Audi's R8 GT to narrow price gap with BMW, Mercedes

BERLIN (Bloomberg) -- Volkswagen AG's Audi aims to compete on pricing with BMW AG and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz with the R8 GT, its most expensive model ever.

The vehicle, which costs 193,000 euros ($270,000) in Germany, is part of a broader expansion of Audi's model range which may include a third sports car line in addition to the R8 and TT, Stephan Reil, development chief at Audi's Quattro sports car division, said in an interview.

High-end sports cars are important to Audi because they help the automaker increase the price customers are willing to pay across the entire model range by raising the brand's overall appeal.

Audi, which lags behind BMW and Mercedes in pricing power, has spent the last decade boosting its offerings.

“The more Audi advances as a premium manufacturer, the less necessary will it be for them to offer lower prices,” said Sascha Heiden, senior analyst at IHS Automotive in Frankfurt.

The average price Audi currently gets for a car in the United States, the largest market for luxury autos, is $43,820, or $12,630 less than Mercedes and $7,829 lower than BMW, according to automotive Web site Edmunds.com.

“This car will naturally have a positive impact on the flagship Audi brand,” Reil said at the carmaker's headquarters. “We can imagine many options, you'll have to wait and be surprised,” he said of new models.

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101022/COPY01/310229961/1286#ixzz13gdauJj1

Audi Dealers

2012 Audi A6 Spy Photos - Future Cars

Based as it is on the same architecture as the 2012 A6, the recently unveiled Audi A7 luxo-hatch previewed how the next A6 will drive. Now, we also know how Audi’s next midliner will look, thanks to spy photographers who caught this right-hand-drive prototype running wild with hardly any camouflage.

The photos more or less confirm what we stated—and illustrated quite accurately, we gotta say—back in our April story on the upcoming A6: that it will elegantly split the difference between the two-year-old A4 and the all-new 2011 A8 flagship. Notable styling features include its more laid-back stance, the upswept lower-body contour, taillights that extend onto the trunk (like those of the rest of the Audi line), and LED running lights with a checkmark graphic that is somewhat softer than the menacing diodes of the new A8. We’d like to see a sportier edge to the mainstream sedan’s appearance, but it appears that Audi will reserve the styling flourishes for the S6 and RS6 models, which will follow in subsequent model years.

Read More: http://www.caranddriver.com/news/spied/10q4/2012_audi_a6_spy_photos-future_cars

Audi Illinois

2011 Audi Q7 TDI Quattro - Long-Term Road Test Intro

Date: October 2010
Months in Fleet: 2 months
Current Mileage: 6285 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 21 mpg
Range: 554 miles
Service: $0
Normal Wear: $0
Repair: $0

Combining as it does our loves of torque, top-notch design, and brown paint, we’re crushing pretty hard on our latest long-termer, this 2011 Audi Q7 TDI. Since its arrival roughly two months ago, everyone who’s driven the big four-ringer has complimented its manners, daily usability, and menacing looks.

Volkswagen’s flexible, economical, and eminently livable 3.0-liter turbo-diesel V-6 is underhood, and its 225 hp and 406 lb-ft are routed through a new-for-2011 eight-speed automatic transmission. (2009 and 2010 model-year Q7 TDIs had a six-speed auto.) While the horsepower figure is meager for a vehicle this size—almost 5700 pounds!—the torque delivers enough off-the-line thrust to give the impression that the Q7 is quicker than its 8.3-second 0-to-60-mph time. Partial throttle is sufficient to push you back in the seat; full-throttle shenaniganery delivers a downshift and more intake whoosh, but not much in the way of extra thrust. Less lead-footed civilians won’t notice the difference, although they will notice, as we did, the moment’s hesitation on take-off while you wait for the turbo to spool.

Read More: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/10q4/2011_audi_q7_tdi_quattro-long-term_road_test_intro

Audi Dealers