Audi driver Allan McNish presents the Audi R8 V10, saying “it’s the best car Audi’s ever built” (then reflecting on that and saying that the best car Audi has ever built is, in fact, his R15 TDI but we’re unlikely ever to get the chance to drive one). Here, we get a close-up look and not only the perspective from a 24-hour Le Mans champion, but a person who understands what is involved in the daily driving of a sports car.

The R8 V10 has a 5.2-litre engine with 525 hp, which reaches 100 km/hr in just four seconds. But if you want to “toodle off down to the shops”, the Audi R8 V10 will do that for you, too. The video smells of too much PR (when does McNish actually show us how it drives) but as this is about as close as I’ll ever get to an R8 V10, I’ll still watch.

Continue reading: Allan McNish presents the Audi R8 V10

At the next Concours d’Elegance at Pebble Beach, the Ferrari contingent will comprise ten models of the 166 MM Touring Barchetta and four TR 59 models. For anyone lucky enough to be there, this is utter gold. The two models are some of the rarest and most sought after Ferrari’s in the world and it is highly unusual to see such a number present at one event.

The Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta is a 1949 model of which only 25 were ever built. This reunion of historic Ferraris is impressive on its own, but the TR 59 appearance is even more unique. The four that will appear are the only left from a production run of just five models.

The 166 MM name comes from the victory at the 1949 Mille Miglia race. In the same year, the Barchetta also won the 24 hour Le Mans. The TR 59 won its debut at Sebring in 1959 and the Le Mans 24 hours in 1960.

Continue reading: Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta and TR 59 at Pebble Beach

Audi has gone the whole shebang to celebrate the launch of its A4 Allroad Quattro and TT-RS, organising a football tournament on July 29 and 30 between Manchester United, AC Milan, Boca Juniors and Bayern Monaco at the Allianz Arena.

The four teams are all official partners of the company and will undertake the tournament to celebrate 100 years. Present at the unveiling at Audi’s Geneva stand was Rino Gattuso, West Brown, Willy Sagnol and Carlos Bianchi, though perhaps all piling into the A5 cabriolet was somewhat exaggerated.

To focus on the cars: Tom Kristensen appeared on stage on board the TT-RS to show off its performance figures. The top class Audi from the 24-hr Le Mans has 340hp and takes only 4.6 seconds to reach 100 km/hr.

Continue reading: Audi at Geneva: the TT-RS and football tournaments

Audi will be showing the new R8 TDI Le Mans in Geneva: it’s another study with the 6.0 V12 TDI engine (500 ps/1,000 Nm), but this time it seems ready for production and this seems to be the assumption underlying the press release.

The red color is a much bolder choice compared to the silvers and arctic whites seen up to now on R8 show cars, almost as bold a statement as the Le Mans name, there to underline the victories in Le Mans of the R10 TDI in 2006 and 2007.

Below you can find the full text of the press release, with all available details on the “diesel supercar” from Ingolstadt (4.2 s from 0-100 km/h, more than 300 km/h the top speed).

Continue reading: Geneva 2008 - Audi R8 TDI Le Mans