Month: August 2016

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Audi starts transmission production in China

Audi will produce 240,000 transmissions annually at the new facility and will have a work force of over 1,000 at full capacity. And thanks to the modular production set-up, the company can double the plant’s capacity in a later phase. “With our first local transmission plant, we have brought another key Audi competence to China,” says Joachim Wedler, President of Audi China. “The transmission production in Tianjin marks a milestone in our localization strategy.”

The factory is also particularly sustainable: It has, among other things, a heat recovery system and a roof that is designed to save power through the intelligent use of daylight.

The new 7-speed S tronic transmission from Tianjin will be used in models of the second-generation modular longitudinal platform (MLB). It combines sporty and comfortable driving with low fuel consumption. In combination with the 2.0 TFSI engine, the gearbox contributes to the class-leading efficiency and performance of the powertrain of the new Audi A4 L. The new generation of the premium mid-size sedan will be launched in China in September and features the lowest CO2 emissions in its segment.

The Volkswagen Group has produced dual-clutch transmissions for models based on the modular transverse platform (MQB) since 2014. The start of production in Tianjin marks the completion of the second phase of Volkswagen ATJ. AUDI AG (49 percent) and Volkswagen Group China (51 percent) are both shareholders of the company. “Volkswagen Automatic Transmission Tianjin creates synergies between the Group brands, further strengthening them. With efficient use of resources we live up to our promise of sustainability at every step along the way,” says Dr. Jochem Heizmann, President of Volkswagen Group China.

Audi has been active in China since 1988 and has since led the country’s premium segment. The Audi joint venture FAW‑Volkswagen produces the models Audi A6 L, Audi A4 L, Audi Q5* and Audi Q3* in Changchun in northern China. The joint venture plant in Foshan in the south of China produces the Audi A3 Sportback* and the Audi A3 Sedan*.

Fuel consumption of the models named above:

Audi Q5:
Combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 7.9 – 4.8 (29.8 – 49.0 US mpg);**
Combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 181 – 126 (291.3 – 202.8 g/mi)**

Audi Q3:
Combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 8.6 – 4.2 (27.4 – 56.0 US mpg);**
Combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 203 – 109 (326.7 – 175.4 g/mi)**

Audi A3 Sportback:
Combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 7.1 – 3.8 (33.1 – 61.9 US mpg);**
Combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 163 – 99 (262.3 – 159.3 g/mi)**

Audi A3 Sedan:
Combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 7.1 – 3.7 (33.1 – 63.6 US mpg);**
Combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 163 – 98 (262.3 – 157.7 g/mi)**

**Fuel consumption and CO2 emission figures given in ranges depend on the tires/wheels used as well as the engine/transmission version.

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FC Bayern starts the season with Audi

As always, for the squad of Manuel Neuer, Jérôme Boateng and Franck Ribéry the event in Ingolstadt was a highlight in its preparation for the new Bundesliga season that kicks off on Friday night. And hundreds of fans from the region, plus numerous Audi employees had the opportunity to see their stars at close range and to get autographs. For Coach Carlo Ancelotti it was the first visit to Ingolstadt.

FC Bayern München and Audi have been forming a team since the summer of 2002 and are now starting their 15th joint season. Highlights of the partnership include the Audi Cup that has been held as a preparatory tournament at the Allianz Arena every two years since 2009 or the Audi Summer Tour abroad. Just a few weeks ago, the brand accompanied Bayern’s training camp to the United States where the team met with AC Milan, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.

The squad’s choice of favorite cars reflects true team spirit, with 15 players opting for an Audi RS 6* (including Holger Badstuber, Xabi Alonso and Thiago Alcántara) and an Audi RS 7* (including Mats Hummels, Franck Ribéry and Robert Lewandowski) as particularly sporty models. New signing Renato Sanches selected a perfect car for urban traffic, the Audi A3 Sportback. Coach Carlo Ancelotti had already received his Audi S8 plus* in July.

– End –

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Audi Motorsport Newsletter 30/2016

A word from … Edoardo Mortara

The Audi driver about weeks with plenty of variety and the two DTM races at the Moscow Raceway.

The birth of your daughter, 24 Hours of Spa, a victory in the Audi R8 LMS Cup in Asia and the DTM in Russia – You’ve had a lot going on in your life since Zandvoort …

First of all, the personal aspects have to be separated from working life. The birth of our daughter on July 19 was a defining moment for my wife and me. On the sporting side, I had the opportunity to drive a couple of GT races which I always enjoy a lot. In the 24-hour race at Spa, I competed for the first time. That’s a great race with a tremendous atmosphere. The team was fantastic too. My commitment in the Audi R8 LMS Cup for Phoenix Racing Asia at Sepang also went really well. So, I’ve had a good time.

Back to the DTM: why was Audi struggling so much in both qualifying sessions at the Moscow Raceway?

Honestly, I’ve always had the impression that BMW was playing with us and showed their real potential this weekend. But we also need to analyze why in qualifying – especially on Sunday – we were so far away from being in contention. We rather have to look for the problem with us than with the others.

The two races highly differed from each other, with rain on Saturday and the comeback on Sunday. Your assessment?

I think I showed a strong performance in both races. On Saturday, I should have finished a little farther in front, but I’m happy about having scored points in both races.

On Sunday, you overtook a lot of cars. What was the best overtaking maneuver?

That’s hard to say. I had a couple of good maneuvers on Saturday as well. On Sunday, it was great fun starting from the rear and advancing to sixth place.

How was the last turn from your perspective?

I tried to make up another position. Unfortunately, that didn’t work. The way Robert (Wickens) drove was very fair and I didn’t want any contact with him. In the end, we crossed the line side by side with a gap of 0.0 seconds …

With a 30-point deficit separating you from Marco Wittmann, what’s still possible in the last six DTM races?

Everything.

Coming up next week
26–27/08 Le Castellet (F), round 4, GT3 Le Mans Cup
26–28/08 Virginia (USA), round 9, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
26–28/08 Budapest (H), round 4, Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup
26–28/08 Sydney (AUS), round 2, Australian Endurance Championship
27–28/08 Suzuka (J), round 5, Super GT

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Comeback by Edoardo Mortara at Moscow

In the battle for the best grid positions in the morning, none of the eight Audi drivers managed the leap into the top ten. Youngster Nico Müller in the Playboy Audi RS 5 DTM in position twelve was the best Audi driver on the grid. The title hopefuls Edoardo Mortara and Jamie Green (Hoffmann Group Audi RS 5 DTM/Audi Sport Team Rosberg) even had to settle for grid positions 17 and 19. “We didn’t manage to get the tires to work precisely the way they should have in qualifying,” said Dieter Gass, Head of DTM at Audi Sport. “The right compromise between a fast lap in qualifying and the long race distance is difficult sometimes. We need to carefully analyze this.”

In the race, the Audi RS 5 DTM then were among the fastest cars, which Nico Müller’s fastest lap proved as well. With a total of four drivers in the points Audi still managed to score a respectable result in the light of the difficult starting base.

The man of the race was Edoardo Mortara. The Italian made up five positions right on lap one and subsequently continued to thrill the spectators with spectacular overtaking maneuvers. On the penultimate lap, he bumped Mercedes-Benz driver Daniel Juncadella from position six. In the last turn, Mortara still attacked Saturday’s winner Robert Wickens as well and saw the checkered flag in a photo finish alongside the Mercedes-Benz. On the finish line, Mortara was short merely 67 thousandths of a second from position five.

“It was a good race for me. I gave my best,” said Mortara following his comeback. “Initially, I was struggling quite a bit with the new set of tires. But then grip came and I was able to close the gap to the guys in front of me. I tried to put pressure on them and that worked out pretty well. Obviously, having had a number of Audi cars around me helped today too. That was good teamwork and a nice feeling.”

Behind Mortara three other Audi drivers, Nico Müller, Adrien Tambay (Speedweek.com Audi RS 5 DTM) and Mattias Ekström (Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM), who drove a similarly strong race as the Italian, finished in the points. Miguel Molina at the wheel of the Teufel Audi RS 5 DTM in position eleven missed scoring a point in the thrilling finale by only 0.107 seconds. Timo Scheider (AUTO BILD MOTORSPORT Audi RS 5 DTM) and Mike Rockenfeller (Schaeffler Audi RS 5 DTM, both Audi Sport Team Phoenix) advanced from grid positions 23 and 20 to 13th and 15th place.

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DTM front runners moving together even closer

Rain determined the action on the race track near Moscow on Saturday. A preliminary decision was made in the morning’s qualifying session. After Audi had been battling for pole position for a long time, Mattias Ekström in the Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline in the end had to settle for grid position five as the best Audi driver, and the title hopefuls, Jamie Green (Hoffmann Group Audi RS 5 DTM/Audi Sport Team Rosberg) and Edoardo Mortara (Castrol EDGE Audi RS 5 DTM), even for positions ten and twelve.

Due to heavy rain, the race directors decided to send the field into the race behind the Audi R8 safety car. This meant that the Audi drivers had no opportunity to make up ground at the start. While Mattias Ekström defended his fifth place after the race was released, Jamie Green and Edoardo Mortara went on to battle their way forward to positions seven and eight in difficult conditions, which earned them valuable points. With Timo Scheider in the AUTO BILD MOTORSPORT Audi RS 5 DTM in position nine, Audi Sport Team Phoenix scored points as well.

“The championship has become even closer after this race,” said Dieter Gass, Head of DTM at Audi Sport. “In the teams’ classification, we’re in front again, in the manufacturers’ classification, we’re trailing Mercedes-Benz by only five points and in the drivers’ classification, Jamie (Green) merely has a four-point deficit separating him from Robert (Wickens). That’ll be very exciting tomorrow. Following a less than perfect qualifying for us, it was difficult to achieve more from these grid positions. The safety car start didn’t help us either because in rain the start offers one of the best overtaking opportunities. I think we extracted the best from the grid positions and showed a good team performance in the race.”