Audi's El Clásico: A1 Real Madrid CF vs A1 F.C. Barcelona

The countdown for one of the most important and publicized football matches of the year, the first El Clásico of the season between Real Madrid and Barcelona, has begun. On Saturday, December 10, the two Spanish football teams will face each other for the 216th time (including UEFA, Super Cup and Copa del Rey matches).

But before we see the two teams on the field, Audi's marketing time wanted to give fans an automotive perspective of the match with a special spot titled "La pasión vuelve a dejar huella".

The video shows two Audi A1 hatchbacks dressed in the colors and liveries of Real Madrid and Barcelona battling it off on the tarmac. You can watch the duel in the video after the break.

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Audi A1 Sportback Makes its World Premiere at the Tokyo Motor Show

The star attraction at Audi's booth in Tokyo is the new Audi A1 Sportback, which will be rolling into showrooms across the world – but not in the U.S.- in early 2012.

The more practical, five-door version of the A1 has the same length as the three door model at 3.95 meters (12.96 ft) but is several millimeters taller and wider thus offering a little more space in the rear seats – though don't expect any wonders.. In addition, buyers can order the Sportback with either a four- or five-seat layout at no extra cost.

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Audi Pays Tribute to Japanese National Soccer Team with A1 Samurai Blue

Tagging along with the new A1 Sportback five-door hatchback at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show booth, is a one-off A1 SAMURAI BLUE special dedicated to the Japanese national soccer team.

The A1 special is based on the three-door model with the 122HP 1.4 TFSI petrol engine and features the team's traditional blue and white colors accentuated by the red of the Japanese flag. It rides on unique 18-inch wheels painted in red.

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Audi Puts a Price Tag on UK Market A1 Sportback

Just days after Audi pulled the wraps off its new five-door premium supermini named the A1 Sportback, and the Ingolstadt-based automaker came out with full pricing on the UK market model.

On-the-road prices will start from £13,980 and top out at £21,270, which represent a £560 premium model-for-model over three-door A1. First deliveries will begin in the spring of 2012.

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Now It's Official: Audi Gives Birth to Five-Door A1 Sportback [66 Photos and Video]

After an unplanned leak earlier today, Audi finally got around to releasing official data along with more than sixty pictures and the first video of the A1 Sportback, which is more practical, five-door version of the German firm's premium supermini.

The connection with its three-door sibling can be seen in the styling, though Audi's designers did manage to add 6mm in both width and height to improve interior space. The five-door model's length (3.95mm) and wheelbase of 2.47m are identical to the three-door version.

The A1 Sportback comes standard with four seats, but Audi does offer a fifth seat on request at no extra charge. According to the German company, headroom and shoulder room have each been increased by around one centimeter (0.39 in) over the three-door model.

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First Official Photos of New Audi A1 Sportback 5-Door Hatchback

It was only a matter of time before Audi began expanding the range of its A1 premium supermini starting with a more practical five-door model - let's not forget that the German carmaker had teased the five-door body style with the 2008 Paris Motor Show A1 Sportback Concept.

And now we can show it to you in production form for the very first time thanks to an unceremonious online unveiling, courtesy of Russian website Cars.ru.

According to the author of the article, the exterior dimensions of the Sportback remain almost the same compared to the three-door model at 3.95m long, 1.42m tall and 1.75m wide with a wheelbase of 2.47m.

The exterior styling is what you would expect it to be: an A1 with five doors – nothing special here other than that the Sportback will be available with contrasting roof colors. The same goes for the interior, the only difference being that it is now easier to access the rear seats.

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Audi A1 Production Reaches 100,000 Units in its First Year on the Market

The Audi A1 premium supermini is proving to be a flying success for the brand with the four rings. Just after a year from launch and without the car being sold in the all-important North American market, the 100,000th A1 rolled off the assembly line at Audi’s plant in the Forest district of Brussels in Belgium. Read more »

Audi UK Launches More Frugal A1 TDI, Returns 74.3mpg with 99g/km of CO2

An updated version of the Audi A1 1.6 TDI with increased fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions has been introduced into the British market. The Ingolstadt firm’s engineers optimized the 1.6-liter turbo diesel’s fuel system and engine management software, and as a result, reduced CO2 output from 105g/km to 99g/km, and boosted its combined economy figure from 70.6mpg UK to 74.3mpg UK (equal to 3.8 lt/100 km and 61.9mpg US).

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Senner Tuning Cooks up a Spicier Audi A1 1.4 TFSI with 165HP

German tuning firm Senner has a new solution for anyone looking to upgrade their desperately plain Audi A1 supermini. The tune starts with the A1’s 1.4-liter TFSI gasoline engine, which normally produces 122-horsepower and 265Nm of peak torque. A custom-tailored ECU along with a sports exhaust system bumps those figures to 165HP and 265Nm (195.5 lb-ft). The engine tune is complemented by an adjustable sports suspension from KW. Read more »

A Photo Tour of the VW Group’s 2011 Wörthersee Festival with 150 Images

For the past thirty year, tens of thousands of enthusiasts of Volkswagen Group cars assemble on the shores of Lake Worthersee in Austria to participate in the largest festival of its kind in the world. Over the years, Volkswagen and the other brands of the German group including Audi, Seat and Skoda, have used the show to unveil special concepts, new models and studies that hint at future production versions or accessories.

At this year’s event (June 1 to 4, 2011), the VW Group prepared several vehicles for the festival including the production VW Golf GTI 35 Edition with 235HP, the VW Golf Cabriolet GTI and R concepts, the wild 503HP Audi A1 Clubsport Quattro study, and the Skoda Fabia RS 2000 Convertible prototype. As you may have noticed, the company didn’t show much love for its Seat brand which was left to display its current lineup.

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Audi Prepares Insane 503HP A1 Clubsport Quattro for Worthersee Fest,

Every year, fans of the Volkswagen Group get together at the Wörthersee festival, held in Reifnitz, Austria, to share their passion about cars. The show is so big that the VW Group’s brands spare no money to develop dedicated one-off models for the event. Audi’s star attraction at this year’s Worthersee Tour (June 1 to 4, 2011), which celebrates its 30th anniversary, is the ludicrous A1 clubsport Quattro.

The one-off show car is a rally-inspired A1 hatch that uses a heavily modified version of the 2.5-liter turbocharged five-cylinder petrol engine found in the TT RS and the RS3 Sportback. The five-pot normally produces 340-horsepower and 450 Nm (331.90 lb-ft), but thanks to the systematic tuning of the turbocharger, intercooler, induction tract and the exhaust, output has been boosted to 503-horsepower and 660 Nm (487 lb-ft) of torque.

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Pink Audi A1 Art Car by Hirst Fetches Over Half a Million Dollars

The special auction item of Elton John's White Tie & Tiara Ball on Thursday night (June 24), a brand-new Audi A1 art car painted by Britain's Damien Hirst, surpassed all expectations by fetching a whopping £350,000 or about US$522,500 / €425,000.

All proceeds from the auction will benefit The Elton John AIDS Foundation, which is said to be one of the 10 largest AIDS grant making organizations in the world, managing over £14 million in programmes across 15 countries.

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Audi A1 Art Car Donated to Elton John's Charity Ball

This year's edition of the White Tie and Tiara charity ball that raises money for the Elton John AIDS Foundation will feature a special version of Audi's A1 premium supermini designed by British contemporary artist, Damien Hirst.

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