Autoblog

Click the image above for more renderings of the Seat Exeo

VW subsidiary Seat is, like The Jeffersons, movin' on up, rolling out a new range of vehicles that will push it into new market segments. The image above is one of a set of the automaker's Exeo sedan given to the trademark office in Spain. According to the company, "the new name stems from the Latin word 'Exire', meaning "to go beyond", "to go further", and "The name Exeo is advanced, forceful and technological, which signals excellence and is highly suggestive of driving pleasure." Ok...

Instead of creating something completely new to chart these unknown waters, Seat has taken a previous gen Audi A4 and given it front and rear clips in the Seat style. Seat will also use the A4 Avant body to create an Exeo wagon. The newish sedan is meant to compete with the Ford Mondeo, Renault Laguna, and Alfa Romeo 159 and will be launched some time next year as a 2010 model. It is expected to retail for £15,000 to £23,000 in the U.K. and we don't yet know which powerplants it will receive.


[Source: Autocar]

Click above for a hi-res gallery of the Audi R8 GT3 car

The courtship between Audi and GT3-class racing teams has officially begun with the automaker's announcement that it has developed a GT3 version of the R8 sports car dubbed "R16" internally by its project overlords at Audi Sport . The rear-drive racer (GT3 regulations prohibit AWD) features a six-speed sequential gearbox, mostly production-spec suspension components, plus an updated front end and a large rear wing designed to keep it planted to the tarmac. No additional tech specs have been revealed at this time. Factory driver Frank Biela was at the wheel for the prototype's roll-out, and customer deliveries are expected to take place next fall. Look for the car to see wheel-to-wheel action against the likes of the Aston Martin DBRS9 and Jaguar XKR GT3 during the 2009 European racing season. We patiently await its inclusion in a future Gran Turismo update so that we can try it out, too.


[Source: Audi]

Between the TT and the R8, Audi makes some pretty enticing sports cars. But there's a huge gap in the middle there, and the latest spy shots show a new derivative coming up to close the gap. Tentatively known as the TT-RS, the adrenaline-snorting top-shelf version of the stylish little Audi is expected to pack 350 horsepower thanks to a pair of sequential turbochargers driving all fours via a six-speed manual.

The undisguised bodywork on the test vehicle – spied undergoing hot weather testing in Arizona – looks suitably aggressive, while the output should close the distance between the 272-hp TT-S and the 420-hp R8, as well as compete directly with the 295-hp Porsche Cayman S. We don't have a launch date for the TT-RS confirmed yet, but the super-coupe looks just about ready judging from the spy shots, leaving us to wonder if we might see it as early as the Paris Motor Show in a month and a half.

[Source: World Car Fans]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Audi RS6 sedan.

All right. Now we're torn. RS6 Avant or RS6 sedan? Both are packing the same twin-turbocharged, direct-injected 5.0-liter V10 putting out 580 hp and 479 lb.-ft. of torque. Both send power to all four wheels through a six-speed tiptronic tranny and both can be equipped with absolutely massive 420mm (front) and 356mm (rear) ceramic brakes. While it's hard to deny the practicality of the wagon, we think the sedan comes across as more elegant – in a brutally Teutonic way. The voting will commence in the comments and check the gallery below for a plenty of high-res images from the show floor.

Midnight Club: LA is on its way, and the developers at Rockstar Games just released a new video of an Audi R8 doing its thing through the concrete jungle. The name of the game: arcade. Or better names might be 'free-for-all' and 'pedestrians, watch out!' It's cut like an MTV video, so it's hard to get a feel for the flow of the action, but all you need to know is that there'll be plenty of it -- action, that is. And if nothing else, it does seem to accurately depict how actual R8 drivers tend to pilot their cars... Follow the jump for the video.

[Source: Rockstar]

It's not often that an automaker invites the press to drive a developmental test mule, but that's just about what happened recently at the Ricardo test circuit in Valencia, Spain, where Audi brought out four examples of what's being called an S5 Evo for select members of the automotive press to sample.

While Audi is expected to unveil the new RS5 in March at the Geneva Motor Show, speculation has been running rampant as to what will be packed underneath the hood, with a turbocharged version and a V10 being touted as strong possibilities. The S5 Evo, however, was being driven by a tuned version of the S5's 4.2-liter V8 with 420 hp – instead of the standard 354 – that drove all fours through Audi's new S-Tronic twin-clutch gearbox. Whether his model will ever see the light of day remains to be seen, but could depend partially on public feedback. So what do you think, does an S5 Evo have a place in the Audi line-up between the existing S5 and the upcoming RS5? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

[Source: InfoMotori via Auto Unleashed]

Click above for a hi-res gallery of the ABT Q5

Every time a new Volkswagen or Audi is released, German tuner ABT Sportsline can be relied upon to come up with performance and appearance packages to enhance them. The latest ride to get attention is the Audi Q5, and as you can see in the renderings ABT sent out, the body kit helps matters, because the showroom-trim Q5 is actually pretty vanilla-looking. The new visuals are backed up by a modified suspension, 20" wheels, more braking power, and performance upgrades for each available engine. Depending on which mill is nestled underhood, horsepower in the ABT-tuned Q5 ranges from 240 horsepower for the 2.0 TFSI all the way up to 310 horses for the 3.0 TDI with the Power S package.


[Source: ABT Sportsline]

With the high-strung Audi RS5 looming large on the horizon, an entirely undisguised test mule has been spotted undergoing hot-weather testing in the infamous Death Valley in the southeastern United States. Picking up where the S5 left off, the test mule is wearing a new, more aggressive front end, which is expected to be matched around back by the time the model is unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show next March.

While these spy shots give us a more accurate picture of what to expect from the M3-rivalling Audi super-coupe visually, there remains much debate and speculation over what will be providing the motivation. The same 4.2-liter V8 from the RS4 remains one solid possibility, with the potential for a power increase to 450 hp. Other reports suggest that, like Audi differentiated the RS6 from the S6, the RS5's V8 could gain a set of turbochargers. Meanwhile, a third possibility involves shoehorning in the V10 from the RS6, with or without the turbos. Which option makes most sense depends on how Audi views the positioning of the RS5: a two-door RS4, or two-door RS6, or a beefed up S5. They all make sense to us and we'll have to wait and see what turns up. Either way, we have a feeling we won't be disappointed.

[Source: TCC]

There have got to be cheaper ways to go for a swim, but one driver apparently couldn't find one. The 33-year-old Dutch man from the town of Woerden in the Netherlands went by his local Audi dealership to check out a brand spankin' new R8 supercar... and then proceeded to drive it into the nearest river. The driver was reportedly speeding – 80 mph according to police, but closer to 125 if you ask some of the bystanders – in a 50 zone when he hit a bump, lost control and skidded into a dyke. Although local law enforcement authorities are reportedly investigating the incident, nobody was hurt. The same cannot be said, sadly, for the car, which is reportedly in a repair shop where the dealer's insurance company will surely declare it a write-off.

After Intersection magazine gave another Audi product the treatment by lowering it into a swimming pool in England – the same one that Jeremy Clarkson drove a Rolls-Royce into, by the looks of things – we can't help but wonder and worry if this isn't a developing trend. In the meantime, we'll do our part to remind the motoring public that although the R8 is an incredibly capable car, it is not a submersible Lotus. Thanks to everyone who sent in the tip.

[Source: AutoJunk.nl]

Click above to view a hi-res gallery of the B&B Audi RS6

A 580hp station wagon (or sedan, for that matter) seems like sheer lunacy in its own right, but it appears that the twin-turbo V10 in the Audi RS6 is capable of a great deal more. Following the release of the 702hp MTM-tuned RS6 M, fellow German tuning house B&B Automobiltechnik has an even more potent tuning package, boosting power up to a whopping 715.

So what did the power-hungry gearheads at B&B do to get a 120 horsepower boost out of the Gallardo-derived FSI? They didn't replace the turbos or fit a new supercharger, nor did they bore out the cylinder block for bigger displacement. They simply fitted a new intake, catalyst, exhaust and cooling system, and tinkered with the ECU. B&B are also offering an adjustable suspension and new springs that drop the ride height by 25mm. The result? A claimed 0-60 run in a scant 3.6 seconds. That's well into supercar territory, as many a Porsche and Ferrari driver are bound to discover when baited into an impromptu red-light drag race. Nice work if you can get it.

[Source: B&B via World Car Fans]