19 Mar 2019

Video of the Day: CarWow – AMG A35 v BMW M140i v Golf R v Audi S3 v Focus RS

words: Bill, video: carwow We haven't done a Video of the Day lately but we can always count on CarWow to provide us with a humorous one. This time they gathered a group of hot hatches to do battle: AMG A35 vs BMW M140i vs Golf R vs Audi S3 vs Focus RS. The hotties went through a drag race, a rolling race, and a brake test. Who came out on top? The AMG is an AWD 306hp 2.0T, the BMW a RWD 340hp inline 6, the Golf R AWD 310hp 2.0T, the S3 AWD 310hp 2.0T, and the Focus RS AWD with 35...
19 Mar 2019

IIHS: Audi A6 and Q8 Earn 2019 Safety Awards

source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, photos: Audi AG The Audi A6, a large luxury car, and the Audi Q8, a new large SUV, each qualify for a 2019 safety award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety when equipped with specific headlights. The A6 qualifies for the highest designation of TOP SAFETY PICK+, while the Q8 earns the TOP SAFETY PICK award. Both the A6 and Q8 earn good ratings in all six IIHS crashworthiness evaluations. The two models also come with standa...
18 Mar 2019

Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler in the Thick of the Formula E Title Race

source: Audi Sport Sixth round of the electric racing series in Sanya, China, on Saturday Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler in the top 3 of the drivers’ and teams’ classifications Eurosport to air live coverage Formula E is more thrilling than ever before: With five different winners in the first five races, the top four drivers in the overall classification are separated by just three points, and Lucas di Grassi is right in the middle of the mix in third position. On Satur...
15 Mar 2019

Audi Club North America 35th National Event – Save The Date – October 16-20, 2019

You voted and Audi Club Potomac Chesapeake listened.  Announcing the events for 16-20 October 2019….only 7 months away… Annapolis Waterfront & Lunch Shakes N Brakes Fun Run U.S. Capitol Building / International Spy Museum Tour Summit Point Track Day Wine Pairing Class & Vineyard Tour Katie’s Cars and Coffee Audi Oktober Concours & Vendor Markt Tech Talk Seminars In addition to these awesome events, we are planning the following dinners: Welc...
15 Mar 2019

Auto Express Article: “The TT is emotional to us; we’ve been having emotional discussions at the board level.”

Recently we brought the joyous news that new Avants may grace our shores but then Bram Schott said the TT may be on the way out. Dude... However Auto Express is reporting that the TT could become an electric-only model. They caught up with Hans-Joachim Rothenpieler, Audi Board member of Technical Development, at the Audi annual conference. “The TT is emotional to us; we’ve been having emotional discussions at the board level,” Rothenpieler said. “Some people say we should stop it ...
14 Mar 2019

Runnin’ With The Devil: Eddie Van Halen’s Supercharged 2009 R8 (Find of the Day)

words: Bill, photos: Performance Auto Gallery via Bring A Trailer First, I promise that I won't put too many Van Halen song titles in this article or else at least I'll try not to. Second, the MK1 R8 V8 is my favorite modern Audi and I ain't talkin' bout love...it's lust. This particular R8 has an interesting history. It's an early build that was spec'd by someone at Audi of America for a very talented person. The person in question? None other than Eddie Van Halen. I always felt that ...
14 Mar 2019

American Dream: The First ABT RS5-R Sportback is a “US citizen”

source: ABT America The USA and Canada are the first markets worldwide to get the Audi RS5 Sportback – even before Germany. With an US office in Miami, Florida and about 50 North American dealers ABT Sportsline is more than happy to participate in the hare and tortoise game. That is why the first ABT RS5-R Sportback can say: "I'm already here!" The first vehicle in a limited worldwide run of 50 units was built together with the American partner TAG Motorsports from Vista, California. It...
14 Mar 2019

After Significant Adverse Factors in 2018 Financial Year: Audi Accelerates Its Realignment

source: Audi AG Operating profit before special items falls to €4.7 billion; Operating return on sales before special items of 7.9 percent Financial base confirmed: €2.1 billion net cash flow; €20.4 billion net liquidity Board of Management to reveal new strategy at 2019 Annual General Meeting CEO Bram Schot: “Making Audi efficient, agile and stress resistant again” CFO Alexander Seitz: “Increasing the target for the Audi Transformation Plan to about €15 bi...
13 Mar 2019

GMG’s 2019 Season Start Continues Through St. Petersburg

source: GMG Racing Just one week in to their opening of the 2019 racing season, Global Motorsports Group (GMG Racing) would enjoy a double-header of competition during this weekend’s Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, literally taking place less than seven days after their season launch in Austin, Texas. Campaigning two Audi R8 LMS GT4 entries in the series’ Pirelli GT4 America Sprint category, the duo of Jason Bell and newcomer CJ Moses would show strong, with three top-10 finishes to close t...
13 Mar 2019

Audi Club Northwest Becomes Certified By The Motorsport Safety Foundation

source: Motorsport Safety Foundation Motorsport Safety Foundation Grants Level II Certification to Audi Club North America – Northwest Chapter’s HPDE Instructor Training Program The Northwest Chapter of Audi Club North America (ACNW) has achieved Level II certification in the Motorsport Safety Foundation’s High Performance Driver Education (HPDE) instructor training initiative, CERTIFIED. Audi Club North America is the world’s largest Audi car club, and its Northwest Chapter is...
13 Mar 2019

Audi A6 allroad Spied Testing. Will It Come to USA?

Many were surprised last week in Geneva when the A6 allroad didn't make a showing. Audi instead chose to show an all-electric lineup on its Geneva show stand, leaving the A6 allroad to bow another day. Could that day be New York? Recent tweets from Audi USA have us wondering. What you see here are some of the latest spy photos of an A6 allroad test mule. This particular car was caught cold weather testing in Sweden. While it wears cladding, you can clearly see the allroad cues on this obvious...
13 Mar 2019

B9.5 Audi RS 4 Avant Spied Cold Weather Testing

Audi is prepping a "B9.5" mid-lifecycle refreshening for its B-segment range of cars including A4, A5 and Q5 families. In as much, spy photographers have been catching mules of these cars cold weather testing this winter. While not offered in the USA, we have no doubt that the sighting of a B9.5 RS 4 Avant is enough to get serious attention from any red-blooded Audi aficionado. Given this is a mid-lifecycle freshening, don't expect significant drivetrain differences. Instead, consider the...
12 Mar 2019

Save The Date: Live Streaming of the Audi Annual Press Conference

source: Audi AG At the Annual Press Conference on Thursday, March 14, AUDI AG will present its annual balance sheet and give an outlook at the upcoming year. Viewers can watch the event live worldwide starting at 10:00 a.m. (CET) on www.audimedia.tv. Audi is broadcasting the event live by satellite and on the Internet. Recordings as well as additional TV footage and audio material with soundbites from the members of the Board of Management will be available after the event ...
11 Mar 2019

Nobody Walks In L.A.: Silvercar by Audi To The Rescue

words/photos: Denis Podmarkov Full disclosure...I was not paid by Silvercar by Audi nor given a free rental for this story. I needed something while I was car-less and as an Audi enthusiast, who better to turn to than Silvercar by Audi? Recently my A5 was getting a OEM+ makeover (shout out to Audi and FMS Automotive; full shoot coming soon) and I needed a vehicle to get around. Living in Los Angeles, I had a few options: I could Uber/Lyft, rent from Turo or any other car rental place. I could a...
11 Mar 2019

Member Rides (Q1 2019)

words and photos by Audi Club members Editor’s note: This article originally ran in the Q1_2019 issue of quattro magazine. Thank you for those who submitted their rides. David G. McLeod Jr., Silver Spring, MD 2013 Audi RS 5 & 2017 Audi SQ5 I recently retired from the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations as a Lieutenant Colonel and have been a longtime Audi aficionado. As a lifetime Audi Club member, I took advantage of the European Delivery program for both cars and subseq...
11 Mar 2019

Avants In…TT Out?

The other day, we announced that Audi posted a cryptic Twitter about the summoning of the Avants. Hooray! But then came a crushing quote from Audi CEO, Bram Schot. When asked by Autocar if the TT would continue, Schot said: “That’s a very good question. I think there’s a future for an [Audi] icon but I don’t know if it’s a TT. My heart bleeds when you ask that question! I’ve got some things cooking which could replace TT, though not necessarily directly.” Bummer. There have b...
10 Mar 2019

Audi Driver Lucas di Grassi Celebrates Runner-Up Finish at Formula E’s “Golden Anniversary”

source: Audi Sport 29th podium for the Brazilian in 50th race of the electric racing series Daniel Abt in fourth following strong fightback Audi customer team Envision Virgin Racing clinches third and sixth positions The 50th race of Formula E and another podium finish for Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler: Keeping a cool head, Lucas di Grassi finished the turbulent E-Prix in Hong Kong as the runner-up. His teammate, Daniel Abt, fought back from twelfth on the grid to fourth position. In total...
9 Mar 2019

Formula E: Latest News And Miscellaneous Info From Hong Kong

source: Audi Sport Hong Kong premiere of the Audi e-tron with Daniel Abt and Lucas di Grassi Will the 50th Formula E race be the first one held in rain? The weekend celebrating the 50th Formula E race in Hong Kong began with a presentation of the new Audi e-tron* on Friday night. Some 300 Audi customers attended an exclusive premiere of the first fully electric model from the brand with the four rings at the Audi Hong Kong dealership. The Audi e-tron was unveiled by Allan M...
8 Mar 2019

Audi USA Summons Avants via Twitter. Oh Boy!

Just in case you don't watch Twitter, you'll be forgiven for having missed this tweet. Even still, Audi USA has made a most interesting post about sixteen hours ago. It's about Avants. Eyebrows raised yet? Here's the tweet. — Audi (@Audi) March 8, 2019 Now, we're not experts on summoning circles, but we've been around the block a few times regarding Audi and Avants. No joke. We've circled their headquarters in our allroad seeking out Euro spec long roofs they might be hiding on numerou...
8 Mar 2019

Audi Delivered Around 119,800 Premium Cars in February

source: Audi AG Number of deliveries below 2018 record-breaking figure (-8.5%) Brand continues to grow in China Vice President Global Marketing and Sales Martin Sander: “Systematically continue to expand and electrify our premium portfolio” The brand with the four rings delivered around 119,800 cars to customers worldwide in February, 8.5 percent less than in the same record-breaking month in 2018. Deliveries increased slightly in China (+1.8%). North America (-14.3...