4RingsNews

Now even more powerful, lighter and faster: Audi presents a limited-production version of it R8 high-performance sports car, the R8 GT. The output of its 5.2-liter V10 has been increased to 412 kW (560 hp); vehicle weight has been reduced by roughly 100 kilograms. The R8 GT accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 3.6 seconds and reaches a top speed of 320 km/h.

Dynamic design, enthralling performance and exemplary efficiency – the Audi TT, in both the Coupé and Roadster versions, is the very embodiment of a sports car. Now Audi is making the compact model series even more attractive. The design of the lightweight bodies made primarily of aluminum and the interior have been revised with great attention to detail.

AUDI AG is looking to invest in renewable sources of energy. In support of this goal, Audi this week signed an agreement with the international consortium “Desertec Industrial Initiative”. The long-term goal of the joint venture is the climate-friendly production of energy in the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East.

In a weekly column Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen gives some exclusive insights behind the scenes of the world’s most famous endurance race and the preparation by Audi Sport Team Joest.

After the victorious test race at the Le Mans Series season opener and a successful 30-hour test at Le Castellet (France) the Le Mans dress rehearsal is now on Audi Sport Team Joest’s agenda: on May 9, the three Audi R15 TDI cars will contest the 1000-kilometer race at Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium).

Automobili Lamborghini will be the main sponsor of Bologna city’s stand at Expo 2010 Shanghai, opening on May 1. Among the models shown by the world-famous Italian super sportscar manufacturer, the newly launched Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera will feature prominently.

Blancpain Reiter Engineering’s Marc A. Hayek and Peter Kox claimed two victories and a second-place finish at the first round of the 2010 Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo season at Hockenheim, Germany, on 23-25 April 2010.

Robert Downey Jr. has returned to his role as the ingenious engineer and Super Hero Iron Man. The world premiere of Iron Man 2 took place on Monday in Los Angeles. Along with Robert Downey Jr., several other big names accompanied director Jon Favreau down the red carpet,  and right in the centre of things, the Audi R8 Spyder.

Audi is giving its name to and acting as title sponsor of the world’s most popular regatta series for as much as the third year and now a boat of its own sporting the colors of the brand with the Four Rings will compete in the series as well: the “Audi A1 Team powered by ALL4ONE” is making its debut at the MedCup season opener in Portugal from May 11 to 16.

Automobili Lamborghini is in Paris to showcase its leading expertise in the development and application of carbon-fibre technology (CFRP) at the world’s pre-eminent trade show in this field of technology. Lamborghini is the Honoured Guest of the JEC Composite Show, where Lamborghini’s Director of Research and Development Maurizio Reggiani holds an opening address.

Italian super sports carmaker Lamborghini surprised audiences at the 2010 Beijing Auto Show with a highly exclusive edition of the Murciélago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce. The Chinese Edition is limited to not more than ten numbered cars and will be offered to the growing group of sports cars collectors in China only. Furthermore the Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera celebrated its Asian premiere on the Beijing auto show.

After another historic sales record year in 2008, Automobili Lamborghini saw a decline in turnover in 209. In the wake of the crisis on car markets worldwide, turnover decreased from 478.8 million euros to 281.0 million euros. Deliveries from January to December 2009 reduced by 37.7% from 2,430 to 1,515 units worldwide.

GT3 France: Bruno Hernandez and Soheil Ayari clinched the first victory of the season for the Audi R8 LMS at Lédenon. In the first of two races of the French GT Championship the duo from the Audi Team Oreca commandingly prevailed against two Ferraris.

Mike Rockenfeller was the best Audi driver in the DTM season opener at the Hockenheimring. Quotes from the Audi camp after a turbulent race.

The 2010 DTM season opener at the Hockenheimring did not go according to plan for title defender Audi: several punctures and a tactical error deprived the brand from Ingolstadt of a possible victory. In the end, Audi had to settle for places five to eight after three consecutive triumphs.

Martin Tomczyk will start from the front row at the 2010 DTM season opener at the Hockenheimring (Sunday, starting at 1:45 p.m. – local time – live on “Das Erste”). Quotes from the Audi camp after qualifying.

The qualifying session for the first DTM race of the year (Sunday, starting at 1:45 p.m. – local time – live on "Das Erste”) fulfilled the expectations which experts had of the new season: a razor-thin margin of 76 thousandths of a second separated the fastest Audi from the best Mercedes-Benz.

In a weekly column Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen gives some exclusive insights behind the scenes of the world’s most famous endurance race and the preparation by Audi Sport Team Joest.

Right in time for the start of the new season Audi puts the DTM and all other racing series in which the brand with the four rings is active on the iPhone, the iPod Touch and the new iPad: the “Audi Sport” App is now available for downloading from the App Store – free of charge of course.

The hearts of fans of historic motor sport will beat faster on the first weekend in May. They may have the good fortune to witness the moment when two legends meet up again: Auto Union racing cars from the 1930s and Monte Carlo, the jewel in the annual motor sport calendar.

U.S. car dealers see Audi as the premium brand with the best prospects for the future. This was the finding of the semiannual survey by the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), which was published this week. Already in the course of 2009, U.S. car dealers observed the greatest increase of value in the Audi franchise, compared with all other premium brands.

This makes the partnership between the manufacturer of the world’s most successful energy drink and Audi one of the longest in DTM history, particularly since the corporation founded by Dietrich Mateschitz in 1984 had supported Team Abt Sportsline in fielding its TT Coupés in the DTM in the two preceding years.

Listening to music in the car is nothing new, but driving a car in a piece of music certainly is. An iPhone app dedicated to the new Audi A1 makes it possible: The player steers the A1 through a world that pulsates to the beat of the music. There are nine different rock songs from which to choose.

Refined style, agile driving fun and elaborate technology – the Audi A3, the A3 Sportback, the A3 Cabriolet and the S3 are the sporty models in the compact segment. Audi now displays its premium character even more explicitly through new attentive details on both the exterior and the interior.

The new A8 is a concentrated high-tech package that confirms the Audi claim to technical leadership – “Vorsprung durch Technik”. And now the brand is introducing the top version of its flagship model. The A8 L W12 quattro, with a long wheelbase and a twelve-cylinder engine, sets new standards of luxury, dynamism and efficiency in the top automobile manufacturing league.

Whereas silver was the dominant color of the Audi R15 TDI last year, the 2010 model boasts a radical new design that features more red. In addition, large areas of the Le Mans race sports car that is internally designated as "R15 plus” will be kept in a purist black carbon-fiber look.

Audi will present itself to the general public with an impressive line-up and activities galore at the DTM presentation in Wiesbaden on April 18. In the capital of the state of Hesse Audi will promote Europe’s most popular touring car series that starts at Hockenheim a week later with all nine Audi "factory” drivers, Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, four Audi A4 DTM cars, an Audi R8 V10 and a car parade.

The Audi R15 TDI, model year 2010 (internally labeled "R15 plus”) has won its race début at Le Castellet (France) and in doing so left a strong impression.

The DTM Champion in flat-out mode: after two consecutive DTM triumphs Timo Scheider has spent the past few months preparing for the title defense. The most recent item on the agenda of his sporting high-altitude flight: a sky diving training session.

The Audi R15 TDI, model year 2010 (internally labeled “R15 plus”) has won its race début at Le Castellet (France) and in doing so left an extremely strong impression. The technically further developed diesel racing sports car ran the entire distance without the smallest problem during the test race.