We had already reported the rumours regarding doubts about the production of the Audi R8 V12 TDI seen at Detroit and then in Geneva as “Le Mans”. And it appears that there was a basis to the doubts as for the moment the R8 turbodiesel will remain a concept car. Underneath there were some who, believing it blasphemous to put a diesel engine on Ingolstadt’s sports car, hoped that this development would perhaps never occur.

But whoever is breathing a sigh of relief will have to tone down the joy as the interest raised at both shows means Audi has decided to go ahead with an R8 diesel. It’s a painful thing for the purists as while a 6.0 V12 was seen as out-of-character, what can be said about the adoption of a 4.2 V8 TDI of “only” 326hp for the company’s sports model? What is the “vulgar” Q7’s engine doing on this car?

It’s of little comfort to know that we’re getting close to the roadster version, as revealed by production manager Michael Dick. At this point we’re really curious to know what effect will be had by a R8 Roadster 4.2 V8 TDI…

Via | Autoblog.nl

Continue reading: Audi: the R8 V12 TDI will remain shelved, but a smaller diesel is on its way

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

Martin Winterkorn has only one aim: he wants Volkswagen to be one of the top selling carmakers worldwide. And every single model is important to achieve this ambitious target.

The Volkswagen New Beetle is nowadays a secondary model in the Volkswagen range so it will be replaced by an all-new car in 2012 in order to boost sales.

The 2012 New Beetle, as anticipated in this rendering from Auto Motor und Sport, will feature a new look, closely inspired by the previous model. The most notable differences are in the front air intake, that is now similar to the one on the Volkswagen Up! concept, and in the new LED front lamps.

The most important innovations, however, will be under the hood: the next-gen New Beetle, that will be built on the Golf VI platform and will feature the newest FSI, TSI and TDI engines made in Wolfsburg, giving a much needed breath of fresh air to the technical specs of the old model. We can also expect to see the excellent DSG dual-clutch gearbox on the 2012 New Beetle.

Continue reading: New Volkswagen New Beetle coming out in 2012

Recently, both Audi and BMW have shown their interest to produce small cars, even though their model range is made of luxury sedans, big SUVs and fast supercars.

Audi showed last week the Metroproject quattro at the Tokyo Motor Show, a concept car that foreshadows the looks of the next Audi A1. It will arrive on the market in late 2009 and its rivals will be cars such as the Mini Cooper or the future BMW supermini. The three-door variant is likely going to be followed by a five-door version and a convertible one.

Motor Authority published these two renderings in which the cabrio and 5-door variants keep many of the concept’s details, such as the aluminium arches and the LED headlights. The 18″ alloy wheels are unlikely to be kept for the production version.

Continue reading: Audi A1 cabriolet and five-door: first renderings

Volkswagen will be showing at the IAA 2007 in Frankfurt the Golf BlueMotion for the first time. For the most economical version of the popular hatchback, VW boasts an average fuel consumption of 4.5 liters/100 km and only 119 g/km of CO2 emissions. Fuel consumption if .06 liters lower than the Golf 1.9 TDI from which it derives while C02 emissions are down from 135 g/km.

The 1.9 TDI engine of the Golf Bluemotion has 105 hp and 250 Nm of torque, but its programming has been modified to lower the idling regime. There is also a new particulate filter, which lowers emission and absorbs less power. The gearbox has longer gear ratios in 3rd, 4th and 5th gear. The penetration coefficient (Cx) has been lowered from 0.32 to 0.30, thanks to an optimized underbody and a new radiator grille. The Golf Bluemotion also has tires optimized to lower rolling resistance. Top speed is up from 187 km/h to 190 km/h (o

Sales of the Golf BlueMotion will start late this year with prices from 20.615 € for the Trendline
specification (315 € more than the 1.9 TDI Trendline). Below the fold you’ll find the full text of the VW press release.

Continue reading: VW Golf Bluemotion