Month: February 2016

Audi drivers particularly busy at DTM test in Spain

From Tuesday to Thursday, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz prepared for the new DTM season in a joint test at Monteblanco (Spain). Audi Sport deployed two test versions of the Audi RS 5 DTM that were driven by Jamie Green and Mattias Ekström. Audi Sport’s test team reeled off about 3,200 kilometers on the three days in optimum external conditions. On Wednesday alone, the two Audi drivers combined did more than 400 laps: Ekström 206 and Green 200. On two of the three test days, Ekström set the day’s best time as well. From April 5 to 8, another pre-season test will be held at Hockenheim in which all eight Audi drivers are going to participate.

Ambitious GT racing program for Belgian Audi Club Team WRT

Longtime Audi Sport customer racing team Belgian Audi Club Team WRT announced its 2016 GT racing program at a press conference on Friday: With no less than five Audi R8 LMS cars, the team from Badour (Belgium) will compete in the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup. Four of the new GT3 sports cars from Audi will be entered by the team in all of the Endurance Cup races. An additional fifth car supported by Audi will also be entered at the Spa 24 Hours. In total, 14 drivers are part of the full-season line-up of team manager Vincent Vosse, which includes: The reigning Blancpain GT Series champion Robin Frijns and Audi drivers Laurens Vanthoor, Christopher Mies, Filipe Albuquerque and Pierre Kaffer. In addition to the Blancpain GT Series commitments, Belgian Audi Club Team WRT will also be fielding two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars in the GT Sports Club.

Land Motorsport with several programs

The new Audi customer racing team Land Motorsport is planning two programs plus individual endurance races in its debut season. The team’s Audi R8 LMS debuted in the Dubai 24 Hours in January. In May, Wolfgang Land’s squad will be contesting the Nürburgring 24 Hours as well. In addition, Marc Basseng (D) and Connor De Phillippi (USA) will be on the grid for the outfit based in Niederdreisbach in the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring. In the ADAC GT Masters, Land Motorsport is fielding two Audi R8 LMS cars. The driver pairings are Christopher Mies/Connor de Phillippi (D/USA) and Marc Basseng/Peter Hoevenaars (D/NL).

Audi Team Hitotsuyama with new Audi R8 LMS

Audi Team Hitotsuyama will be competing in the Japanese Super GT Championship with the new Audi R8 LMS for the first time. In its driver lineup, team owner Mikio Hitotsuyama’s squad has opted for continuity. As in the past two years, the Japanese Tomonobu Fujii and the Briton Richard Lyons are going to share the cockpit of the Audi in the GT300 class. The season encompasses eight events and will open at Okayama in the southwest of Japan on April 10.

Leena Gade at English Institute of Sport

Briton Leena Gade was a guest at the English Institute of Sport in her native country. The race engineer who has won the Le Mans 24 Hours for Audi three times to date spoke to an audience of invited guests as part of a workshop in Birmingham. Together with physicians, sports scientists, coaches from other sports and sports psychologists, she shared experiences from her work at Audi Sport on the topic of debriefing.

Dindo Capello at Audi Malta Motorsport Awards

Audi Sport legend Dindo Capello attended the Audi Malta Motorsport Awards on Friday. At the awards ceremony, the Malta Motorsport Federation (MMF) honored the best drivers and teams of its country. Three-time Le Mans winner Capello was in Valetta as a guest of honor and visited a dealers’ event hosted by the local Audi importer on Saturday.

Three of last year’s winners from Audi will be on the grid in the Eifel again. Christopher Mies (D), DTM driver Nico Müller (CH) and Laurens Vanthoor (B) are competing for Audi Sport Team WRT again. This driver lineup is completed by Pierre Kaffer (D), who has previously mounted the podium in his home race three times. In Audi Sport Team Phoenix, four former winners of the endurance race are set on continuing their previous success in the Eifel. The Germans Christopher Haase, René Rast, Frank Stippler and Markus Winkelhock will be taking the wheel of the Audi R8 LMS fielded by Ernst Moser’s squad. For the first time, the television channel RTL Nitro will be covering the race for 25 hours, the longest live television broadcast to date. In addition, the parent channel, RTL, will be joining the broadcast from the Grand Prix in Monaco. 

Two months later, at Spa, Mies is going to share the GT3 race car in Audi Sport Team Phoenix with Stippler and Winkelhock, two former winners. At its home round, Audi Sport Team WRT will be relying on the former winners Rast and Vanthoor, who are going to race together with Müller. “At both rounds, we’ll be meeting with strong competitors and feel that we’re well set with these teams and drivers,” says Romolo Liebchen, Head of Audi Sport customer racing.

The Q7 e-tron 3.0 TDI quattro is the first plug-in hybrid in the world to feature a V6 TDI and quattro drive. The SUV sets standards thanks to 275 kW (373 hp) of system power and 700 Nm (516.3 lb‑ft) of system torque. It accelerates from a standing start to 100 km/h (62.1 mph) in 6.2 seconds and consumes only 1.8 liters (130.7 US mpg) of diesel in accordance with NEDC. Its lithium-ion battery can be charged from the socket and stores 17.3 kWh. With its electric range of up to 56 kilometers (34.8 mi), the SUV covers large areas of everyday mobility.

The starting price in Germany is 80,500 euros. Popular optional equipment for the basic model worth around 7,000 euros is already included on the Q7 e-tron quattro as standard in Germany. LED headlights, MMI navigation plus with MMI all‑in‑touch and the Audi virtual cockpit are among the features included. The high-resolution TFT screen provides pin-sharp displays and graphics, including special views such as the power meter, the energy flow of the plug-in hybrid system, the range and the state of charge of the high-voltage battery.

In Germany, the standard items also include a charging cable for public charging stations and a charging cable that not only features power connections for domestic and industrial sockets, but also contains a graphic display. Thanks to the new two‑phase charging technology, full charging from an industrial socket with an output of 7.2 kW only takes around two and a half hours. That is an outstanding figure for this class.

The standard thermal management system with integrated heat pump has been specially developed for the plug-in hybrids of the Q7 family. Audi is the first manufacturer in the world to market this technology. This represents another benchmark achieved by the brand in terms of electric range, interior comfort and climate control efficiency.

The Audi connect module links the Q7 e-tron quattro to the Internet via the high-speed LTE standard. A new standard feature is the “Audi connect safety& service”. With the Audi connect e-tron services and the Audi MMI connect app, a smartphone can be used to remotely control the charging process and interior climate control, and to access data relating to previous journeys.

You can find all Audi e-tron partners with the help of the dealer locator at www.audi.com.

Fuel consumption of the models named above:

Audi Q7 e-tron 3.0 TDI quattro:
Combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 1.9 – 1.8 (123.8 – 130.7 US mpg)**;
Combined electrical consumption in kWh/100 km: 19.0 – 18.1**;
Combined CO₂ emissions in g/km: 50 – 48 (80.5 – 77.2 g/mi)**

**Fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions data as well as the efficiency classes are dependent on the choice of wheels and tyres.

The SmartTV app reflects the diversity of AUDI AG, spanning international automobile premières and product information, research and development, or events from the world of art and culture. “Smart TVs are becoming increasingly popular and widespread. The new Audi MediaTV app means that not only journalists but in fact anyone interested in Audi worldwide can watch our best films from the comfort of their own home in Ultra HD quality,” commented Wolfgang Rother, Head of Electronic Media at Audi Communications.

Audi MediaTV can also be accessed online at www.audimedia.tv

Lightweight and strong: the 3.0 TFSI 
The strong heart of the two new S models from Audi is a newly conceptualized 3.0 TFSI engine. The direct gasoline injection engine with turbocharging has an output of 260 kW (354 hp) and produces a hefty torque of 500 Nm (368.8 lb‑ft) from 1,370 to 4,500 rpm. In terms of power and torque, it surpasses the previous model while achieving considerably lower figures in weight and fuel consumption.

The turbo V6 engine accelerates the Audi S4 from 0 to 100 km/h (62.1 mph) in 4.7 seconds, and on up to an electronically governed top speed of 250 km/h (155.3 mph). The standard sprint takes two tenths of a second longer in the S4 Avant. In the NEDC cycle, the S4 Sedan only consumes 7.4 liters of fuel per 100 km (31.8 US mpg), which equates to less than 170 grams CO₂ per kilometer (273.6 g/mi). The Audi S4 Avant has a fuel consumption of less than 7.5 liters per 100 km (31.4 US mpg), which equates to 175 grams CO₂ per kilometer (281.6 g/mi).

Sporty and stable: handling
In the new S4 models, a fast and smoothly shifting eight-speed tiptronic handles power transfer. Their lower gears have short, sporty ratios, while the upper gears are long to reduce revs and fuel consumption. When the driver releases the accelerator pedal at a speed between 55 and 160 km/h (34.2 and 99.4 mph) the automatic transmission switches over to an efficient freewheeling mode.

The quattro permanent all-wheel drive makes a large contribution to the sporty handling of the S4 and S4 Avant cars. In normal driving, it distributes engine forces with a slight emphasis of the rear wheels – if necessary the majority of forces can be directed to the axle with better traction.

Torque vectoring optimizes handling and stability in fast cornering with minimal brake interventions. The optional sport differential actively distributes torque between the rear wheels.

The five-link front and rear suspensions enable significant comfort gains with emphatically sporty response. An alternative to electromechanical power steering is dynamic steering which varies its steering gear ratio according to the driving speed. 18‑inch wheels with size 245/40 tires are standard. Audi Sport also offers 19‑inch wheels. The front brakes have internally-vented and perforated discs that are 350 mm (13.8 in) in diameter. They are gripped by black (or optionally red) painted six-piston fixed calipers with S lettering.

The standard S sport chassis lowers the body’s ride height by 23 mm (0.9 in) compared to the A4 base model. The same height applies to the optional chassis with damper control. The Audi drive select handling system integrates what is referred to as CDC (continuous damping control) dampers along with the engine, steering, tiptronic and optional sport differential. This lets the driver control the characteristics of the engine and chassis over several modes.

Comfortable and spacious: the interior
The new Audi S4 and S4 Avant seats five people comfortably. The horizontal lines of the instrument panel with its wide band of air vents convey an impression of generous width. The S4 Sedan offers 480 liters (17.0 cu ft) of luggage volume, and the S4 Avant offers from 505 to 1,510 liters (17.8 – 53.3 cu ft) depending on the positions of the rear seat backrests.

The optional S sport seats have integrated head restraints, adjustable lateral supports and a pneumatic massage function. The standard seat upholstery is fine Nappa leather in the colors black, rotor gray or magma red with diamond pattern, contrasting stitching and an S badge. The color black dominates in the interior, which is set off by contrasting inlays made of matt brushed aluminum.

A new top highlight is the optional Audi virtual cockpit that displays all key information digitally and in detailed graphics on its 12.3‑inch screen. Views available to the driver include a sport mode centered around the tachometer. In the new MMI operating system, the flat menu structure is based on that of today’s smartphones, including intelligent free-text search. It suggests various search results after just a few letters have been entered. In addition, user operation is possible from the multifunction steering wheel or by natural language voice control.

State-of-the-art: infotainment and Audi connect
Infotainment in the new S models of the A4 model line is state-of-the-art. MMI navigation plus with MMI touch and an 8.3‑inch monitor top the infotainment range. MMI touch has a touchpad for zooming and scrolling and for entering characters. The system integrates the Audi connect hardware component, which connects the new S4 models to the internet via LTE. Passengers can use their mobile devices to surf the web, text or mail thanks to the integrated Wi-Fi hotspot. The driver meanwhile has access to the multifaceted online services offered by Audi connect. It is easy to control functions from a smartphone via the MMI connect app. The customer can lock or unlock the car doors, operate the optional auxiliary heater or find the parking location of the car in this way. The new Calendar service transfers the smartphone’s calendar into the car.

The Audi phone box, another optional feature, connects smartphones to the on‑board antenna by near-field coupling and simultaneously charges them inductively according to the Qi standard. The Audi tablet serves as a flexible Rear Seat Entertainment device. For very discerning hi-fi fans, the Bang & Olufsen sound system with its new 3D sound is available. The Audi smartphone interface brings Apple Car Play and Android Auto into the car. If the customer connects an iOS or Android smartphone to the USB port (iOS from 7.1, Android from 5.0 Lollipop), the smartphone’s contents such as navigation, phone, music and select third party apps are offered in a separate MMI menu. They can be accessed conveniently by MMI or voice control. Audi has designed both applications especially for use in the car. The core content here is online music with access to a large range of music from Google Play Music and iTunes. There are also navigation and notification functions as well as schedule reminders. In the future, the range of functions will be continually extended via third party apps like Pandora, Spotify and WhatsApp.

Leading role: driver assistance systems
The new Audi S4 and S4 Avant are right at the forefront in their class with a broad array of driver assistance systems. The systems come from the full-size class; their intelligent interplay represents the next step toward piloted driving.

The predictive efficiency assistant helps the driver save fuel. Adaptive cruise control maintains a specified distance to the vehicle ahead. The driver can set this distance and the control dynamics over several stages. Its Stop&Go function brakes the car to a full stop and lets it start off again automatically at the driver’s request. Over a speed range from 0 to 65 km/h (40.4 mph), traffic jam assist – another function of ACC – can also take over steering on well-built roads, as long as the traffic is moving slowly. The rear cross traffic assist, exit warning, turn assist, obstacle avoidance assist and Audi pre sense systems further enhance safety.

Sporty understatement: exterior design
The appearance of the new S4 models is sporty but not ostentatious. The bumper, air inlets and side sills feature distinctive contours. Many of the add-on parts are painted in graduated tones of matt gray. Aluminum inlays accentuate its design. The exterior mirror housings shine in aluminum look. The rear bumper integrates a black honeycomb grille, aluminum diffuser trim and four tailpipes.

An intelligent combination of materials makes the bodies very torsionally stiff, safe and lightweight. The new S4 Sedan with standard quattro drive weighs just 1,630 kg (3,593.5 lb), while the new S4 Avant weighs 1,675 kg (3,692.7 lb) – 75 kg (165.3 lb) than the predecessor models.

Extensive: the equipment
The new S4 models from Audi arrive on the European market in summer 2016. Their extensive standard equipment includes LED headlights, LED tail lights with dynamic turn signal, 18‑inch wheels with S-specific design, front sport seats upholstered in an Alcantara/leather combination and a leather-trimmed 3‑spoke sport steering wheel with multifunction plus.

The S4 Avant adds an electric drive for the tailgate and a luggage compartment cover. Audi can deliver optional high-tech features such as sensor control for the luggage compartment, a head-up display and Audi Matrix LED headlights. The latter control the headlight beam so precisely that oncoming traffic does not experience any glare. Another new feature is reduced headlight glare on traffic signs. When the light falls on a very reflective traffic sign, it is dimmed by around one-third in that area.

The price for the S4 Sedan is 59,300 euros. The S4 Avant is available starting at 61,150 euros.

Fuel consumption of the models named above:

Audi S4 and Audi S4 Avant
This vehicle is not yet on sale. It does not yet have type approval and is therefore not subject to Directive 1999/94/EC. The fuel consumption and emission figures named above are preliminary.