2007 Audi A4 Base Sedan 4-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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Audi readying 650-hp Sport Quattro Concept for Frankfurt

Remember Audi's perfectly lovely Quattro Concept from the 2010 Paris Motor Show? Of course you do. The latter-day Ur-Quattro is laser-etched in our brains as well - and not just because Audi was kind enough to offer our man Michael Harley a mountain drive of its seven-figure showcar. At the time, Audi hinted that the coupe might have a showroom future, but the gossip pipeline has long since gone dry, leading us to believe that the car's production hopes had soured.
That 2010 concept was powered by a 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine yielding 380 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque, a relatively modest but appropriate engine configuration in light of the Ur-Quattro's five-banger. Given the Quattro Concept's size and specs, it wasn't clear exactly where such a vehicle might fit into the company's lineup, though, as it already already offers the successful A5/S5/RS5 lineup.
Apparently, Audi might have a solution to that conundrum. A new report from Germany's AutoZeitung suggest that the automaker is posed to reveal a production version of the concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September - on the Ur-Quattro's 30th anniversary, no less. Word is that Audi is taking the Quattro Concept upmarket in a big way, with a tuned version of the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 from the RS7 churning up in the neighborhood of 650 horsepower. Naturally, all-wheel drive will get all that power to the ground, and new bodywork is expected as well. In addition to the powertrain switch-up, there is talk of extensive use of lightweight materials, including magnesium, carbon fiber and aluminum, with a target weight of under 2,900 pounds. Magnetic ride control suspension and carbon-ceramic brakes are also expected to find their way onto the model. Unsurprisingly, all of that extra equipment is likely to impact the car's bottom line - reports suggest its sticker price could crowd that of the mighty R8 at around $150,000.

X1, 3 Series power BMW back into global luxury autos sales lead

BMW managed to eke ahead of Audi for the global luxury sales crown in February. According to Bloomberg, BMW saw deliveries swell by 7 percent in February, besting the 3.2 percent jump enjoyed by Audi and giving BMW a 407-unit delivery lead over its rival last month. Mercedes-Benz, meanwhile, continued to falter, with the brand selling some 37,229 fewer machines than BMW, whose factories are running at full capacity to keep up with demand. Models like the X1 (shown above) enjoyed a sales increase of 40 percent in February while the company's bread-and-butter 3 Series jumped by 26 percent.
Mercedes-Benz hopes to stem its continued market share loss with the addition of the entry-level CLA sedan to its portfolio in April. The company is set to roll out an updated version of its cash-cow E-Class at the same time, and a new-generation S-Class will follow along shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, the company is increasing production to meet demand for its A and B-Class models.

Audi TT most likely to breed crossover derivative

Audi has been rolling out successive concepts based on the new TT. Aside from the production coupe and convertible, we've seen the Shooting Brake concept in Detroit, the Offroad concept in Beijing and, most recently, the Sportback concept in Paris. The clear message is that Audi plans on actually producing more derivatives of its stylish two-door, but the question is which one will come first?
Speaking with Britain's Car magazine in Paris this past week, Audi technical chief Ulrich Hackenberg indicated that, while the decision has still yet to be made, the crossover is the most likely candidate.
Producing the TT Offroad concept - or something like it - would give Ingolstadt another addition to its growing crossover lineup that already includes the Q3, Q5 and Q7. Whether this would come in addition to or instead of the rumored Q1 and Q4 models remains to be seen, but crossovers have become increasingly popular and profitable for German automakers like Audi.