Q7 V12 TDI Concept SUV. Just in time for Geneva, Audi has confirmed that they will indeed put the Q7 V12 TDI quattro into production. The monster 6.0L V12 diesel dishes out 500 horsepower and can possily alter the rotation of the Earth with with its mammoth 758 lb-ft of torque. All that twist is transmitted to the 20" alloys via quattro and helps propel the seven-seat SUV to 100km/h (62 mph) in a scant 5.5 seconds.

Even with that performance capability, the big diesel still manages to get 19.8 mpg (US). Of course, it probably won't come near that number if you were to actually utilize all that torque. That mileage is also only good in the context of the vehicle's capabilities, while in absolute terms it's obviously nothing special. Audi will start taking pre-orders in the second half of 2008. So far it isn't saying how much this beast will cost, nor does it say if US buyers will get a chance to partake. We won't hold our breath re: the latter.


[Source: Audi]