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Audi drops Quattro Sports Cars in favor of a Coupe SUV  We were pretty psyched about the possibility of seeing a production version of the Audi Quattro Concept unveiled at the 2010 Paris Auto Show, but now, all of that joy has vanished because Audihas officially confirmed that a production Quattro never happen. At least, not like the sports car seen at the show. Instead, the company will be working on a two-door SUV equipped with a Quattro system. Don’t worry, we don’t understand it either. According to Audi, there is no market for such a model. We find it hard to believe that a limited edition sports coupe, with an RS5 engine and a design inspired by the Quattro Concept wouldn’t steal the hearts of many customers, but they didn’t ask our opinion. Audi announced that today’s market is ripe for crossovers and SUVs, and this is what they plan to offer. The next Audi Q Coupe will follow in the steps of the Range Rover Evoque and will be inspired by the CrossLane Coupe Concept seen at the 2012 Paris Auto Show. The model will be offered with a five-cylinder turbo motor combined with an all-wheel drive system and a seven-speed dual-clutch S-tronic transmission. The new Audi Q Coupe will be unveiled sometime in 2015. 2015 Audi Quattro Coupe
The 2010 Paris Auto Show brought us many concepts, but while the Lotus five-year plan has since fizzled to nothing and the Renault Dezir is only planned to be chopped up and used for inspirational parts, Audi is pushing forward with a production version of the Quattro concept. That’s right, the Quattro has been given the green light for limited production which should be ready for the 2015 model year. The production Quattro will be based on Audi’s latest aluminum spaceframe chassis with a body built in carbon fiber-reinforced plastic. It will weigh in at about 660 lbs less than the RS5 as seen on the prototypes already testing. It will also feature a wheelbase that has been reduced by 150 mm and an interior featuring seats made from forged composites. We don’t know exactly what will be used under the hood of the sports car, but the concept version is powered by a turbocharged 2.5-liter five-cylinder attached to a classic six-speed gearbox. The engine delivers a total of 402 HP and 354 pound-feet of torque. The sprint from 0 to 60 mph is made in just 3.9 seconds, while top speed is of course limited to 155 mph. Hopefully we will see either this configuration or something a bit more powerful on the production Quattro. UPDATE 08/24/2012: Sources have told AutoBild that the future Audi Quattro Coupe (internally known as the Q35) will only feature small bits of inspiration from the Quattro Concept displayed at the 2011 Paris Auto Show. Other than that, the four-seater, two door sports car will have short overhangs, a flat roof, LED headlights and taillights, 20" wheels, and some hood-mounted air vents inspired by the original Quattro. In terms of power, the Quattro will feature a supercharged 2.5L five-cylinder engine mated to a dual clutch S-tronic transmission. This engine will produce 380 HP and send the Quattro from 0-62 mph in a little over four seconds. AutoBild is predicting that the Audi Quattro will debut in March 2013 to coincide with the original Quattro’s 35th anniversary, hence the internal Q35 designation. It will be priced somewhere between the Audi TT and the Audi R8, which will fill in the gap nicely with the $38,650 and $114,200 price tags of the aforementioned models. $1.5 Million in Luxury Cars Seized by U.S. Customs
There are a lot of new car scams in the world and most of them are initiated by the new car dealer, not the buyer. A group of buyers flipped the script on several Los Angeles dealerships, by using fake identities to purchase 20 cars and were shipping them to Hong Kong and Vietnam to sell them for two to three times their U.S. value. It was a laundry list of luxury vehicles, such as a $280,000 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia, an Audi Quattro, 2012 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4, along with several Mercedes, Lexus, Infiniti, and BMW SUVs among others. For some reason, the thieves even threw in a Toyota Tundra. The one that got these fraudsters busted was the Ferrari 458 Italia, as Ferrari fitted the supercar with a GPS system as standard, which Ferrari used to track the car once they found out they were defrauded. This led U.S. Customs and the California highway Patrol to conduct a full investigation and find the cars on a ship that had already pulled away from the port. Needless to say, that ship was forced to come back and all but four of the cars were recovered. The four non-recovered cars are due to be shipped back by Vietnamese Customs. According to the report, had the fraudsters not gone after the Ferrari, chances are they would have gotten away with this scam and made a ton of money in the process. The total amount of the vehicles seized by U.S. customs is estimated at $1.5 million, which would have pulled in around $3 million in Hong Kong and Vietnam. We are still trying to figure out what in the world a Toyota Tundra was doing in the mix with all of these high-end luxury cars. We also wonder which thief drew the short straw and was stuck going to the Toyota dealership to pick this thing up?
2011 Audi Quattro ConceptTwo years ago, Audi began to work on something very special indeed. It was called the Anniversario, a coupe concept that was suppose to show off the company’s excellence and it would debut at the Pebble Beach Concours Weekend. Yet, it was around this time that the world’s market collapsed and this sort of show car fell to the bottom of the priority list. Now, with the economy back on track, Audi is on the verge of having another record sales year. For years and years, Audi has been in the third German automaker in the minds of many, with BMW and Mercedes-Benz leading the way, but those times have changes. They have grown through the years with technological innovations and it just so happens that one of those innovations, Quattro four-wheel drive, is celebrating a birthday. To us, and to Audi in fact, this historical moment seems like the perfect inspiration for the new Quattro. UPDATE 03/12/2012: During an interview at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, Quattro GmbH Product Boss, Stefan Reil, confirmed that Audi has finally made a decision about the production version of the quattro concept. Unfortunately it’s not a desirable one as they have decided there won’t be a production version of the car. The reason behind this decision is that production will require the intense use of lightweight materials such as carbon fiber body panels and many components from aluminum and magnesium, and these elements would jack up the price. (Fourtitude) Hit the jump to read on. Full story 2011 Audi A1 Clubsport Quattro
When Audi introduced seven concept versions of the A1 at the 2010 Wörthersee Tour in Austria, it marked the A1’s introduction into the world of show cars. This year, the German automaker won’t be bringing as many concepts to Austria - the site of this year’s tour - but they are bringing one that effectively blows away just about every Audi A1 we’ve ever seen before. Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to the Audi A1 Clubsport Quattro. As a one-off show car, the A1 Clubsport Quattro is about the most powerful A1 we’ve ever laid our eyes on. Just how powerful is this vehicle? Try in excess of 500 horsepower under its hood. Yikes, indeed. In addition to the monster engine under its hood, the A1 Clubsport Quattro was also designed as a preview model of the company’s new adhesive film decals that’s set to be released as future accessories for the A1 and all of its offspring models. While we’d love to see this car out on the road - or the track, perhaps - in the future, it’s highly unlikely that it’s going to make it there considering its status as a one-off showpiece. But if the reaction to this car is what we expect it to be, we figure that Audi just may be tempted to get a production version out in the future. Unlikely, but hey, we can all dream, right? UPDATE 06/03/2011: The Audi A1 ClubSport Quattro has been created officially for Need for Speed World fans and will only be available as a free in-game rental from June 1 until June 4, 2011. If you are interested in testing the car, log-in or register on Need for Speed World and go to the car dealer. Select Tier 2 and click on Audi for your 24 hour rental. Also, we have added a pretty cool video presenting the development of the car. Hit the jump to watch it. Details on the Audi A1 Clubsport Quattro after the jump. Full story Audi prepares BMW X6 competitor and assures Quattro Concept isn’t dead
When BMW launched the X6 out on the market, many members of the press highly doubted that this "sports activity coupe" would stand a chance at success, but the customers spoke and the X6 turned out to be more successful than BMW itself expected. Then, soon after the surprising success of the X6, Acura brought their own version of the X6 and now Audi has announced plans to build their own version of the crossover to serve as competition to the original. When talking about the X6 in an interview with Inside Line, Audi Group Design’s Wolfgang Egger said: "It has been a big success in China, where it’s become a second car driven by women. There, it’s a female sports car." He then added that Audi’s Q3 (pictured above) is just enough to serve as competition for the BMW, but he also said that Audi could do better. How much better is yet to be seen. Egger also gave InsideLine some insight on other models in the Audi lineup. He said that the A1 line-up would include a five-door hatchback, a 180-HP S1, and a cabriolet. As for the Quattro concept, Egger said that it "wasn’t dead," but has yet to be confirmed for production. TopSpeed’s Best of 2010: Concept of the Year
Every year, auto makers from all over the world make a conscious effort in putting their best feet forward for the sake of letting everyone know that while their current crop of cars are important, they also put great effort in developing concept cars for future use. Sure, some of the concepts that we see every year don’t make it past the testing and development stages, but what’s really important is that automakers are going to great lengths in determining whether parts of the concept - or the entire thing, for that matter - can be applied on their production vehicles. Aesthetic styling aside, concept cars have become one of our favorite segments in the industry. Not only do these cars give us a glimpse of what styling direction a company is looking into adapting, but it also gives us an idea what developments are being made from a performance perspective. For 2010, we narrowed down our four best concepts of the year, from a conservative French automaker all the way to a brand paying tribute to an iconic model - and drive system - with a concept successor that’s nothing short of breathtaking. Details after the jump. Full story Audi Quattro Concept production version rendered
Audi is on to something good, and they should know it by now. The German car manufacturer has already been tossing around the idea around to produce the Audi Quattro concept that was revealed at the Paris Motor Show recently and inventive minds of artists everywhere are already wielding a sketch pad and pencil - okay, so maybe it’s a computer monitor and mouse - and coming up with options for what the production version could look like. We say, "Bring it on!" It’s no secret that we love the look of this car, so getting the opportunity to look at different renderings for the sports car is right up our alley! This particular rendering combines design elements from the Quattro concept with elements from the original Audi Quattro. Add a slick two-tone paint job and, "Voilà!" Now if only Audi would get on with it. Stefan Reil, head of development at Audi’s Quattro Gmbh division said: "We are rethinking standard processes to make it possible. We know how to engineer it already. We need feedback to see if it is possible. Audi has no heritage in building 200-500 cars that are really exotic. But it won’t be over €100,000 (around $140,000 at the current exchange rates)." The concept is powered by a five-cylinder turbocharged engine that delivers an impressive 408 HP, but the production version will be somewhere in the 350 HP area. Audi Quattro concept might go into production
It wasn’t even a week ago that we were eyeing the Audi Quattro Concept at the Paris Motor Show with the full intent of drooling over one if the German brand ever decided to turn this concept into a production reality. Out of the many concept cars that appeared in Paris, the Quattro just seemed to carry an air about it that excited us. And, apparently, we weren’t the only ones that felt that way as Audihas already been in talks to make a production model for the sports car. If this does happen, the production version will be assembled in limited numbers on a dedicated line at the company’s newly acquired sister firm, ItalDesign, near Milan. Stefan Reil, head of development at Audi’s Quattro Gmbh division said: "We are rethinking standard processes to make it possible. We know how to engineer it already. We need feedback to see if it is possible. Audi has no heritage in building 200-500 cars that are really exotic. But it won’t be over €100,000 (around $140,000 at the current exchange rates)." The Quattro Concept unveiled at the Paris Auto Show is powered by a five-cylinder turbocharged engine that delivers an impressive 408 HP, but the production version will be somewhere in the 350 HP area.
Video: Audi releases new videos featuring the Quattro ConceptWe love our concept cars and the Paris Motor Show certainly didn’t disappoint in that regard. Automakers left and right all showed up and brought their concept rides with them, much to the delight of the entire attending auto scribes. Of all the concepts that were present in Paris, one that really caught our attention was Audi’s Quattro Concept. Sure, there were a lot more bombastic vehicles in attendance, but if there was one concept that really found its way into our subconscious longing of owning one, it’s the Quattro Concept. Unfortunately, the car is classified as such – a concept – for a reason. We don’t know if and when the car will see the production line and how much one would set us back financially should the car make it to the dealerships. Then again, that’s a problem waiting to be solved at another time. For now, we can’t stop ogling over this car, and with these two new videos of the Quattro Concept that Audi just released, we wouldn’t be surprised if you start doing the same. Unedited version after the jump Full story | Audi Quattro latest reviews:
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