ABT Sportsline Gives New Audi RS4 Avant a Very Light Tune

With the aftermarket industry, there's always room for improvement, even with high-end performance cars like the Audi RS4 Avant, the latest generation of which was officially launched in Europe this autumn following its world debut at the Geneva Salon.



ABT Sportsline has treaded carefully with its tune for Audi's super-wagon offering some mild performance and styling upgrades.

While the company leaves the RS4 Avant's 450PS (444bhp) 4.2-liter naturally-breathing V8 untouched, it removes the 250km/h (155mph) electronic speed limiter allowing the estate to reach a maximum velocity of 290km/h (180mph).

It also replaces the stock exhaust system with a new stainless-steel unit that provides a "loader roar", as stated by ABT itself.

A new set of 20-inch two-tone alloy wheels that work together with 25mm spacers on each side, along with custom boot and floor mats, complete the German company's offerings for the RS4 Avant.

 

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RS6 Avant Gets the Vilner Treatment

Interior specialist gives Audi’s brutal wagon a body wrap and a classy cabin.

Bulgarian aftermarket house Vilner cares little for increasing horsepower or improving century sprint times. Its primary concern is making a car's cabin a better place to be, while it occasionally makes some mods to the exterior, as it has done here with the outgoing Audi RS6 Avant (whose successor was just released). A lime green vinyl wrap may not be to everyone's taste, but when offset with a black hood, roof and boot, and complemented by a set of Black Piano Varnish alloys, the powerful wagon is no laughing matter.

While the twin-turbo V10, good for 580 horsepower and a 0-62 mph time of 4.6 seconds, has been spared molestation, the RS6 Avant's aerodynamics were touched up, with Vilner adding a new carbon-fiber grille and diffuser. Inside is where Vilner really comes to life, and Audi's high-performance estate was treated to a comprehensive overhaul. Alcantara adorns the ceiling, door panels, steering wheel and gearshift, the seats feature Nappa leather inserts and bright green accent stitching, while green seatbelts were also added.

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Porsche Orders Macan Redesign

In light of the sharp looks of the Range Rover Evoque, Porsche designers opted to make styling changes to the upcoming Macan.

It's no secret that Porsche has been at work for some time developing a smaller SUV built on the same platform as the Audi Q5. Meant to fill the model slot below the hot-selling Cayenne, Porsche knew it could have a major sales hit on its hands, but only if the packaging was right. The thing is, Porsche previously assumed that it could design the Macan to look like a shrunken Cayenne. That idea worked until Land Rover unveiled its sharply-styled Range Rover Evoque and Porsche realized that a redesign was needed even before the car debuted.

This news comes to us today from Automotive News Europe which quotes Porsche's design chief Michael Mauer, stating that "We thought there were some details we could be more daring with....When I saw the Evoque, I thought, interesting, I like it." The Evoque has been a solid success for Land Rover, and Porsche wants its own share of the pie in the hot-selling luxury compact crossover segment. But Mauer wants to be clear that the Macan will not be a copy of the Evoque, but instead will feature Porsche design elements that could even be taken from the Panamera Sport Turismo Concept that premiered at Paris in September.

Expect to see the Macan officially debut sometime in late 2013 as a '14 model. Engine options will likely include a version of the Q5's 3.0-liter turbocharged diesel with 300 horsepower and 480 pound-feet of torque as well as a few gasoline engine options.

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Audi's R18 Ultra Lightweight Chair Made from Carbon-Fiber and Aluminum

Much in the same way that not all cars are made equal, not all chairs are made the same either. Case in point, Audi's impressive looking R18 Ultra Chair that made its debut at Design Miami this week (December 5 to 9).



Conceived by designers Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram, the R18 Ultra Chair prototype is named after Audi's R18 Ultra racecar and was developed in cooperation with the Audi Lightweight Construction Center.

It was first shown as a prototype at the Milan Furniture Fair in April, but has since been fine-tuned after and trial-tested by more than 1,500 (!) people during the development process.

The seating area is constructed from carbon fiber while the legs are made from aluminum, with the chair tipping the scales at just 2.2 kilograms (4.85 lbs)

No word yet on whether Audi has any plans to offer the R18 Ultra Chair for sale.

 

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Audi A1 Quattro Beats Nissan GT-R on a Wet and Twisty Track, Rains Cats and Dogs Over England

Pitting an Audi A1 city car against the almighty Nissan GT-R sounds silly, even if said A1 is the limited run Quattro model with a 253HP engine, a 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) time of 5.7 seconds and all-wheel drive, and the venue is a twisty and wet track.

The GT-R is much more expensive and has double the power, probably double the electronics, too, and is the car to have under those exact circumstances. Put simply, it’s probably the fastest production car bar none in such a scenario.

British publication Autocar and Editor Steve Sutcliffe beg to differ. Sutcliffe pitted those two cars against each other in a section of the MIRA test track that’s located in the former RAF Lindley airfield.

His verdict was that the Nissan GT-R Track Pack, fine supercar that it is, was all over the place as it was too heavy and couldn’t put its excessive power down on the road. The A1 Quattro, on the other hand, was much more composed and it could run rings (pun intended) around the Nissan.

To prove his point, he even did timed laps in both cars. You may want to sit down, because the A1 was way faster than the GT-R (no spoilers; you’ll have to watch the video to find out by how much).

Don’t check your calendar because it’s not April Fools’ Day. If you live in the West Midlands in England, though, you might want to check the sky for flying animals that go “oink, oink”...

Though in no way do we mean to be disrespectful to Mr. Sutcliffe and Autocar, but the verdict seems a bit weird, to say the least. Perhaps some more information, e.g. about the GT-R’s tires and whether both stability control systems were fully deactivated, would help clear things up a bit.

You can draw your own conclusions after watching the video that follows the break.

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Audi's New RS6 Avant Brings the Thunder with 552HP and 190MPH

It didn't take long for Audi to officially unveil its new super-station wagon model after the first images of the 2014 RS6 Avant started circulating around the internet earlier this afternoon.

With the RS6 Avant, it's mostly about the numbers, be that for performance or the sheer size of the car and especially, its humongous load area. We'll start with what will likely  pique your interest the most, and that's none other than the beast hiding behind the framed "quattro" logo on the front grille.



Out goes the previous RS6's 571hp (579PS) and 650Nm (479 lbf·ft) 5.0-liter bi-turbo V10, in comes a new twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 TFSI engine shared with other Audi's like the S8 as well as the Bentley Continental.

In this application, the V8 unit is said to produce 552hp (560PS) between 5,700 and 6,700 rpm and a constant 700 Nm (516 lb-ft) of torque available between 1,750 and 5,500 rpm, though, as one of readers pointed out in our previous posting, Audi may very well be a tad modest about these numbers…

It's worth mentioning that the new V8 features a cylinder on demand (COD) system, which at low to intermediate loads and engine speeds, allows the 4.0 TFSI to run as a four-cylinder engine to reduce fuel-consumption until the driver accelerates.

The eight-cylinder unit is paired to an eight-speed tiptronic and Audi's quattro permanent all-wheel drive system with torque vectoring.

And now the moment you've been waiting for, that is, if you haven't read our previous story:

Audi quotes a zero to 100km/h (62mph) time of just 3.9 seconds, which makes it 0.5 seconds faster than the older RS6, 0.4 seconds quicker than the new BMW M5 sedan and only a mere 0.2 seconds slower than the latest Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4!

As far as top speed is concerned, Audi customers will have three options. The base model will be fitted with the customary 250km/h (155mph) speed limiter, while the optional Dynamic package will allow you to hit 280km/h (174mph) and the Dynamic Plus, 305km/h (190mph).

Again, let us remind you that we are talking about a station wagon that measures 4,979 mm (196 inches) in length, features a luggage compartment that can hold up to 1,680 liters (59.33 cu ft), and comes equipped with all the luxury and comfort appointments one could ask.

Another thing we learned about the new RS6 Avant from the press blurb is that, while longer than the previous model, it actually weighs roughly 100 kilograms (220.46 lb) less than its predecessor, partially thanks to the extensive use of lighter materials. For example, around 20 percent of the body is made from aluminum.

This not only helps to improve handling, but also does its part to reduce fuel consumption by around 40 percent over the previous RS6 Avant at 9.8 liters per 100 kilometers (24.00 US mpg) on the combined cycle.

Audi's super estate also sports a heavily tweaked chassis featuring a standard, specially tuned air suspension or alternatively, a tauter sport suspension with steel springs and Dynamic Ride Control (DRC). There's also an electronic stabilization control (ESC) with a Sport mode that can be deactivated entirely.

Braking power is provided by four internally vented discs, with the front units measuring 390 millimeters (15.35 in) in diameter and gripped by black or red, six-piston calipers. Carbon fiber-ceramic brake discs measuring 420 millimeters (16.54 in) in diameter are offered as an option.

Audi's Quattro GmbH division made sure the RS6 Avant stands out from its lesser S6 sibling with a unique aero kit accentuated by the bulbous wheel arches that house 20-inch forged wheels as standard, or 21-inch cast wheels as an option.

The interior has also been upgraded, with Audi offering the RS6 Avant with two sportily molded rear seats as standard, or a three-person bench seat as an option.

European sales of the RS6 Avant will begin next year. And no, we do not know yet whether Audi will offer its super estate model in North America.

 

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