Road Strikers

The collective concept car design show titled “From Dream to Reality” took place in April 2009 at the Kamal Aldin Behzad Gallery in Teheran, Iran. The purpose of the event was to present the works and showcase the abilities of young Iranians graduated in Industrial and Transportation Design. One of the Iranian students, Kave Naser Bakht, created the Audi D7 concept, a flashy super sports concept car. Audi D7 is a sports concept car with an electric engine in front. Although the most striking part of the design is the use of neon lights, not just for flashy body, but even for tail lights and headlamps (the light belts act for both) which make the car easily recognizable at night. The D7 concept is streamlined and aerodynamic in design, integrating detailed aggressive visual elements on a sporty looking body. This electric car is one surprise which remains yet to be completely exposed. Not much information is out about what idea is exactly under the hood, but designers from ...

As Audi’s lineup gets ever more diverse it becomes harder and harder to guess which niche they’re going to try and fill next. The company’s current flagship saloon is the A8/S8, but Russian designer Vasiliy Markin thinks they can go one better so he’s come up with his own luxury saloon concept called the R9. The Audi R9 concept draws on several of Audi’s past and current vehicles for inspiration. Its angular lines were inspired by both the original Ur-Quattro coupe and the 2010 Quattro concept. The R9’s sloping roofline is modeled on that of the A5 and A7 Sportback models. In terms of competition the Audi R9 concept is designed to go head-to-head with the likes of the Porsche Panameraand the Maserati Quattroporte. To make sure the R9 concept would have performance to support both its chiseled good looks and role as Audi’s most expensive saloon, Vasiliy envisages a front mounted V8 engine coupled to a quattro AWD system. HHave more information about this car than please comment us or...

Equipment Included: Audi A6 54" Wheel base extension with Mohawk style vinyl roof matching body color 4 Desks in aluminum, folding, air craft style for work and meetings and Center Console Insulation in roof, sides & floor panels, Rust inhibitor to underbody Upgraded suspension package Upgraded front & rear suspension Turbo Air High output A/C evaporator system Emergency reserve starting battery Rubber backed reversible heavy duty floor mat Heavy duty Mercedes Benz carpet w/Jute Backing All leather seatings Pioneer AM-FM Radio w/Single Disc CD/DVD TV screen model in center console All Mercedes Benz matching leather seating surfaces Single power divider w/ luxury privacy shade Forward facing 40x40 stationary split seats and arm rest Rear facing stationary split seats with full center console for electronics and radio system AC vents that close completely, OEM storage compartment in rear armrest High intensity reading lamps, front & rear, & storage...

Equipment Included: Audi A6 30" Custom Extension - Rolls Royce Edition Center panel with glass or solid panel All leather seatings Mohawk vinyl top with factory rear window Upgraded suspension package Rear vanity mirrors Two 12 Volts electric ports Tissue box and trash chute on package tray AM FM CD radio in overhead cockpit 2 LCD TV facing seats Exit assist straps and coat hooks Side consoles for storage Window tinting to rear compartment Drive line extension fully balanced Hardwood center console glassware and ice chest 5/8" Wool felt temperature control insulation on floor Double radiant barrier insulation on roof and side panels Rubber backed reversible overlay mat Rust inhibitor application to underbody Additional AC and heat Evaporators 1 Auxiliary heavy duty 9" pusher fan LED Overhead reading lamps over forward facing seats Single glass or privacy divider Hands free intercom system All fiber optics moved and extended to match factory elec...

The Audi Quattro Spyder concept was presented at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 1991. The Quattro Spyder was an aluminium bodied mid-engine sports car. It would not be until 2008 that Audi would produce a similar car in production form - this being the superb Audi R8. Powering the Audi Quattro Spyder was a 2.8 litre V6 developing 174 horsepower and 181 ft/lbs of torque. The 5-speed manual gearbox sent the power to all four wheels - obvious considering the 'Quattro' name. The aluminium body of the Audi Quattro Spyder concept is roughly 30% lighter than a comparable steel structure, resulting in an overall weight of 1100 kgs (2425 lbs). This prominent use of aluminium now features on many of the models Audi produce today. When the Audi Quattro Spyder was initially introduced it drew plenty of attention. However despite the positive reaction it was to remain a concept, and only two prototypes were produced, one orange and one green.

The Audi R25 was Audi's entrant in the 2008 LA Auto Show Design Challenge. The R25 is designed for the 2025 Los Angeles round of the ALMS. The theoretical future racing series incorporates innovative features never previously seen in any form of motor sports, such as high-velocity banks and tunnels, which allow cars to race "inverted" and the opportunity to pass anywhere with aerodynamic racecars. All top sections of the tunnels and banks are also WiTricity wireless electrical charging zones, which encourage the drivers to utilize these free energy zones instead of fuel stops. The Audi R25 is designed to utilize and excel in this new racing environment, with features such as: - The new Dynamic Space Frame, allowing much greater degree of flexibility, integration of circuits and rigidity - Algae bio fuel for endurance and electric motor capability through Wireless power transfer technology - Audi Design: Staying true to the "Form is Function" philosophy, the...

The Audi A9 concept is a stylish proposal for a luxury sports saloon which was developed by the talented Spanish designer Daniel Garcia. Garcia's previous work includes the Ducati 6098 R concept from 2009. The A9 concept would be positioned higher than Audi's current flagship model, the A8, and is aimed at other top-end luxury saloons like the Porsche Panamera, and if it ever went into production, the Lamborghini Estoque. The styling of the A9 concept was partially inspired by the stunning architectural style of Santiago Calatrava's buildings in "La Ciudad de las Artes y de las Ciencias" (The City of Arts and Sciences) in Garcia's hometown of Valencia. This influence can be seen in the clean flowing lines of the vehicle and futuristic styling features. Calatrava's buildings look like they come from 100 years in the future, and so does this. The single-piece windscreen and roof is formed from an as-yet undiscovered nanotechnology material which features ...

The new 2016 Audi TT is quite competent and good fun to drive, but 220 horsepower just doesn’t cut it for most enthusiasts in today’s performance environment. We’ve become spoiled rotten by affordable coupes and sports cars, many of which pack at least two more cylinders than the Audi. It’s a good thing, then, that Audi is once again offering a TTS model, perfect for aesthetes with a speed fetish. To be launched in America in mid-2015 as a 2016 model, it gets an estimated 292 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque from its EA888 turbocharged four-cylinder. (European models, such as the one we drove for this review, have slightly more power.) But while it brings no additional cylinders to the table, the 72 additional horsepower and 22 extra lb-ft are extracted from the turbo four without sacrifice. Just like the TT, the TTS’s EA888 is very responsive by turbocharged-engine standards, and it emits a slightly more pronounced variation of the same well-honed, misc...

I've done bad things. I have committed crimes beyond incessant speeding. I have stolen. I have lied. I have cheated. I may have forgotten to put any of it on my résumé. But I haven't transgressed enough to earn a new S8. This is a villainous luxury car, one so wicked that merely hopping behind the wheel should make you a person of interest to Interpol. Yes, for the 2013 model year, Audi has recast the S8 as a sedan mastermind, dumping the old model's 450-hp V-10 like a disloyal henchman. The replacement 4.0-liter V-8 is the twin-turbocharged and features cylinder deactivation that allows it to run as a V-4, just like in the A8. But here it's making 520 horses and 481 pound-feet of torque. That's 100 more horsepower and an additional 75 pound-feet compared with the A8, thanks to more boost (15.9 psi versus 12.3), revised valve timing, and more efficient intake plumbing. This violent V-8 makes Audi's plot to take over the world likely to happen more swiftly. It ...

Audi’s lineup of hatchbacked sedans is being refreshed for 2016. Having already driven the updated A7 and RS7, it’s time for us to focus on the model those cars bracket: the S7. It receives cosmetic and mechanical updates that seem minor but go a long way toward making a great car even better. On the outside, the current model’s boxy front fascia with its near-rectangular lower air intakes has been replaced by a treatment that’s just as sporty but more elegant. The new LED head- and taillamps of the A7 and RS7 are here, too, while the S-trademark quadruple exhaust pipes remain. Under the hood, the S7’s twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 has gone to the gym, muscling up from 420 horsepower to a nice, fat 450. Torque is unchanged, but 406 lb-ft should do the trick for just about anyone. If the engine sounds familiar, that’s because it spreads far and wide across the Audi lineup (as well as Bentley), finding a home in the engine bay of the S6 and RS7, amo...

We’d say that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, but, between the Audi A4 and A5, we’re not sure which is the female and which is the male. We don’t know what it says about us, but we like them both. The A4 and A5, we mean. Following the lead of the recently face-lifted Audi A5 and S5, Audi’s A4 and S4 sedans get similar cosmetic updates and technological additions for the 2013 model year. It’s a little obvious to say that the most evident change to the A4 and S4 is the front fascia, but it’s unavoidable. The new headlights and rounded nose very much mimic those of the new A6, giving the car a more streamlined look. Even if you’re not a geek for automotive design, compare this car with the A4 of the late 1990s and it’s easy to appreciate the influence of angles and creases on cars that previously looked like suppositories. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that—we hear suppositories have low wind resis...

There are two paths to creating a high-performance sedan. First, install a large and powerful engine under the hood. Then, you can either announce its presence to the world by adding spoilers, fender flares, a body kit, stripes, scoops, and assorted whirligigs—or you can avoid all that and keep the power in hiding. The exemplar of the latter approach is the Audi S6—the sleeper from Ingolstadt has always flexed its muscles beneath a tailored suit. Audi has given the car more power and altered the suit a little to stay in fashion with this midterm refresh on the S6, which will come to the U.S. as a 2016 model. Extroverts may prefer Audi’s approach with RS models, say the RS7, which is to make them even faster (and more expensive) than the S models but also to more brazenly proclaim their ultrahigh performance with giant air intakes, fender flares, and overstated wheels. But that’s not to everyone's taste. Subtle hints like relatively discreet quadruple exhaust pi...

When Audi’s S5 coupe debuted for 2008 as the first model built on the company’s B8 architecture, we demonstrated little restraint in praising its sexy sheetmetal and the 4.2-liter V-8 nestled between its front fenders. Styled by Italian-born design chief Walter de’Silva, the S5 and its slightly less potent A5 stablemate ushered in a new era of Audi design, one that has seen exterior aesthetics elevated among company priorities to a position alongside performance and technology. The duo was joined shortly thereafter by a sassy pair of cabriolet doppelgängers—albeit with a 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 in the S5 droptop rather than the S5 coupe’s hearty V-8—followed by the 2013 U.S. debut of the ultimate manifestation of performance within Audi’s 5 lineup, the quick but clinical RS5. Strength in Numbers Aligning with its droptop analogue, the 2013 S5 coupe has dumped its 4.2-liter V-8 for the increasingly ubiquitous 333-hp supercharged six. (T...

So here’s a question for Audi’s marketing department: Why should anybody buy an S4 sedan? The new S3 is cheaper, quicker (4.4 seconds to 60!), and, although this won’t trigger a buying impulse in everybody, considerably cuter. Sure, it’s down a couple of cylinders compared with its bigger brother, and it has to make do with a less sophisticated four-wheel-drive system. But this is 2014 and the world is downsizing; even the BMW M3 has given up two pots. Let’s start with the obvious point that the S3 you’re looking at here has its steering wheel on the wrong side and wears a license plate that looks like an eye chart for myopic pensioners. That’s because, although the S3 doesn’t touch down stateside until September, it’s already on sale in England. So we sourced one in the U.K. and arranged to infiltrate a former U.S. airbase to record performance numbers, then did a whistle-stop tour of ridiculously quaint Shakespearean burgs with na...

Are diesel engines and sports cars mutually exclusive? Most enthusiasts might say so. Compression ignition works well for long-distance cruisers, pack-mule pickups, and SUVs, and in Europe, there are even a few diesel-powered coupes and convertibles for the patient and the parsimonious. Sports cars, on the other hand, are all about aggressive response, charging to the redline, and emotional acoustics. Like oil and water, the two just don’t mix. But a new sort of homogenization is underway. The Audi RS5 TDI prototype that we just flogged at the brand’s handling track at Neuburg an der Donau has managed to reset our notions of diesel engines. This 385-hp 3.0-liter V-6 TDI—still a prototype, but close to series production—has closed gaps with gasoline engines in areas where diesels used to be hopelessly outclassed. As you might expect with 553 lb-ft arriving at just 1250 rpm, response at tip-in is brisk. From rest, the RS5 TDI charges forward without delay. In a d...

Audi hasn’t wasted any time with its mid-term update for the A8, which arrives just a few months after the launch of the new Mercedes-Benz S-class. In an effort to keep its flagship sedan competitive, Audi has given the A8 upgraded powertrains, more equipment, and a fresh new look. Believe it or not, the brand’s trademark "Singleframe grille" has gotten smaller. The unit’s height has diminished, now sporting seven horizontal blades rather than eight, but it does hang over a singular lower air intake that stretches across the width of the car—except for the S8, which keeps its pair of intakes. The headlights feature a new, less aggressive contour, and, in Europe, customers get their choice of xenon, LED, or Matrix LED headlights—the latter's high beam is emitted from 25 single diodes on each side, which are individually dimmed or switched off to avoid blinding drivers in oncoming vehicles. (Unfortunately, because of 1960s legislature banning active headlamp...

Audi has faced criticism about its cars all looking the same in different sizes, like matryoshka, those Russian nesting dolls. Consider the A7 a counterpoint. A large hatchback sedan based on the A6, it doesn't look like the A6 or even the not-for-the-U.S. A5 Sportback. Every crease is its own, and the overall shape is informed by 1970s and 1980s sports cars. The A7 is one of our favorites, making three appearances on our 10Best list and winning separate comparison tests against the BMW 640i Gran Coupe and the Mercedes-Benz CLS550. As with the A6 and S6, Audi has upgraded the 2016 model, available from the first quarter of 2015. The front end looks more contemporary with a subtler grille and slimmer LED headlights. Restyled taillights present a more horizontal and angular look above rectangular exhaust outlets. Audi offers two engines for the U.S. The 3.0-liter V-6 TDI diesel with an output of 240 horsepower and 428 lb-ft of torque carries over unchanged; the 3.0-liter V-6 TFSI s...

When we first saw pictures of the face-lifted 2016 Audi A6, we weren't immediately thrilled. One of the brand's more conservative designs looked to have received a lukewarm makeover to the styling it has worn since the current generation arrived as a 2012 model. Yes, the A6’s flowing lines are popular with customers, but to our eyes they always lacked tension, falling just short of Audi’s standards. There was little elegance in the details; its LED headlights were somewhat crude, the overbite of the taillights downright strange. Audi has cleaned up these details, added rectangular exhaust outlets, and left the rest alone. Now having seen the revised car in person, we are pleasantly surprised. The inner workings of the headlights are subtly handsome, the lower front air intakes look better resolved, and the taillights are more tidily integrated. Audi also added several new, more appealing wheel styles. Without touching the sheetmetal, the designers made a somewhat stale shap...

What It Is: A detailed look at the second generation of the gorgeous Audi A5, the better-looking brother to the four-door A4. Audi will continue to offer the A5 in coupe and cabriolet forms in the U.S., while Europe will again be treated to the five-door Sportback model. Like the next-gen 2015 A4, the new A5 will feature cutting-edge telematics and assistance systems; a futuristic interior; and tech gadgetry including full-LED headlights, a head-up display, and autonomous driving functionality. Why It Matters: Audi has led the segment along with BMW since the A5 was introduced in 2007, but never has the competition been this fierce. BMW’s 4-series is all-new, as is Lexus’s RC and Cadillac’s ATS coupe, while Mercedes’ freshly introduced C-class will spawn a two-door next year. If the A5 is to maintain its place at the top of the heap, it must place further emphasis on sportiness and its designers will need to improve upon an already spectacular shape—a tall...

What It Is: The next arrow in Audi’s quiver, which the German automaker will draw and aim at the entry-luxury horde. Seen here in camouflaged prototype form, the 2016 A4 sedan is being developed to go up against the rejuvenated Mercedes-Benz C-class, the stalwart BMW 3-series, and fresh competitors from Cadillac and Lexus. Why It Matters: Today’s luxury brands are judged nearly as closely on the quality of their more-ubiquitous entry-level wares as on their long-wheelbase range-toppers. As such, the A4 is a critical model for Audi, even though the Q5 crossover barely edges it out in U.S. sales. To build more drama, today’s A4 not only sees external sales pressure, but it also faces an internal threat with the introduction of the smaller A3 sedan. The two are priced closely for now but the 2016 A4 will grow more expensive, and it will need to live up to that higher MSRP as well as outclass Benz’s luxe new C-class. Platform: The 2016 A4 will migrate onto the Volk...