Audi A7 Debuts Today, R8 Prices Announced, E-tron Wins Rally

Posted on Apr 9, 2018 in Racing | Comments Off on Audi A7 Debuts Today, R8 Prices Announced, E-tron Wins Rally

Audi has come a very long way in the U.S., recently announcing it has sold 2 million cars here. From only two models in its early days (40 years ago), we now have I don’t know how many. And another is launching today: the A7 Sportback (above).

Based on a 2009 concept shown at Detroit, the A7 is going to challenge the Mercedes CLS andBMW’s 5 Series GT—or maybe its Gran Coupe sedan, rumored to be in the works. The success of the Panamera has taught all these guys a lesson.

Sources from Deutschland tell us that mechanically the car is based on the A6 and will offer diesel or gas V6 power, including a new 3-liter, 290-hp motor. Quattro AWD and an S-tronic dual-clutch transmission will be part of the package.

And, in case you were wondering, the R8 Spyder will be available here “as soon as next month.” This is the top sports car in the Audi lineup, and prices were just announced: $161,000 for the V10 Quattro with manual transmission; $170,00 for the car with R-tronic automatic.

These machines are hand-built and will move you to 60 mph in about 4 seconds. Details are in the press release here. It tells us, among other far more interesting facts, that the R8 Spyder was “the car of choice for main character Tony Stark in the blockbuster action film Iron Man 2.” If that isn’t reason enough to buy one, what is?

The company also hasannounced that the RS5, a hotted-up version of the successful S5, is coming to the U.S. This car has a 4.2-liter V8, producing 450 hp with Quattro AWD.

Finally, we read that the R8 E-tron won an important rally for electric cars in Austria against some tough competition—namely Tesla’s Roadster and the Mercedes SLS E-Cell. The rally included a tough mountain-climbing stage, one of three which the E-tron won. No wonder: The car produces 502 lb-ft of torque through four motors.