It may be a while before I could ever afford an Audi but I will be forever grateful to them for giving me a reason to express my Iron Man fanboy-dom all over this blog! And with Iron Man 3 less than a week away I am in full nerd mode! In today’s flimsy excuse I present a recently released video from Audi which takes the audience into Tony Stark’s famous workshop. Not only is his workshop where most of his inventions, including the Iron Man suit itself was born but it also doubles as the garage for all of his rides, including his two Audi R8′s (5.2 V10 and eTron). Take a look at all of his “cool stuff” (see what I did there?) below.
Leave it to Audi to give me an excuse to pour my Iron Man fanboy-ism all over this site! All the other shell head fans out there who happen to be gearheads will be happy to know that Audi has just launched an Iron Man 3 microsite in cross promotion with their new e-tron A3 hatchback.
The site has a few cool widgets that show off what the main characters of Iron Man 3 will be driving i.e. Tony Stark behind the wheel of an e-tron R8 (probably powered by an arc reactor?) and Pepper Potts on the wheel of the new A7 sport back. There is also a ton of video, wallpapers, and other features that will launch later.
Go now! Go play with the site! Its awesome! Just click the red text above! Also in case you have lived on another planet for the last few months you can scroll down and watch the latest Iron Man 3 trailer below first.
St. Patricks day weekend was cause for celebration for many people all over the country but it was also a big weekend for motorsport freaks like us. In addition to Sebring the past weekend also saw the return of Formula One. I decided to kick the weekend off by paying a visit to one of my favorite meets: Cars & Coffee in Irvine.
It was the first time I had been to the meet since the start of the year so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to see an even more eclectic mix of cars than I was used to. There was everything from million-dollar exotics to a few rare classics. I even saw a crazy turbo-diesel zombie apocalypse truck! (more on that in a later post).
However, I would have to say the meet’s biggest attention getter was a genuine Bugatti Veyron brought by Symbolic Motor Cars of San Diego. As jaded as I am these days even I am still impressed with a Veyron sighting. I have only been in the presence of Bugatti’s hyper-car four times and only two of which (counting the weekend) were “wild” sightings.
All in all it was a great trip. If you haven’t been to Cars & Coffee I would highly recommend checking it out. If you’re saying to yourself: “Hey jerk, I don’t live in Southern California!” I would say “don’t interrupt me while I’m talking!” See, the cool thing about Cars & Coffee is that it is something of an organization now so there are meets in several places all across America; even in Europe! Just head to CarsAndCoffeeOnline.com to find the closest meet to you.
The real beauty of a 24 hour endurance race are the participants. Even though major media outlets tend to focus on a few major, well-funded teams in reality there are many other teams big and small who participate in races like this. Each team, no matter how big or small has their own story of how they got there and furthermore how they endured (no pun intended) something as grueling as a 24 hour race. In addition to the teams there is also the hundreds of photographers and journalist running from corner to corner, in and out of pits, searching for new spots to try and capture compelling still shots of an incredibly fast sport. There are also the fans, some of which traveled from great distances all just to sit in one seat or stand in one spot for hours to cheer on their favorite driver, team, car as it passes by them once every few minutes are so.
What is it like to walk in the shoes of each one of those people? What is an event such as that like for them? This is what my favorite cinema crew Clash Production asked themselves when they produced their latest video for Audi. Titled “Competition: A Thousand Experiences”, the guys at Clash attempt to briefly put you in the same place for as many people as possible as Audi competes in an endurance race. From driver, to mechanic, to crew, to photographer, to a fan, viewers of this video get a few seconds in something of a “first person perspective” view with each of those people all wrapped up in a near two minute piece of cinematic art.
Heads up: all the text associated with the video including the title and its YouTube description is all in French. However, it is not necessarily to understand the text to enjoy the video. Although if you really need to know that badly then you can always use Google translate. Anyhow, scroll down and enjoy the video below!
Anyone that knows me knows how much of an Iron Man fanboy I am so no one was more giddy than I was when the official Iron Man 3 trailer was released. I seriously watched the trailer like, 10 times! I figured it could not get any better until A: another trailer is released or B: the movie comes out. However today a tweet from Audi sent millions into an instant nerdgasim when they confirmed via an Instagram pic from the set of Iron Man 3 that Tony Stark has ditched the Acura NSX convertible concept and has come back to Audi with An R8 e-Tron!
Fitting that it would be an e-Tron is it not? Maybe it’s powered by a mini-arc reactor similar to the one that powers his suits? Maybe we will find out when the movie releases in May 2013. Either way its great to see the “Billionaire Genius Playboy Philanthropist” and Audi back together!
If you have not seen it yet, check out the official Iron Man 3 trailer below:
Clash Productions is a film team from France that produces some of the most dynamic, moving, impactful automotive flicks on the internet. They have expert editors, directors, and photographers and they probably know enough about the entire adobe suite to write their own book. However, sometimes a good video does not need a lot of special effects, camera pans, or fancy tricks to be good, just a camera in the right place at the right time is the only thing required as demonstrated below.
What you are about to watch is a gentleman getting the ride (and scare) of his life in a genuine Audi R8 5.2 LMS race car driven by Stephane Ortelli at the Bugatti circuit in Le Mans. If you can, you will want to turn up your speakers while watching this. Trust me on this one…
It is often said by many OEMs that they use motosports as a test bed for technologies that will crossover into their road cars. Of all the manufacturers who subscribe to that practice, Audi is well known for making nearly direct translations from track to street. Many of the things Audi lover’s enjoy today: Quattro, TDI, etc all came directly from Audi’s race efforts. In a new video series by Audi called “Moments Of Truth” we get some insight behind the historic moments when some of the most well known Audi innovations were born and proven. In the episode below we get the story behind Audi’s legendary 5 cylinder engine used in their 1989 IMSA/GTO race car at Sears Point raceway. Better yet, the story is told directly by Audi’s driver Hans-Joachim Stuck.
You definitely want to scroll down and watch this flick as I can almost guarantee it will be the most compelling 4 minutes of video you will watch all day!
Every now and then I come across a photo that is dripping with awesome, although I never seem to be motivated to do anything with it besides look at it. Well today I’ve decided take a page from some of my other car blog colleagues and start posting pictures that you guys can use as wallpapers. This first photo is of Audi’s R18 e-tron quattro race car that is heading to LeMans this year. Besides being on the forefront of motorsport technology, the R18 e-tron quattro is just damn good looking! I could stare at this thing standing still all day, and now you get to! Just click the thumbnail below to see the full size picture then right click and save!
Audi has some of the best industrial designers in the world in their employ and when you have super talented people like that working for you, they have to be kept busy; so when they aren’t designing cars they are putting their talents towards designing other things like skisor in this case an awesome BMX e-bike. The first thing you might notice about Audi’s BMX robo-beast is that there is no damn seat. This is because most stunt riders and BMX racers ride standing up. However for tricks like wheelies and the like, the carbon fiber frame is designed in such a way that it will support the rider as they lean back. Like Audi’s 4-wheel creations the e-Bike is equipped with disc brakes and a tuned suspension system to absorb hard landings. The heart of the bike is a 2.3kW electric motor powered by a lithium-ion battery that charges in about 2.5 hours. The electric motor can assist in pedaling, maintaining balance, training, and a few other modes.
Being an electric bike there are also LED lights, a touch screen to set the different modes, and smartphone connectivity so you can tweet your best tricks. I don’t really see that last part happening too much while in motion but nonetheless this is a pretty sweet bike by Audi. Although for now it seems to be just a concept. Which is probably just as well, because if they actually produced this thing it would likely have an MSRP that is almost as high as one of their cars!
If you want to see the Audi bike in action check out the video below of BMX rider Julien Dupont taking the e-Bike for a test spin.
This morning Audi presented the new 2012 A3 to the world at the Geneva Motor Show and I immediately want it! For those unaware, the A3 is Audi’s German response to cars like the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla but, more awesome. What really blows me away about the new A3 is that there is nearly as much tech in this “entry level” car as their is in their flag ship A8 uber luxury sedan. What kind of tech am I talking about? Try lane assist, side assist, active cruise control, and the damn thing can even read traffic signs! Well, kind of. The A3 has a system updates the driver on speed limits and other traffic regulations that may apply to a specific road. Although I am not sure if this particular feature will make it to the U.S. model. On top of all that other tech is Audi’s infotainment system which by itself is pretty slick.
The only downside to the A3 is that its initial production run will be front wheel drive only. However, Audi assures the press at large that a Quattro version with a more powerful engine is coming down the pipe. Although even in front wheel drive form the ’12 A3 is nothing to scoff at. You can still get a 1.6 liter TDI engine with a respectable 180hp as well as two other highly efficient TSFI engine options as well.
The international press release marks the A3′s release as this summer but I am unclear if that is a world-wide release date or just for Europe. Audi also sets the MSRP at 21,600 euros which comes out to just over $28,000 American. At that MSRP the A3 is a bit on the pricey side but given the tech included and the efficient engine models the sticker price may be worth it.
In 1996, Audi launched the premium compact segment with the A3 – now the third generation of the successful model is ready at the starting line. The new A3, which will debut at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, is a high-tech car full of innovations in all areas. Versions with hybrid and alternative drive systems such as natural gas and Audi e-gas are currently in development. A version with an exceptionally efficient 1.6 TDI engine will launch on the market in 2012; it consumes just 3.8 liters of diesel/100 km (61.90 US mpg), which is equivalent to 99 g/CO2 (159.33 g/mile).
Audi ultra lightweight technology has helped to trim weight in the body of the appealing three-door car – compared to the previous model, the new A3 is now 80 kg (176.37 lb) lighter. The chassis is tuned for a sporty and agile driving style. The engines are powerful yet highly efficient, the interior offers an ambience of dynamic style. In driver assistance systems and infotainment, the new A3 offers a portfolio of technologies that redefines standards in the segment.
The car’s styling visualizes the sporty character of the new A3; it gives the 4.24 meter (13.91 feet) long three-door model a powerful stance on the road. Sharp edges provide the outlines for dynamically curved sheet-metal surfaces. The overall vehicle length was kept identical to the previous model, while the wheelbase grew to 2.60 meters (8.53 feet), and the angle of the C-pillars was made low like that on a coupe. The single-frame radiator grille that is typical of Audi dominates the look of the front end. As an option, Audi can supply headlights in xenon plus technology together with LED daytime running lights; in this case, the taillights are also equipped with LEDs. Later on, full LED headlights will extend the range of features – and will be a first in the compact car segment.
Audi’s consistent application of its ultra lightweight construction principle has produced a new A3 1.4 TFSI that weighs just 1,175 kg (2,590.43 lb) – making it significantly lighter than cars of the competition. The front fender and engine hood are made of aluminum; the car body also integrates a high share of ultra high-strength and hot-formed steels.
The completely redesigned interior of the Audi A3 appeals with the horizontal lines of an instrument panel that appears to float, trendsetting quality of materials and workmanship as well as clear ergonomics. The four round air vents, elegant control panel of the standard air conditioning system and the instrument cluster are all highlights here.
The color display of the driver information system (standard on the Ambition and Ambiente equipment lines) presents graphics in highly detailed 3D images.
The electrically retractable MMI monitor – with a seven-inch diagonal in the top version – is only eleven millimeters thick (0.43 inches). The new electromechanical parking brake creates space on the console over the center tunnel for the terminal of the optional MMI operating system. In its full version – MMI navigation plus with MMI touch – the upper side of its rotary pushbutton is designed as a touchpad – another ergonomic innovation. The driver can input letters and numbers by finger motion as in the Audi full-size class.
Audi is offering the Attraction, Ambition and Ambiente equipment lines as selections on the new A3; they let the customer choose the specific vehicle character they are looking for. Designers have developed attractive colors and materials for each of the versions. Customers can choose from among many sporty and convenient options that extend up to adaptive lighting, magnetic ride suspension and a panoramic glass sunroof.
Another technical area in which the new Audi A3 is extending its leadership role is in its new high-performance driver assistance systems. They range from radar-assisted adaptive cruise control to Audi side assist, Audi active lane assist, traffic sign detection, park assist and the Audi pre sense basic safety system. None of our competitors offers a similar portfolio of such systems. 4/17 www.audi-mediaservices.com
In the infotainment area too, the innovative modular architecture hosts a whole array of components. It includes the sound system from Bang & Olufsen and MMI navigation plus. They are ideally complemented by the Bluetooth online car phone with WLAN hotspot. It gives passengers access to the Internet while traveling; for the driver, there are customized online services that make up the Audi connect package. The new Audi A3 will launch with three four-cylinder engines, all of which are essentially new developments. The two TFSI engines and the TDI work with 1.4, 1.8 and 2.0 liters of displacement. Their power levels are 90 kW (122 hp), 132 kW (180 hp) and 110 kW (150 hp). Compared to the previous model, fuel economy of the new A3 was improved by about 12 percent on average – with some engines the savings are even greater.
The 1.8 TFSI operates together with a standard seven-speed S tronic; the 1.4 TFSI and 2.0 TDI are paired with a six-speed manual gearbox. In each case, engine power is always transferred to the front wheels; quattro permanent all-wheel drive – and other engines, including a 1.4 TFSI engine with innovative cylinder on demand technology from Audi – will follow over the course of the next few months.
The chassis of the new A3 combines sporty driving fun with good comfort and impressive stability. The wheel suspensions form the foundation here, and the finely tuned power steering system has a highly efficient electromechanical drive. The ESP stabilization system integrates the electronic limited slip differential – which makes handling even more fluid and safe at performance limits when driving through curves.
The optional Audi drive select system (standard on the Ambition line) lets the driver vary the operating modes of key components – such as steering, the accelerator pedal and transmission characteristics (with S tronic) – for a customizable driving experience. It also incorporates the optional adaptive shock absorbers; they utilize magnetic ride technology from Audi. Wheels range from 16 to 18 inches in diameter.
The new Audi A3 will go on sale in the spring, and first deliveries to customers will be this summer. The base price of the A3 with the entry-level engine, which will follow around the end of the year, will be 21,600 euros in Germany.
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