Lamborghini has given its flagship Murcielago – the LP640 – the open top treatment. Conceptually, the Roadster offers no surprises, but its spec is no less breath-taking and its looks truly put the super into supercar. Named after the power output of its uprated V12 in PS, the LP640 has numerous cosmetic tweaks including revised rear lamps and bespoke 18inch rims, and a thorough engineering overhaul. Expect deliveries of the drop top in early 2007, with a likely price tag around £200,000.

Labels: Lamborghini

On the eve of the Los Angeles Motor Show, DaimlerChrysler, AUDI and Volkswagen announced that they intend to establish the BLUETEC brand name as the designation for particularly clean, highly fuel-efficient passenger cars and SUVs with diesel engines. Under the shared concept of BLUETEC, each of the manufacturers involved will be working on their own technical systems for meeting the world's most
stringent emission regulations.

AUDI:
Audi stands for sportiness, progressiveness and high quality -- for "Vorsprung durch Technik". Audi currently makes the Audi A3, Audi A4 and Audi A4 Avant and the Audi S4 at its Ingolstadt plant, the Audi A6 and A6 Avant, Audi A8 and Audi RS 4 in Neckarsulm, and the TT Coupe and TT Roadster at AUDI HUNGARIA MOTOR Kft. in Gyor, Hungary. The Audi Q7 is built in Bratislava. The Audi product range is rounded off by the Audi A4 Cabriolet, which is made by Karman.
The new Audi R8, made by quattro GmbH in Neckarsulm, is the first super sports car in the Audi range. Audi stands for "Vorsprung durch Technik" (leadership by technology), and this guiding principle finds its expression in the company's products. Prime examples of this include the quattro full-time all-wheel-drive system, aluminium bodywork (Audi Space Frame in the Audi A8 and R8), the S tronic Direct Shift Gearbox featured in the Audi TT and Audi A3, and the advanced TDI and FSI engine technology. Audi is a pioneer in diesel technology -- both on the road and on the racetrack. The
R10 TDI sports car was the first diesel ever to win the legendary "24 Hours of Le Mans" race and the ALMS Series in America. Audi will also be putting the world's most powerful diesel on the road, in the form of the Q7 V12 TDI, with an output of 500 horsepower and 1000 Newton metres of torque.

Labels: Audi, VW

Sheer sportiness, high power reserves plus a stirring driving experience – cue the new TT Roadster from Audi. The open-top two-seater, available in two engine versions, has retained all the strengths of its successful predecessor and added even more emotion, performance and dynamism. It is a sports car built to appeal to all the senses.

AT A GLANCE

- New dynamic, striking exterior and interior design
- Body using innovative ASF principle incorporating aluminium and steel, with roadster-specific reinforcements
- Dimensions: L 4.18 m, W 1.84 m, H 1.36 m, wheelbase 2.47 m
- Light fabric top, optionally with fully automatic control and soundproofed (standard on 3.2 quattro)
- Electrically operated wind deflector (standard for 3.2 quattro)
- Load-through hatch for two pairs of skis up to 1.90 m long
- Powerful petrol engines:
- New: 2.0 TFSI developing 147 kW (200 bhp), 280 Nm
- 3.2 V6 developing 184 kW (250 bhp), 320 Nm
- Manual six-speed gearbox and six-speed S tronic
- quattro permanent four-wheel drive for the V6 version
- Audi dynamic suspension with transverse-link front suspension and four-link rear suspension
- Speed-dependent power steering as standard
- High-performance brake system with ESP with sports settings
- Innovative Audi magnetic ride damping system as option
- New generation of steering wheels: leather sports steering wheel as standard
- Leather/Alcantara upholstery on 3.2 quattro
- Audio system and (on 3.2 quattro) automatic air conditioning as standard
- Optional: DVD-based navigation system
- Optional: adaptive light cornering light with xenon plus
- The equipment, data and prices stated here refer to the model range offered for sale in Germany. Subject to amendment; errors and omissions excepted.

Labels: Audi

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We’ve just returned from the automaker’s Concept Tiguan unveiling, held at Raleigh Studios on Melrose Avenue. Fittingly, the small SUV’s rollout played more like a hip Hollywood scenester party than a vehicle reveal, with numerous celebrities to be spotted (Christian Slater, Zooey Deschanel, Jaimie King) and rapper Ludacris performing. We’re not altogether sure what having Twiggy Ramirez of Nine Inch Nails as a deejay or what the other celebrities have to do with the product, but we’ll let you all sort that out.
Being car guys and gals, we figured you would be more interested in the SUV itself anyway, which is “very, very close” to production form. Thus, we focused on getting as many shots of the Tig’s introduction as possible, with a few random atmospherics thrown in for good measure.

Labels: VW

Maintaining the ‘baby Touareg’ appearance of the Concept A, Concept Tiguan makes a bold styling statement. At 4.4 metres long, 1.85 m wide and 1.69 m high, it is very similar in size to the Touran compact MPV (4.4 m, 1.8 m, 1.6 m). Klaus Bischoff, who was responsible for the exterior design of the car said: ‘It was very important for us to have the car appear powerful and muscular. For us that was a higher priority than anything else. An off-roader needs a long hood and an upright position. That lends the vehicle self-assuredness and power.’

Another feature is the Concept Tiguan’s tyre design. These 19-inch prototypes, developed by Continental, have an orange radial stripe beneath the tyre profile which matches the car’s paint colour. This colour is not simply painted on: it penetrates the rubber layer as a ‘baked in’ component of the tyre’s casing. The eye-catching anthracite-coloured alloy rims are likely to feature in the production vehicle.

Under the bonnet, the concept car features a completely new type of diesel engine, called BLUETEC. Developed in partnership with Audi and Mercedes-Benz and presented for the first time at the LA show, BLUETEC employs a modular concept of different systems to reduce emissions significantly. One of these systems is the NOx storage catalytic converter which cuts nitrogen oxides by up to 90 per cent over current diesel units. This ‘Clean TDI’ will comply with the strictest emissions standards in the world and is one of the first components of the BLUETEC offensive.

Labels: VW

Labels: Bentley

The Nokia 8800 might not be big on features, but it certainly does exude a certain elegance that other cellphones cannot match. Nokia decided to boost its desirability by teaming up with Lamborghini to bring us a limited edition Nokia 8800 Sirocco handset. This cellphone will comes with special Lamborghini themes and ring tones with a video documentary thrown in for good measure.

You can pick up one of the 500 available special edition cellphones from selected Lamborghini dealerships.

Labels: Lamborghini

What matters about the 2007 Porsche Boxster S is that it's fast, and it constantly dares you to engage in bad behavior. During a drive down Highway 1 from San Francisco to Half Moon Bay I alternated between having fun on the curves to paranoid glances at the rear view mirror. The Boxster S has a 3.4-liter flat six-cylinder engine that's mounted right behind the cabin and produces 295 horsepower, not to mention a particularly beautiful engine noise. The car steers incredibly well, due to the balanced fore-and-aft weight ratio made possible by the mid-engine arrangement. The six-speed manual transmission shifts with European refinement--it's not precise like many Japanese car transmissions, where shifting feels like flipping a switch; rather, it moves into each gear comfortably, like each gear is a well-worn groove.

Labels: Porsche

Labels: The German Car Blog

Which brings me, quite naturally, to the new Audi TT. I reviewed the 2 litre front-wheel-drive version a few months ago and I liked it very much. So you’d expect me to rave about the much faster four-wheel-drive V6 I’ve been using this past week.

Hmmm, well . . . the base car develops a murderous 197bhp, whereas the V6 delivers a creamy and interesting 247bhp. But you’d be surprised at how similar the two feel in terms of outright get-up-and-go.

Labels: Audi

Labels: Audi

Last month at Nardo, German carmag Autobild and tire manufacturer Continental sponsored a high-speed showdown, during which big-time tuners from all over -- Sportec, Brabus, 9ff, and TechArt just to name a few -- descended upon the circular track in Italy to see what they could wring out of their high-horsepower hardware. You already know that Brabus broke its own world record for sedans with the CLS-based Rocket. Another car we touched on was Hohenester's HS650 Nardo, a 650-horsepower Audi A4 that hit 216 mph on its go-around

Labels: Porsche