Road Strikers

AeroMax? Looks like an Aero 8 with a roof to me Yup, that’s exactly what it is. They’ve used their traditional ash frame for the bodywork and extended it to include the roof. The craftsmanship inside is gorgeous with a beautifully curved wooden central spine running from windscreen to boot floor. Like the Aero 8 the bodywork is made of aluminium and that’s also used in the roof. There are some other differences too. While the Aero 8 has got a 325bhp BMW engine (as had the prototype we drove), the engine in the new model’s has been boosted to 380bhp so performance will improve too. And then there’s the price tag… How much is it going to cost then? The AeroMax will set you back – deep breath - £110,000. That’s a princely £47,500 more than the roadster. It puts Morgan firmly into Ferrari, Aston Martin and Porsche 911 Turbo territory but company boss Charles Morgan claims it’s a logical progression. They’re only planni...

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 On the outside, the current model’s boxy front fascia with its near-rectangular lower air intakes has been replaced by a treatment that’s just as sporty but more elegant.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...

Third. We finished third. To launch the TDI version of its new A3 sedan, Audi arranged a fuel-mileage challenge. The goal? Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Coronado, California, on one tank of diesel. That’s a distance of 834 miles. We mollified ourselves with the age-old “well, at least we’re on the podium” chestnut. But technical editor Eric Tingwall chided us via Twitter, “Let me channel Sherman here: If you didn’t win, you lost. Sherman would’ve won.” If the mild-mannered, affable Tingwall is publicly wagging a finger of shame at you, it’s bad. And he’s right. Tech director Don Sherman would’ve won. We’d suffered 759 miles across New Mexico, Arizona, and most of the width of California. So when the nice man from Audi suggested that we wouldn’t make it—having hit zero fuel about halfway up the summit on Interstate 8—we stupidly believed him. That belief cost us what might’ve been a win. Perhap...

Call our response to the latest BMW M6 Gran Coupe and M5 sedan lukewarm. Our tests prove they’re plenty fast, but they lack the visceral communication and engaging soul that made the E39 M5 legendary. We ranked the M5 third in a comparison test against its Audi and Mercedes rivals. Now comes the Competition package, named not with the S6 and E63 AMG in mind but rather to denote track-day intentions. Realistically, few large, luxurious four-doors with six-digit sticker prices are going to flirt with racetrack guardrails, so think of the Competition package as a $7300 blue pill ($6000 on the Gran Coupe) that promises to revive the rorty, racing-derived spirit of the M subbrand’s heritage. The package is also available for the M6 coupe and convertible. Brief drives in the M5 and M6 GC show that the Competition pack never lets the driver forget he’s sacrificed comfort on the altar of trackworthy performance. Stiffer springs, dampers, and anti-roll bars, ride heights lowe...

For all the “four-door coupe” nonsense floating around these days, it turns out that the 6-series Gran Coupe was a great idea. Stretching the wheelbase of the handsome (and proper) 6-series coupe to accommodate an extra pair of portals imparted stunning proportions, and the resulting car has resonated well with buyers. Of course, it wasn’t long before BMW stuffed the beautiful shape with the most aggressive engine available in the 6er lineup, thereby creating the M6 Gran Coupe. This particular model was already fresher than the 6-series coupe, therefore very little has changed for this midterm facelift. And that's a good thing, as the M6 Gran Coupe is both better to drive and better to look at than the related M5 sedan. Fitted with the familiar 560-hp twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8, it delivers "monstrous performance" according to the carmaker's press release. Zero to 60 takes a claimed 4.2 seconds—we achieved a 3.7-second time with the 2014 model—and top...

The BMW M6 is a paradoxical car. Its name harks back to an epic road-burning coupe, one with a race-derived inline-six engine, but in its current form it is a gigantic and heavy luxury machine that just happens to be fast. In both coupe and convertible forms, the M6 weighs in at around two tons, heft that’s overcome using a 560-hp twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8. Against this discussion of mass, let us introduce the 2015 M6—it’s still big and porky, but it receives a light freshening this year, just as its four-door Gran Coupe and pedestrian two-door 6-series siblings do. Actually, light doesn’t even begin to describe the changes BMW has made to the M6 for 2015. The company changed almost nothing about the car’s design. While the regular 6-series receives new, lower front air intakes that are painfully reminiscent of Mercedes-AMG, the M6 keeps its previous "jetfighter" look intact, complete with an appropriately jet-styled central front air intake and its host of subtle aero...

The high-tech tour de force that is the new BMW M4 is packed with enough bits and bytes for the M faithful to seriously question what the Ultimate Driving Machine has become. Since the coupe shares its new-age guts with the equally fresh M3 sedan, we knew we needed to lay hands on a two-door with a proper enthusiast’s transmission: a row-your-own six-speed manual. As with the M3 we tested with the manual, the three-pedal setup is the best way to cut through the gauzy haze of the M4’s electronic wizardry. DO IT YOURSELF We’ve already covered the basics of the new M3/M4 in detail, including the lighter overall construction, advanced driver aids, and formidable 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline-six. Unlike the previous E92 M3’s high-revving V-8, the new S55 engine swells with torque and offers improved drivability. It may sound like an industrial air compressor at cold startup, but its full 406 lb-ft of twist hits at just 1850 rpm, with 425 horsepower peaking at ...

The new F80-generation M3 is drawing its share of cyber hate, mainly because of its engine configuration. Engines are (or should be) holy to a company whose name translates to “Bavarian Engine Factory,” and special powerplants should be part of what you pay for in any M car. But the new M3’s 3.0-liter turbo inline-six seems suspiciously similar to the lump fitted to everyday -35i BMWs. If the M3 has been reduced to a parts-bin fluff job, well, then God is dead and the war’s begun. On closer examination, however, this new double-turbo engine, named S55, proves to be as special as any M3 mill that came before it. For the most part, it’s a new design, with two air-to-liquid intercoolers, a stiffer closed-deck block, and a magnesium oil pan. It pumps out 425 horsepower at 7300 rpm and 406 pound-feet of torque just off idle, at 1850 rpm. Fans of great engine notes will quiver at its deep rumble—manlier and less cotton-stuffed than most turbocharged engine...

Despite the popularity of large, diesel-powered luxury sedans on the other side of the Atlantic, the segment exists in the current U.S. market thanks only to the Audi A8, which gained a 3.0-liter TDI V-6 option for 2014 to go along with its boosted gasoline powerplants. (Mercedes-Benz previously offered a diesel in the S-class but has yet to introduce one in the latest model.) Starting in 2015, however, BMW wants a slice of the A8 TDI Quattro’s tiny pie and is finally offering its silken inline-six oil-burner in the aging 7-series sedan, which has changed little since its last full redesign in 2009. A SOLID PLAYER Similar to the compression-ignition heart of the X5 xDrive35d crossover, the 740Ld’s turbocharged 3.0-liter six is rated at 255 horsepower and a hearty 413 lb-ft of torque at 1500 rpm. The ubiquitous ZF eight-speed automatic is the lone transmission choice, and the diesel is available only with xDrive all-wheel drive and the stretched, 126.4-inch wheelbase of the...