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Audi
Robotic Audi TTS to tackle Pikes Peak at race speed - without a driver
By Jeff Salton
21:59 February 7, 2010 PST
The team at the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford (CARS) are aiming to send a specially-equipped robotic Audi at break-neck speed up the tight bends that lead to Pikes Peak without a driver … something that hasn’t been done before. Read More
Audi e-tron Detroit concept - smaller, lighter, but still wicked
By Jeff Salton
13:45 January 11, 2010 PST
Following on from its wow factor appeal at the Frankfurt motor show last September, the next model e-tron from Audi is aptly called the Detroit show Audi e-tron, and has been unveiled here in ... err, Detroit. Now you’d think it would logically be the same uncompromising purist all-electric sports car from Frankfurt but everything is much more compact with a much shorter wheelbase and gross weight has been cut to 1,350 kg. Two electric motors with a combined output of 150 kW (204 hp) and 2,650 Nm (1954.54 lb-ft) accelerate the coupe with ASF-design aluminum body from 0 to 100 km/h in just 5.9 seconds. Most importantly, the Detroit Audi e-tron has “torque vectoring which enables it to distribute its high torque between the wheels entirely as required for unprecedented levels of active precision and traction. Audi claims the e-tron drives like a go-kart – agile, good on bends and neutral right up to its very high handling limits. Read More
The top 10 most reliable and unreliable 4x4s
By Gizmag Team
15:47 January 5, 2010 PST
If you’re planning on choosing a roadgoing car based on racetrack results, maybe you’d better think again. With the world’s greatest off-road race, the Dakar Rally, currently powering its way through Chile, it’s interesting to note that the leaders of the event (BMW and Volkswagen) are among the least reliable 4x4 vehicles on the road, where it really counts. Newly released and highly credible information from the U.K. has revealed the most and least reliable pre-owned 4x4 and SUV cars on the market (see the top 10 lists here). Honda’s CR-V won the crown of the most reliable 4x4 by a fair margin while Audi’s A6 Allroad is the most unreliable 4x4 on the road, with Volkswagen’s Touareg and BMW’s X5 placing second and third most unreliable. That’s right folks, despite performing spectacularly in race events such as the Dakar, the VW Touareg is the second most unreliable 4x4 on the market, according to Warranty Direct. Read More
Youth Mobile 2030 - designers dream up hip cars for the kids of the future
20:25 November 24, 2009 PST
Each year as part of the Design Los Angeles Conference held at the LA Auto Show, creative types from major car companies get to stare into their crystal balls and let their imaginations run wild in designing the car of the future. In 2007 the theme was the car 50 years from today, last year the challenge was to envision how motor-racing will look in 2025 and this time around, the brief is to look at what young people will be driving in the year 2030. Read More
MIT and Audi developing friendly robotic co-driver
By Darren Quick
20:56 November 1, 2009 PST
Vehicles are slowly but surely heading towards a future where the driver is almost irrelevant. A raft of new technologies will be employed to control a vehicle’s performance, speed and steering. Eventually leading to vehicles that drive themselves. Many Technologies designed to assist drivers are already reaching fruition including systems that recognize tiredness in drivers or control the throttle and brakes for the duration of a journey. The latest driver assist technology to catch our eye comes out of the Massachusetts Institute of technology (MIT), where researchers are creating an in-car personal robot that is designed to offer the same kind of guidance as “an informed and friendly companion.” Read More
The Audi e-tron electric Quattro with 4,500 Nm of torque
By Gizmag Team
07:49 September 15, 2009 PDT
One of the highlights of IAA 2009 was undoubtedly Audi’s electric Quattro, and the development ecosystem the company is establishing. Dubbed the e-tron, it has four motors producing in total a 230 kW (313 hp) and a stunning 4,500 Nm (3,319.03 lb-ft) of torque, enabling it to accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (0 – 62.14 mph) in 4.8 seconds, and from 60 to 120 km/h (37.28 – 74.56 mph) in 4.1 seconds. The car’s lithium-ion battery is stored directly behind the passenger cabin for an optimal center of gravity, and holds 42.4 kilowatt hours, enabling a range of 250 km. Read More
The world's best sports car show
By Gizmag Team
20:19 August 20, 2009 PDT
Imagine a sports car show held not in an exhibition center, but at the safest racetrack in the world, so the cars can be appreciated in their natural surroundings, without speed limits. The first “International GT & Supercar Show” will be held at Circuit Paul Ricard in the South of France on September 26 and 27. Exhibitors include Ferrari, Gumpert, Koenigsegg, Ad Tramontana, Aston Martin, Bentley, Bugatti, F&M, Morgan, Audi Wiesmann, Spyker, Mosler, Pagani, Porsche, Saleen, TVR, Yes, Venturi, Alfa Romeo Zagato, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Mercedes, Castagna Milano, Maserati, Lotus, Lightning and Tesla. Read More
Spyker C8 Aileron Spyder prototype let loose
By Jeff Salton
23:18 August 16, 2009 PDT
Spyker Cars may not have impressed in its F1 venture, but it certainly has made up for it off the track. The exclusive sportscar-maker has kept true to its promise made in March at the Geneva Auto Show by debuting the first prototype of the Spyder version of its second-generation Spyker C8 Aileron. The 300kmh open-top model is scheduled to go into production in the first half of 2010. Read More
Nissan's 'smarter' navigation system assists with safer, greener driving
By Jeff Salton
19:24 July 23, 2009 PDT
Nissan's new enhanced on-board navigation system will provide drivers with more information to make safer and greener driving decisions. The company is launching an automotive navigation system that uses intelligent transportation system (ITS) infrastructure and other advanced technology to warn drivers of low-visibility intersections, school zones, and navigation-linked speed control. The navigation system can also recommend faster route calculations, which can lead to fuel savings. Read More
Goodwood Festival of Speed: faster, greener and partly pedestrian
21:33 July 8, 2009 PDT
Once a year, car connoisseurs and speed freaks gather together at Goodwood House, Essex, to witness the fast, the furious and the utterly fantastic. This year’s 17th Festival of Speed held last weekend was no exception. A crowd of over 150,000 saw the fastest man on earth drive Jaguar’s fastest, Renault’s zero emission concept, Ferrari climb the hill in under a minute, Audi celebrate 100 years, Maserati’s newest, and Porsche set a new world record…on foot. Read More
Audi revs up and down with new stop-start technology
By Darren Quick
01:10 May 11, 2009 PDT
It may sound obvious, but the most effective way to cut a car's fuel consumption is to turn the car off. Of course that isn’t very useful if you're trying to get from A to B. But for many trips, particularly for city driving, a car can be idle for a significant amount of time. Such stop-start driving is far from being fuel-efficient, but Audi has turned that around with a new system that shuts down the engine when the car comes to a stop. The start-stop system joins a new on-board computer, as part of Audi’s modular efficiency platform, which is designed to reduce fuel consumption and cut carbon emissions. Read More
What Diesel Car of the Year Awards 2009
By Mike Hanlon
00:59 April 8, 2009 PDT
The UK's What Diesel magazine is celebrating its 21st year of publication and focuses on one of the few growth areas of the automotive market – the diesel world. Each year its writers and readers vote to award the best diesel car in each category and this year the Car of the Year honour has gone to Ford's new “world car” the Ford Fiesta. Jaguar scored the best executive diesel and second overall with the XF, Volkswagen got three awards (Medium car, coupe and the green award), Citroën grabbed two gongs with the C3 Picasso (best MPV) and C5 Tourer (Best Estate Car) and the Land Rover Freelander 2 won the 4x4 class for the third year running. Read More
The Allio Lite TV/PC combo
By Tim LeFevre
18:15 February 22, 2009 PST
Silicon Mountain Holdings has announced the release of the Allio Lite, the latest offering from their range of popular Allio converged LCD HDTV/PC... and it's at a lower price point. The Allio Lite is available in a 42-inch 1080p model or a 32-inch 720p model, and features the same selection of inputs (2 x HDMI, 1 x s-video & audio, 1 x DVI, 2 x component, 6 USB, 1 x eSATA) and outputs (1 x HDMI, 1 x optical audio) as the original Allio models. Read More
Audi presents its Sportback concept, a preview of the 2010 A7 sedan
By Loz Blain
20:18 January 12, 2009 PST
January 13, 2009 While the firebreathing 5.2-litre V10 R8 supercar is clearly the performance king of Audi's Detroit NAIAS lineup, the Sportback concept unveiled does an excellent job of marrying performance, economy, stunning looks and practicality. Its 3-litre, 6-cylinder direct-injection turbo 'clean diesel' engine puts out 225 horsepower and 550 Nm, for a top speed over 150mph - and yet its average fuel economy nearly tips 40mpg. Ultra-low CO2 emissions are the result of smart decisions throughout the car, from the advanced exhaust emissions control, to electric systems like the power steering that consume no energy when they're not immediately in use, to automatic engine stop-start at the traffic lights and power-smart sunlight-white LED headlights. The Sportback's ultra-clean lines and fastback hatch somehow make this four-door coupe look sportier than some of its two-door contemporaries. Beautiful. Read More
Audi R8 V105.2 FSI
By Mike Hanlon
15:39 January 11, 2009 PST
"The Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro was my pick of the first day at Detroit,“ writes Noel McKeegan from the North American International Auto Show which opened today. "It was the most aesthetically striking car that wasn’t a concept, and with the 525 hp 5.2 liter V10 engine replacing the 420 bhp 4.2 V8, performance has gone another level. With the quattro all-wheel drive, LED-headlights and aluminum body with a very curvaceous rear end treatment, it really is a knockout." Read More
Audi R8 V10 becomes first all-LED car
By Mike Hanlon
17:20 January 3, 2009 PST
January 4, 2009 The order books have opened for the 196mph Audi R8 making it the first car in the world with all-LED (light emitting diode) headlamps, daytime running lights and turn indicators. LEDs are the headlight of the future due to their power, homogenous light distribution and the agreeable, daylight-esque colour and Audi can rightfully boast a technological edge with headlights four times more energy efficient than halogen headlights in addition to having a practically indefinite service life. LEDs can be made more or less bright electronically and hence able to be precisely adapted to conditions. In the future, headlights will react to variables such as weather conditions, speed and the distance between vehicles. Audi already has a pre-production headlight which offers exceptional visibility at night without irritating oncoming drivers, by measuring the distance of the approaching vehicle and adapting the shape of the beam continuously. Read More
Audi to unleash 525 hp, 196 mph, R8 V10 supercar
21:27 December 9, 2008 PST
Audi's new incarnation of its flagship R8 supercar will hit showrooms in 2009 sporting subtle exterior refinements including re-shaped side sills, wider cooling vents, all-LED headlamps, chrome-finished grille and 10-spoke "Y design" alloy wheels, but by far the biggest change lies beneath the surface - namely two more cylinders. The introduction of a 5.2-liter, 525 hp, V10 engine delivers significantly greater performance compared with the original 4.2 liter V8 production model released in 2006 - zero to 62 mph in 3.9 seconds (compared with 4.6 seconds), a top speed of 196.35 mph (up from 187 mph) and almost 25% more maximum torque at 530 Nm - giving it the mantle of the fastest ever road-going Audi and putting it within arms length of elite company like the Porsche 911 GT2. Read More
2008 Paris Motor Show round-up
19:37 October 19, 2008 PDT
As the curtain falls on the Paris Motor Show for 2008 we take a look back at some of the biggest surprises and brightest innovations to emerge from this massive global automotive extravaganza. As a starting point it's hard to go past Lamborghini, which emulated its 2007 most-talked-about crown by showing its Estoque concept. As a mid-engined four-door coupé with a V10 motor and permanent four-wheel drive, it's not really eco-inspired but a weapon to behold for the family man. Mazda definitely made our short-list for the most striking design with the aerodynamic Kiyora Urban compact and Citroen also floated some compelling concepts including the colorful Hypnos luxury hybrid crossover and the virtual-meets-real-world GTbyCITROEN which will appear on-screen in the next installment of Gran Turismo. Read More
The Audi A1 hybrid drive Sportback concept
20:31 October 14, 2008 PDT
Audi has used the Paris Motor Show to unveil a compact 5-door variation of the 3-door A1 project quattro car first shown in Tokyo last year. The concept, which the company says "shows another possible direction for forthcoming production A1", features updated hybrid technology which combines a 1.4 TFSI petrol engine with a 20 kW (27 hp) electric motor that adds up to 150 Nm of torque during acceleration and can also run purely on electric power for more than 60 miles on a single charge. Read More
Audi offers SmartBeam headlight system
By Kyle Sherer
18:13 June 2, 2008 PDT
June 3, 2008 Audi will offer the Gentex SmartBeam system as an option on the A4, A5 and Q7 models, to be released this spring. The SmartBeam High-Beam Headlamp Assist system, or “Fernlichtassistent”, uses a miniature camera to automate a vehicle’s high beams at night. Read More
Major auto manufacturers commit to eco-friendly development
19:31 May 29, 2008 PDT
Two separate announcements from the automotive world this week have given further impetus to the growth of energy efficient vehicles. Volkswagen has teamed up with Sanyo to develop high-performance lithium-ion based storage systems for use in its hybrid diesel and electric-drive systems and the ongoing Renault-Nissan Alliance has resulted in the Scenic ZEV H2 - a prototype based on a Renault Grand Scenic which features Nissan’s in-house developed fuel cell stack, high-pressure hydrogen storage tank and compact lithium-ion batteries that will be shown in Barcelona in June. Read More
Audi's A3 TDI clubspot quattro
By Kyle Sherer
20:28 May 25, 2008 PDT
May 26, 2008 Shown over the weekend at the 27th annual Lake Wörther Tour in Austria, the Audi A3 TDI clubsport quattro is a one-off show car featuring "the most extreme incarnation to date of Audi’s four-cylinder TDI engine", a powerplant which propels the car from 0-62mph in 6.6 seconds and achieves a top speed of 149mph. Read More
Audi's diesel sportscar: new TT Coupe and Roadster debut at Geneva
By Kyle Sherer
16:54 March 2, 2008 PST
March 3, 2008 The terms "sportscar" and "diesel engine" don't exactly go hand in hand, but Audi has brought the two together by adopting a diesel powerplant for its latest TT Coupe and Roadster models which will debut at the Geneva Motor Show. The 140mph TT 2.0 TDI quattro has a 50mpg-plus fuel economy, is EU5 compliant, and shows a 23% reduction in CO2 output compared to the pertrol equivalent. The six-speed Coupe achives 0-62mph in 7.5 seconds, with a top speed of 140mph while the Roadster can go from 0-62km in 7.7 seconds, with a top speed of 138mph. The cars on show in Geneva are "production ready" with first deliveries expected in summer 2008. Read More
Audi adds a sportier version of the TT sports car
By Mike Hanlon
18:37 January 10, 2008 PST
January 11, 2008 The ‘S’ emblem that spells extraordinary performance in the Audi range graces the TT for the first time this month in a new, even more focused version of the iconic sports car debuting at the North American International Auto Show (January 19-27). Available mid-2008 in both Coupe and Roadster body styles, the TTS earns its esteemed badge through the adoption of a specially developed, 272bhp Turbo FSI petrol engine complemented by state-of-the-art chassis technology. Read More
Audi’s hybrid metroproject quattro
By Loz Blain
23:59 October 24, 2007 PDT
October 25, 2007 We’re running around like kids in a candy store at the Tokyo Motor Show, it’s a technophile’s delight – and Audi has just come out swinging. The German company has just unveiled its sexy metroproject quattro, a plug-in electric/petrol hybrid concept car with some amazing features, including a detachable remote control that acts as an integrated or standalone mobile phone, navigation unit, MP3 and video player and keyless ignition tag, while letting you turn the car’s heater on before you leave the house. Read More
windykites1
- February 9, 2010 @ 19:22 UTC
