The Super Bowl is here, and so is Audi. Despite the German automaker’s reputation as a snob for using American football games as an advertising opportunity, a watchful eye must be kept. Audi of America will be debuting their first advertising appearance amid brawling players in 17 years.

For a minute of the Super Bowl’s first quarter, everyone has the chance to see how Audi of America will be doing an adaptation of The Godfather. “Audi selected The Godfather as a thematic foundation for its Super Bowl ad because the film expresses the idea of a new power rising in an established hierarchy,” the genius carmaker said in a statement with heads held high about its new campaign. They also leaked that there will be a 30-second version of the Super Bowl ad which will be released the following day, but they weren’t so keen on mentioning where it will air.

“On the day of the game, Audi guests who have previously opted in on Audi’s Web site will have the opportunity to view the spot early on a separate, dedicated Web site,” Audi of America said in an interview. “That Web site will also host additional footage from the filming and production of the ad.”

The advertisement will be blessed with stars such as the Audi R8, Audi’s first mid-engine sports car, and actor Alex Rocco, who will be remembered as Moe Greene in the first Godfather.

Source: edmunds.com

The German bearer of automotive legacy has finally unveiled the first 12-cylinder diesel engine Audi, the Audi R8 V12 TDI concept car. This high-performing sports car was introduced to a drooling crowd at the Detroit Motor Show. It boasts of an engine that is similar to the two-time Le Mans winning powerplant, the Audi R10, but this baby generates a manly 500 horsepower, and has the speeding ticket officer raging because of its above 300 kilometers per hour top speed.

The 100 kilometers per hour flag will be raised from zero within just 4.2 seconds, and its peak torque will be attained at 1,750 rpm. This wondrous beast works well because its V12 TDI belongs to Audi’s breed of V engines. But what is really interesting about this concept, is that its “chain drive layout” includes two neophytes high-pressure pumps for the common rail injection system. But, while these may be neophytes in service, they have already attained the ideal as they carry all the developments of the technology.

Donning a matte “Grace Silver” bodywork and adorned with “accentuated” wheel arches and bigger air apertures, the R8 V12 TDI looks quite wider than its predecessor. However, its glass roof which is just above the passenger compartment is the one that makes this Audi stand out. The roof is even divided with two big transparent sections. Together with the glazed engine compartment, make a whole new look for the R8 V12. Inside, the wide arc running around the three-spoked, flattened and lowered racing edition steering wheel and the instruments are very striking details for the interiors.

Wanna go for a drive? Just activate the start/stop button to wake the engine, and pick choose between the Drive Select and Dynamic Sport/Race modes which are to be found on the steering wheel. According to a release by earthtimes.com, “the latter controls the engine and transmission electronics as well as the magnetic ride dampeners in each of three different modes. In Race mode, the instrument lighting changes from white to red. The navigation system shows a combined display with lap timer and navigation information for the racetrack being driven. Supplementary information such as centrifugal force and boost pressure can be called up.”

Source: earthtimes.com

The Audi A6 Avant Quattro Wagon appears to have a strong pull for today’s upscale market. Manufactured to provide the best and most luxurious driving experience, the Audi A6 Avant Quattro, is being lauded by Warren Brown of the Washington Post.

The Avant Quattro is an all-wheel-drive wagon with four doors and power tailgate. The Avant Quattro has a powerful 1.8L Turbo or 2.4L V6 or 2.8L V6, 1.9 TDI, 2.5 TDI  engine with a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmission. It has a wheelbase of 2760 mm (108.7 in) and vehicle dimensions of 4796 mm (188.8 in)  \in length, 45974 mm (1,810 in) in width and 36880.8 mm (1,452 in) in height. The Quattro has a fuel capacity of  70 litres (18.5 US gal/15.4 imp gal).

The unique selling point for the Audi A6 Avant Quattro is its Multi-Media Interface (MMI) system. The system provided efficient navigation and infotainment technology. The MMI was an interface developed by Audi in order to minimize the number of dials and buttons that were found on the dashboard. The MMI has eight function buttons and a control dial. The function buttons call upon different menu interfaces in the MMI while the control dial is used to navigate through the menu. According to Brown’s article, the Audi Avant A6 Quattro is both “enjoyable” and “fun to drive”. In Brown’s own words, “I concluded that it offered an enjoyable ride. “Enjoyable” is different from what devotees of high-performance motoring describe as “fun to drive.” It is a matter of intensity. “Fun to drive,” for example, evokes thoughts of racetrack acceleration and crisp handling. It often relegates to second place matters of creature comfort. “Enjoyable” elevates creature comforts, but does not eschew elements of “fun to drive.” Instead, it puts them into perspective, strives for balance or, if you will, compromise between the two. This is what the all-wheel-drive A6 Avant (thus the “Quattro” part of the name) does brilliantly”.

The wagon is perfect for affluent families as he describes it to be an “ode to the aspirations and needs of affluent families, such as the desire for tangible manifestation of prestige, the need for excellence in automotive engineering and safety, the desire for coddling comfort, the need for utility”.

Its handling is impressive with a 255-horsepower V-6 engine. Fuel capacity is quite large at 3.1 liters. It can travel at 16 miles per gallon in the city and 24 mpg on the highway. Standard safety features include a “rigid body construction, electronic stability and traction control, four-wheel anti-lock brakes, all-wheel-drive and head and side air bags”.

Overall, the Audi A6 Avant Quattro is an impressive vehicle that is perfect for that comfort-loving, performance – demanding car owner.

Source: Audi strong with A6 Avant Quattro wagon

The new Audi A4 has not yet hit production and despite that, Audi is now taking in 33 000 pre-orders of the vehicle. After being available for test drives in countries like Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands, car buyers have been showing a great outpouring of interest over this vehicle.

According to Ralph Weyler, Member of the Board of Management at AUDI AG for Marketing and Sales, “At the time of market launch in the first European countries we already counted 33,000 customer orders. The orders received and the impressive response from customers and the media have exceeded all our expectations. From our perspective, this is an extremely positive sign. As our most-sold model, the Audi A4 holds a special significance with respect to our ambitious goals.” By 2018, Audi plans to double its sales in the United States.

The new Audi A4 is 185 inches long and is 4.5 inches longer than the earlier A4 model. I is also wider than its predecessor by 17.9 inches. The vehicle’s body style has also been improved for better aerodynamics. It now has a “front body overhang that has been considerably reduced and the bonnet and wheelbase are now noticeably longer. A long, coupe-style roof line meets the side sections of the body at an almost invisible zero-gap joint”. The vehicle has an increased wheelbase of 110.6 inches and rear passenger knee room has gone from 1.5 inches to 35.75 inches. The vehicle also comes equipped with “Xenon Plus” headlights (consisting of 14 LEDs) that have a daytime driving lights option. The new A4’s body shell is 10 % lighter than the previous model. It has two gasoline engines and can deliver 243 lb – ft of torque from 3000 to 5000 rpm. The car can accelerate to 62 mph in only 6.2 seconds.

These impressive features make for an excellent car which will be a delight on the road. No wonder people are all hurrying to place their orders for it.

The new Audi A4 will be available in showrooms in Spain and France this January of 2008.

Source: Audi Takes 33 000 pre – orders for A4