Audi A3 Sedan Concept with 408HP Officially Previews Next Generation Model

It's been rumored for a while now that Audi was exploring the possibility of adding a four-door sedan body style to its A3 range, but today, the German firm officially confirmed the news with the release of the first official sketches of the A3 Concept ahead of its world premiere at the 81st International Geneva Motor Show in early March.

Its main purpose is to preview both the saloon variant and the styling direction of the next A3, which is scheduled for a rollout in 2012 and will also include the successors to today's three-door hatchback, five-door Sportback and the two-door convertible models.

"The four-seater notchback sedan offers a glimpse of the future expansion of the A3 family," Audi said in a statement.

The A3 concept measures 4.44 meters (14.57 feet) long, 1.84 meters (6.04 feet) wide and just 1.39 meters (4.56 feet) high, meaning it's slightly smaller than the new Volkswagen Jetta (4.64 m long).

The sedan study embodies Audi's latest design language as seen on the recent A8, A6 and A7 Sportback models featuring a single-frame grille with tapered upper corners, angular headlights with LED technology and taut body lines.

The show car is fitted with an upgraded version of the 2.5-liter five-cylinder turbocharged engine found under the bonnet of the current RS3 and TT RS models, producing a peak output of 408-horses. The five-pot distributes power to all four wheels through a seven-speed S tronic transmission and permanent all-wheel drive.

We'll have more details on the A3 Concept from the Geneva Motor Show in March.

READ MORE - Audi A3 Sedan Concept with 408HP Officially Previews Next Generation Model

Audi A3 Sedan Concept with 408HP Officially Previews Next Generation Model

It's been rumored for a while now that Audi was exploring the possibility of adding a four-door sedan body style to its A3 range, but today, the German firm officially confirmed the news with the release of the first official sketches of the A3 Concept ahead of its world premiere at the 81st International Geneva Motor Show in early March.

Its main purpose is to preview both the saloon variant and the styling direction of the next A3, which is scheduled for a rollout in 2012 and will also include the successors to today's three-door hatchback, five-door Sportback and the two-door convertible models.

"The four-seater notchback sedan offers a glimpse of the future expansion of the A3 family," Audi said in a statement.

Read more »

READ MORE - Audi A3 Sedan Concept with 408HP Officially Previews Next Generation Model

VIDEO: Audi A3 Turns Into Icicle after NY Water Main Breaks

An Audi A3 Sportback owner in New York City's East Village received a chilly surprise on Monday after finding his car literally encased in ice. The freakish incident occurred after a pipe broke under the street sometime during the weekend causing a sinkhole that formed a small pond around the Audi. The passing cars splashing water all over the A3 and subfreezing temperatures did the rest. As you can see in the video after the jump, the ice was so thick that the owner's attempts to free the car from its frozen cage with a chisel and a hammer proved futile.

READ MORE - VIDEO: Audi A3 Turns Into Icicle after NY Water Main Breaks

VIDEO: Audi A3 Turns Into Icicle after NY Water Main Breaks

An Audi A3 Sportback owner in New York City's East Village received a chilly surprise on Monday after finding his car literally encased in ice. The freakish incident occurred after a pipe broke under the street sometime during the weekend causing a sinkhole that formed a small pond around the Audi. The passing cars splashing water all over the A3 and subfreezing temperatures did the rest. As you can see in the video after the jump, the ice was so thick that the owner's attempts to free the car from its frozen cage with a chisel and a hammer proved futile.

Read more »

READ MORE - VIDEO: Audi A3 Turns Into Icicle after NY Water Main Breaks

Audi Presents Updated Navigation System Plus for A3, TT and R8

Just like any other electronic product, navigation systems are continuously upgrade with better software and hardware. Audi's updated navigation system plus with MMI (Multi Media Interface) for the A3, TT and R8 models promises to offer improved route calculation speeds thanks to a latest-generation processor clocked at 600 MHz while another significant enhancement is are the 800 x 480 pixel, high-resolution graphics displayed on the 6.5-inch screen.

On the back of the display, which can be folded away at the push of a button, are two slots for SD and SDHC cards with capacities of up to 32 GB, enough to store about 14,000 songs or 700 hours of music.

Also new on Audi's updated navigation system plus is the optical parking assistant which can be combined in the Audi R8 with the rearview camera. Aside from the acoustic warning signals, the distance to the front and to the rear is now displayed optically on the high-resolution display.

The new system is available for order now with prices ranging between €2,270 and €2,565, depending on the model.

READ MORE - Audi Presents Updated Navigation System Plus for A3, TT and R8

VIDEO: New Audi RS3 Sportback Drifts its Way on the Snow

Now here's a video worthy of the all-new Audi RS3's sporty credentials and quattro heritage. Forget about the bland static footage of the car released at launch because this clip is -mostly- about having some slideways fun on the snow accompanied by the howling sounds of the RS3's 340HP turbocharged inline-five. Enjoy the 7 minute long film, which was shot in Canada, right after the break.

READ MORE - VIDEO: New Audi RS3 Sportback Drifts its Way on the Snow

VIDEO: New Audi RS3 Sportback Drifts its Way on the Snow

Now here's a video worthy of the all-new Audi RS3's sporty credentials and quattro heritage. Forget about the bland static footage of the car released at launch because this clip is -mostly- about having some slideways fun on the snow accompanied by the howling sounds of the RS3's 340HP turbocharged inline-five. Enjoy the 7 minute long film, which was shot in Canada, right after the break.

Read more »

READ MORE - VIDEO: New Audi RS3 Sportback Drifts its Way on the Snow

VIDEO: New Audi RS3 Sportback 340HP

Earlier this week, we brought you a first look at Audi's second proposal in the hot hatchback segment after the 265HP S3, the new RS3 Sportback that borrows the TT RS' 2.5-liter turbocharged inline-five with 340 ponies. Now we have the first video that takes us up close and personal with the RS3. Unfortunately, the clip does not include any running footage of the car. The European market order books for the RS3 Sportback open in December with prices in Germany starting from €49,900.

Read more »

READ MORE - VIDEO: New Audi RS3 Sportback 340HP

New Audi RS3 Breaks Cover, gets 340HP Turbocharged Five-Cylinder

It's official; Audi has finally lifted the wraps off the all-new RS3 Sportback that will be if not the, one of the most powerful and fastest hatchbacks in the market when it goes on sale in Europe in early 2011. It adopts the TT RS' 2.5-liter turbocharged five-cylinder engine producing 340-horsepower and 450 Nm (331.90 lb-ft) of torque available between 1,600 rpm and 5,300 rpm.

Power is transmitted to the road through a seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch transmission with two auto and one manual modes, and the Ingolstadt firm's quattro permanent all-wheel drive system.

Weighing in at 1,575 kg (3,472.28 pounds), the RS3 completes the standard 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint in a mere 4.6 seconds, while top speed is electronically limited to 250 km/h (155 mph). Audi adds that the RS3 returns an average fuel consumption of 9.1 liters per 100 km (25.9 US mpg) and emits 212 g CO2 per km (341.18 g/mile).

Read more »

READ MORE - New Audi RS3 Breaks Cover, gets 340HP Turbocharged Five-Cylinder

O.CT Tuning Spiffs Up the Audi A4. 2.0 TDI and A3 1.8TFSI Convertible

Yet another tuner is taking a swing at the new Audi A4 and A3 Convertible models. This time its O.CT Tuning that has released new performance kits for the A4 2.0 TDI with 120HP and 143HP as well as for the A3 Convertible 1.8 TFSI. For the diesel powered A4s, a reprogrammed ECU boosts output of both variants of the 2.0 TDI to 168HP and 375Nm or 277 lb-ft of peak torque. According to O.CT, the 168HP A42.0 TDI accelerates from 0 to 100km/h (62mph) in 8,0 seconds versus the 143HP stock model's 9,4 sec.

Furthermore, the Austrian tuning house claims that while the standard A4 2.0 TDI needs a distance of 1,600 meters (about a mile) to reach a speed of 180 km/h or 112mph, O.CTs version hits the mark after 1,100 meters or 0,7 miles.

Similary for the A3 Convertible, , O.CT Tuning's upgraded ECU adds an extra 45HP to the 1.8 TFSI 160HP engine for a total output of 205HP that helps the car accelerate from standstill to 100km/h in 7,3 seconds, or around 1 second faster than the standard model.

Even though O.CT Tuning concentrated on the A4 and A3 Convertible models, apparently the software upgrades apply on any models with the same engines.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

READ MORE - O.CT Tuning Spiffs Up the Audi A4. 2.0 TDI and A3 1.8TFSI Convertible

Audi to Unveil an-all new Model on July 16 - Can you Guess which one it'll be?

During the opening ceremony for the celebrative festivities on occasion of Audi's 100th birthday at the Audi Forum Ingolstadt on July 16, the company will unveil an all-new model in front of around 2,500 invited guests that will include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the automaker has announced. Audi did not disclose any details on the car that it is planning to reveal, but we are aware of most of the cars that are destined to join in the German automaker's line-up in the very close future.

These include in random order, the R8 Spyder, A1 minicar, A5 / A7 Sportback, Q3 small SUV and the RS versions of the A3 and A5 Coupe. Our guess? We would probably give our vote to either the R8 Spyder or one of the Sportback models. If you happen to know something we don't, feel free to enlighten us with a comment below.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

READ MORE - Audi to Unveil an-all new Model on July 16 - Can you Guess which one it'll be?

Audi RS3 Prototype with 340HP 2.5 Turbo Caught Testing in Nurburgring

Ever since it was confirmed that Audi was developing the TT RS and especially after the Coupe made its public debut at last month's Geneva Motor Show, there have been rumors that the German automaker is developing an RS version of the A3. Well, this time is seems that the rumors were based on actual facts as our spy photographers snapped a test mule of the most powerful A3 performing test runs in Nurburgring, Germany.

Even though officially the RS3 has not yet received the green light, Audi's engineers have begun testing the TT RS's five-pot on an S3 mule meaning that the company is seriously considering a production version. For the record, it is not at all uncommon for automakers to test vehicles or specific versions of cars that are awaiting final approval for production. In the RS3's case, according to our sources, if all goes well and Audi's high-rank execs give their blessings, we could see the RS3 on the market as soon as 2010.

In the TT RS, the 2.5-liter turbocharged five-cylinder engine makes 340HP and 450 Nm (331.90 lb.-ft.) of torque. Most likely, those numbers will not change on the RS3 that will also get the TT's new six-speed manual transmission as well as Audi's quattro permanent all-wheel drive system.

Since the RS3 will probably weigh in about as much as the TT RS, expect to see similar performance figures with 0–100km/h (62mph) times of under 5.0 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 250km/h or 155 mph. As with the TT RS, Audi will probably offer to remove the limiter as an option increasing the hot hatch's top speed to over 270km/h (170mph).

As for aesthetics, despite the fact that the only visible difference on the test mule were the covered foglights, the production RS3 will get the usual upgrades such as new alloy wheels, revised bumpers and front grille as well as a larger roof spoiler.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

READ MORE - Audi RS3 Prototype with 340HP 2.5 Turbo Caught Testing in Nurburgring