Audi has Pothole Power

With the arrival of more and more self-driving and electric cars, Audi is taking innovation to the next level. Audi is creating a suspension that will recharge your batteries as you go over bumps and potholes.

Audi has been working on all-electric cars for a while now, and they have already succeeded with the widely successful e-Tron. Now, Audi is trying to make it easier for you to charge your car without taking up time at your charging station. By using the motion already generated while your cars drives. Currently Audi using Regenerative Braking to help recharge the batteries, but they are planning on moving to a system that harnessing the energy generated by bumps in the road and potholes that litter the streets.

Today, most cars use a traditional coiled metal spring in tandem with a fluid-filled shock absorber that controls the vehicles movement over bumps and around corners.  On luxury and high end vehicles, they have started using a variable-valve or magnetically controlled shocks. Audi has changed the game with eROT (short for electromechanical rotary damper). This uses suspension arms and a series of gears as leverage on an electric motor.

This new system has three main advantages to this system.

1.    The system is more compact than existing suspension systems, and thus gives designers more room for trunk and cabin space and close hugging bodywork.

2.    Instead of physically pushing oil through a shock absorber, this systems allows for more flexibility allowing engineers to tune suspension via software.

3.    And finally the most significant is that the motor harvests energy with every bump, storing kinetic energy to be used later.

"Every pothole, every bump, every curve induces kinetic energy in the car. Today's dampers absorb this energy, which is lost in the form of heat. With the new electromechanical damper system in the 48-volt electrical system, we put this energy to use. It also presents us and our customers with entirely new possibilities for adjusting the suspension."

-Stefan Knirsch, Audi board member for Technical Development

While it is still a ways off that Audi will implement this technology, we are looking forward to its arrival. Until then check out Audi’s current electric vehicle the e-tron and contact us to test drive your today!

Audi R8 Spyder is the King of Convertibles

For those who want supercar performance and open-top cruising, you can now order the new Audi R8 'Spyder' convertible. 

The Audi R8 Spyder features a convertible roof that can close in 20 seconds while going 31 miles an hour, meaning you only have to deal with the rain for a short period of time before the top is up. To compensate for the lack of a roof, the Audi R8 Spyder has been given a touch of structural reinforcement.

            It has a weight of 3553 lbs, which is noticeably higher than the V10 Plus Coupe, by almost 150 lbs. Torsional rigidity also takes a hit compared with its hard-top sibling, although the use of the multi-material Audi Space Frame, comprised aluminum and carbon fiber makes the new R8 Spyder 50 per cent more rigid than its predecessor.

Perhaps the saddest news is the monstrous V10 Plus engine output is missing. Even with absurd levels of performance and a bit more puppy fat, the R8 V10 Spyder manages claimed 24.1mpg and CO2 emissions of 445g/mile thanks in part to the addition of stop and start.

The cabin of the car is also a sight to behold, largely because it is stylish and comfortable but also because the usual dials are replaced with a screen. The gauges are now on a 12.3-inch, fully digital display that uses 3D graphics to let you know what is going on in terms of your speed, the song you are currently streaming, navigation directions – all the stuff you want right in front of you. Another addition is the Audi smartphone interface, which originally debuted in the Q7 and A4. Connect an Android or iOS smartphone and certain content is displayed in the aforementioned Audi virtual cockpit display.

                                                                   

"The R8 V10 Plus is not just a formidable supercar, it's one you would willing want to drive to the shops. To work. To bloody anywhere you can think of because, quite honestly, you will never want to venture outside of the cabin."

The Audi R8 V10 Spyder has a starting price of $129,990. Orders are open now and Audi said first deliveries are expected in 'late 2016'.

 Contact us today to schedule your appointment today to get your R8!

Audi on brink of design and tech revolution

Starting in 2017, the next-generation A8, A7, A6 and Range Rover Sport-rivalling Q8 – the first all-new models to be overseen from start to finish by design director Marc Lichte, who joined in 2014 - will all arrive in quick succession (and in that order). Together they will usher in a new era of more adventurous exterior design sleek button-less interiors and autonomous capability, or ‘Artificial Intelligence’ as Audi plans on branding it.

The A8 will also blow raspberries in the Tesla’s general direction with a “level 3 piloted system,” an autonomous function to you and I, that can take total control of the car up to 60mph, with the potential for over-the-air upgrades in future should legislation let driverless speeds increase. A parking pilot function will let you step out of the car and parallel park it, or back it into your garage, remotely via your iPhone, while a smart phone app will let you ditch your car key altogether.

Where Lichte will really lay down his design marker, though, is in late 2017, with the all-new A7. The idea this time around is to create greater differentiation between the A6 and the four-door coupe A7, but make both a lot more dramatic to behold than the current cars. Both the A7 and A6 (and A6 Avant, complete with an even bigger boot) will all be on sale in the UK by mid-2018, and sport a longer wheelbase, plus wider and lower proportions with bigger wheels – up to 20-inchers.

The A7 gets a full-width taillight bar to denote it’s the flagship model in that particular pillar of the Audi range. The A7 also distinguishes itself from the A6 with a flatter, wider grille, a similar plunging roofline to the current car and a second feature line below the traditional shoulder crease that Lichte calls the “equator” line. The new Q8 – a lower, wider, more luxurious five-seater cousin to the Q7, that will sit atop Audi’s burgeoning SUV line up when it goes on sale in late 2018.

The Q8 shouldn’t be confused with Audi’s forthcoming pure electric SUV – a model previewed by the e-tron quattro concept and already confirmed for production sometime in 2018. The car is expected to have a minimum 300-mile range and slot in the space where you’d imagine a Q6 to sit, although it’s expected to wear an e-tron badge rather than being called the Q6. Got all that?

Check out our current line of Audi’s and Contact us today!

Taking on Tesla

For the last few years, there has been one leader in electric cars, that has been Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors. And now Audi is preparing to challenge Tesla as the king of the electric car.

Audi, is a division of Volkswagen Auto Group which traces its roots back to 1885. Audi is using the VW-AG expertise of the German carmakers by making “exponential” increases in range for electric cars by 2020, and making the vehicles more attractive to a wider range of customers.

The luxury-car manufacturer is the largest earnings contributor to Volkswagen and plans to start selling its first all-electric vehicle in 2018. With development costs in the range of some "billion-euros," Audi will leverage its experience with automotive mass production to push e-cars into a new era.

Audi A3 e-tron

Other than Tesla, the market is slim for all electric vehicles, with the Nissan LEAF being the most popular. When Tesla announced the new Model 3, they collected deposits for almost 400,000 new cars, so the demand is already there.

"Tesla lacks experience with classical auto manufacturing. We have different experiences." Stefan Niemand, -German engineer who is the architect of Audi's electric-car strategy

The Volkswagen Group, sold almost 10 million cars last year, and has just started to dip its toes into the electric car market, with the Golf hatchback and the Up! City car. VW-AG plans use that manufacturing prowess to introduce more than 30 electric cars by 2025. They forecast sales of as many as 3 million of its battery-powered vehicles annually by then.

Check out our other fine Audivehicles or contact us to get yours today!

Lapping the Ordinary – Audi A5 Gets All Dressed Up

            Developed and designed using technology pioneered on the racetrack; Audi’s S and RS lines are engineered to have more muscle and growl as they take corners better than their trimmed down A-series siblings. Audi is currently looking to “significantly expand” the presence of the RS in the U.S. according to Filip Brabec – director of product management.

 2017 RS5 Concept Revealed

            Produced to rival their BMW and Mercedes counterparts, the “S*” (Sport) and “RS” (Racing Sport) line are scarce in the U.S. compared to other countries. The 2017 RS5 is rumored to have an estimated 500hp twin-turbo V6 and a redesigned body kit to give it a more aerodynamic and aggressive façade. A cinched up belt line and some shiny new shoes give the RS5 that fashionably late feel when you can’t help but pass by the competition.

“The racetrack isn't just a place where our drivers win trophies. It's our lab.

 Everything scrutinized, pushed beyond the limits and proven to reach new heights. That said, the trophies are pretty nice, too.”

            It’s speculated the RS5 won’t rear its head any time before 2017, but the recently redesigned A4 gives Audi drivers hope as they sit waiting for the next detail to be revealed. Every ounce of innovation is designed to make each moment in an Audi performance model more epic than the last. Contact us to find out more about your pre-order. 

Audi Wins Yet Another Top Safety Award

We all know that Audi is synonymous with reliability. After this year, it should also be recognized for its great safety features. Audi is cleaning up in the awards circuit yet again, topping the world renowned Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) with the highest score attainable. 5 Audi Models are IIHS Top Safety Picks + for 2016. The models are the 2017 A4 and Q7, and the 2016 Q5, A6, and A3. Some brands are lucky to even get one IIHS Top Safety Pick. To achieve not just five top picks, but with a + rating is truly remarkable.

Audi pre sense city with automatic emergency braking earned the A4 a “superior” rating for front crash prevention. The standard Audi pre sense city with automatic emergency braking earned the 2017 A4 a “superior” rating for front crash prevention. The system helps detect moving and stationary vehicles as well as pedestrians, at speeds of up to 52 mph and can initiate braking when a potential collision is detected.

In regards to the A4 being selected as a top safety pick, Scott Keough, President of Audi of America said, "We are very proud to have the IIHS recognize the A4 with this prestigious rating, More and more customers are seeking driver assistance systems when making their vehicle purchase decision, and the A4 demonstrates some of the best technologies available today. Having both the Q7 and now the A4 be awarded Top Safety Pick+ ratings further demonstrates our commitment to the highest levels of safety and technology in our vehicles.”


IIHS tests two different parameters: Crashworthiness, how well a vehicle protects occupants in a crash, and  crash avoidance and mitigation, which measures technology that can help prevent the crash.

The 2017 Q7 received the highest possible rating in the Small Overlap front crash test and achieved a superior rating in front crash prevention. “This year’s Top Safety Pick+ award for the 2017 Q7 represents our brand’s longstanding commitment to bringing innovative technologies to the market,” said Scott Keogh, President Audi of America. “The Q7 demonstrates our leadership in many of the advanced driver assistance systems today that will form the future of piloted driving tomorrow.”

For your top safety Audi, be sure to visit us at Audi Quad Cities