21 Jan 2021

APR Brings an Audi S3 Sportback Over for Development

[gallery link="none" columns="1" size="full" ids="57381"] words: Bill, photos: FCP Euro There have been photos of a stateside Euro-spec S3 Sportback (and a Euro-spec Volkswagen MK8 GTI) floating around and now we know the story. APR, the longtime tuner in the VW/Audi scene, imported both from Germany. Chatting with APR's Brand Manager, Arin Ahnell, he explained that they were bought in Germany and APR Deutschland and APR partner, Stoll Automotive, had begun development on both. [gallery link="no...
Thu, Jan 21 , 2021 Bill
1 Oct 2020

Romain Dumas: “Motorsport and Production Benefit From Each Other”

[gallery link="none" columns="1" size="full" ids="53489"] source: Volkswagen Motorsport Dumas will be back in the fully-electric ID.R at Goodwood SpeedWeek The Frenchman was wowed by the ID.3 during a test drive in the electric road car Electromobility in motorsport is one of the core topics for the 42-year-old Romain Dumas is an all-rounder in motorsport. Endurance, rallying, off-road and, last but not least, his participation in the Volkswagen ID.R project and the record-breaking drives with...
Thu, Oct 01 , 2020 Bill
17 Jul 2020

Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes (Nogaro) Blue: Chapter Two: Oh, All The Cars We Have Had

[gallery link="none" columns="1" size="full" ids="49486"] words and photos: Tara and Nishant Pillai Editor’s Note: Welcome to a new monthly Audi Club North America series called Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes (Nogaro) Blue. Nishant Pillai is a 10-year Audi Club North America (Audi Club Florida) member. He and his wife, Tara, are buying a 25th Anniversary Nogaro Edition RS 6 Avant. This is his long and winding road to making his brown eyes Nogaro Blue. You can find Chapter One HERE. Straight...
Fri, Jul 17 , 2020 Bill
19 Jun 2020

Find of the Day: Throwdown Edition Episode 6: Volkswagen vs Audi

[gallery link="none" columns="1" size="full" ids="48557"] words: Bill Episode 6 was different. We've pitted chapters against chapters but this time, we went head to head with Team Volkswagen. Specifically Megan Closset (it's not pronounced like closet...think French), product manager of the Golf line and uber-enthusiast; Sean Maynard, marketing specialist at VWoA and builder of VWs I want, and finally returning guest, Jamie Orr, world traveller and also builder of VWs I want...there's a theme ru...
Fri, Jun 19 , 2020 Bill
17 Dec 2019

‘Project Qatar Mobility’: Self-Driving Shuttles Set To Take Doha’s Local Public Transport To The Next Level In 2022

[gallery link="none" columns="1" size="full" ids="40441"] source: Volkswagen AG Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Volkswagen AG announce pioneering autonomous, electric transport initiative to transform urban mobility in Qatar Prototypes of ID. BUZZ01 AD shuttles from Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and of Scania buses to operate on a self-driving system with zero emissions MOIA ride hailing app is used to run the service, AID delivers Self Driving System (SDS) knowledge Autonomous Drivi...
Tue, Dec 17 , 2019 Bill
16 Dec 2019

Volkswagen Group Of America Joins Automated Vehicle Safety Consortium

[gallery link="none" columns="1" size="full" ids="40358"] source: Volkswagen Group of America VWGoA joins group focused on developing standards and best practices for testing and deploying highly automated vehicles Volkswagen Group taking a series of steps to develop future mobility services and solutions across all levels of automated driving VWGoA joins Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Lyft, Toyota and Uber ATG as members of AVSC Volkswagen Group of America (VWGoA) today announced it ha...
Mon, Dec 16 , 2019 Bill
12 Dec 2019

Video(s) of the Day: Volkswagen T3 Bus With Audi 6.0 W12 Power

[gallery link="none" columns="1" size="full" ids="40063"] words: Bill, photos: tuningblog.eu/gtspeed.us, videos: MonGo OttO/Zurafta Productions While these videos may be several years old at this time, this is still a pretty wild build. I've seen people put a Porsche engine in a T1 Bus before but shoving a W12 into a T3 is that much more metal (or mental). [gallery link="none" columns="1" size="full" ids="40066"] This Bus came from the factory with a ~50hp engine but that wasn't enough for the o...
Thu, Dec 12 , 2019 Bill
12 Sep 2019

Video of the Day: Volkswagen ID. R Sets First Official Record For 99-Turn Tianmen Mountain Big Gate Road

[gallery link="none" columns="1" size="full" ids="33698"] source: Volkswagen Romain Dumas covers the 6.78-mile mountain course in 7 minutes, 38.585 seconds Fifth major accomplishment for ID. R electric race car In a first, the all-electric Volkswagen ID. R has established a new record for the stunning Tianmen Mountain Big Gate Road, a 99-turn route that had never before been used as a performance car benchmark. With a time of 7 minutes, 38.585 seconds, Volkswagen ID. R driver Romain...
Thu, Sep 12 , 2019 Bill
3 Sep 2019

7:38.585 Minutes To Reach “Heaven’s Gate” In China: Volkswagen Sets First Record On Tianmen Mountain With The ID.R.

[gallery link="none" columns="1" size="full" ids="33091"] source: Volkswagen “China Challenge” mastered – Volkswagen’s fully-electric prototype sets new benchmark on Tianmen Mountain Romain Dumas conquers the 99 hairpins on the 10.906-kilometre “Big Gate Road” in less than 8 minutes ID.R is the sportiest representative of the electric ID. family of products An extraordinary drive on the limit, with spectacular images and the first record on Tianmen Mountain: Volkswagen has ac...
Tue, Sep 03 , 2019 Bill
1 Mar 2019

ABT Sportsline 2019 Geneva Motor Show Preview Photo Gallery

photos: ABT Sportsline Yesterday, we posted that ABT Sportsline will show five vehicles at the Geneva Motor Show. Their press release had dozens of photos that we didn't include as we didn't want to bury the story. Never fear...we're going to show them here so you can see the full glory of these vehicles...unless you're headed to Geneva to see them in person. Enjoy!   ABT RS4+ ABT Audi A6 Avant 50 TDI  ABT Audi Q8 50 TDI SEAT CUPRA Ateca ABT ABT e-Transporter ...
Fri, Mar 01 , 2019 Bill
12 Feb 2019

California Dreaming with Audi collection’s Vintage Audi Sport Support Truck

words: Bill Cho, photos: Denis Podmarkov, George Achorn, Gil Plasencia, Bill Cho Editor’s note: This article originally ran in the Q1 2019 issue of quattro magazine. When one thinks of Group B heroes, visions of an Audi Sport quattro hurtling over jumps come to mind. Certainly less limelight typically goes to the vehicles that helped make those wins happen… commercial vehicles from Audi parent Volkswagen like its LT35 or T3 transporter range. These trucks did everything from spare parts She...
Tue, Feb 12 , 2019 Bill
20 Aug 2018

Volkswagen I.D. R Pike’s Peak Headed to Monterey

[source: Volkswagen AG] I.D. R Pikes Peak returns to the USA for the first time since record-breaking appearance at Pikes Peak Electric race car to be showcased at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance  Impressive mix of historic classics and innovative concept cars Wolfsburg, GERMANY. Two months after the historic, record-breaking triumph at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the I.D. R Pikes Peak is set to make a first return visit to the United States: the first full...
6 Jul 2018

Volkswagen Shares Footage From I.D. R Pikes Peak Record-Breaking Run

[source: Volkswagen Motorsports] Volkswagen just released video shot from a helicopter of the record breaking run by the I.D. R Pikes Peak and Romain Dumas. The sound seems to be coming from in-car footage so maybe Volkswagen will be releasing that soon. Until then, enjoy the video of the incredible 7m 57.148s run - Editor Herndon, VA — On June 24th, Volkswagen made motorsports history at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Today, video of the entire record-breaking run is ava...
Fri, Jul 06 , 2018 Bill
24 Jun 2018

All-Time Record: Volkswagen Makes History With The I.D. R Pikes Peak

[source: Volkswagen Motorsport] 7m 57.148s minutes – Volkswagen’s electric racing car sets a new overall record Romain Dumas betters Sébastien Loeb’s record by 16 seconds I.D. R Pikes Peak: the sporty forerunner of the new, fully-electric I.D. family Wolfsburg - Volkswagen and the I.D. R Pikes Peak have made history at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Driving the 500-kW (680 PS) I.D. R Pikes Peak, Romain Dumas (F) defeated a field including cars with conventional...
Sun, Jun 24 , 2018 Bill
20 Jun 2018

Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak Sets Fastest Time In Qualifying

PIKES PEAK INTERNATIONAL HILL CLIMB Driver Romain Dumas clocks time of the day at Pikes Peak Volkswagen preparing meticulously for Sunday’s race Sven Smeets: “Compliments to the team, but that was only qualifying.” Wolfsburg - Romain Dumas and the Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak made a clear statement of intent in qualifying ahead of the 2018 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in the US state of Colorado. The Frenchman, at the wheel of Volkswagen’s first fully-electric ra...
Wed, Jun 20 , 2018 Bill
1 May 2018

VW Group Shares 48-Volt Plans at Vienna Motor Symposium

Editor's Note: The Vienna Motor Symposium is where OE manufacturers go to share advancements in engine and motor technology. Audi's Volkswagen Group corporate parent is a regular in Vienna, and for 2018 they chose to share planning for widespread 48-volt architecture. Thusly, the press release below comes via Volkswagen. As is typical of such a large car manufacturer with shared architectures, it is worth reading between the lines here. For example, though very different in appearance an...
19 Mar 2018

Volkswagen Group Is Headed Back To Pikes Peak But It’s Not What You Think

source: Volkswagen of America, intro: Bill Cho Say 'Pikes Peak' to an Audi fan and visions of Michele Mouton, John Buffum, Bobby Unser, Walter Rohrl, and, of course, the Sport quattro E2 Pikes Peak pop into their head. Volkswagen Group is headed back to Pikes Peak but this time it's Volkswagen leading the charge with an electric race car, the I.D. R Pikes Peak. The driver of this car should be familiar to Audi Sport fans, Romain Dumas. Dumas won the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans in the Audi ...
Mon, Mar 19 , 2018 Bill
14 Feb 2018

Cousin Rivalry: Audi allroad vs Volkswagen Alltrack

words: Bill Cho, video: The Fast Lane Car A couple of weeks ago, The Fast Lane Car dragged the allroad against a Porsche Boxster. This time, they have a proper challenger- the Volkswagen Alltrack. They not only drag the two, they take them out on the trail. I'm all for wagon vs wagon battles because that means more new longroofs are being made and that's a good thing. In this battle amongst cousins, who will win? The wagon loving public will win, that's who.   [embed]https:...
Wed, Feb 14 , 2018 Bill