Pure-Electric Audi A3 e-tron Hatchback Debuts at the 2011 LA Auto Show

Up until now, we’ve seen all kinds of Audi EV concepts with “e-tron” label ranging from the A1 supermini to a sub-R8 supercar. At the 2011 LA Auto Show, the Ingolstadt-based company presented yet another e-tron model, this time based on the current A3 Sportback five-door hatchback. 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 Design Student Creates the Trimaran Hybrid Yacht

Audi's concept design studio in Munich came up with an interesting proposition for a luxury yacht that would wear the four-ring logo. The Trimaran is the project work of Pforzheim Technical College student Stefanie Behringer, who explains the idea behind the study:

“The Audi Trimaran is a new concept which integrates two jet skis in a motorboat. The hull architecture is based on a trimaran, consisting of a main center hull supported by two smaller outrigger hulls. Two jet skis are stored inside pods in the outriggers. The main boat is powered by two lightweight and efficient Audi TDI diesel engines, whereas the jet skis are electrically-driven,” said Behringer.

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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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Audi TTS Pikes Peak Driverless Model Wears its War Colors [with Video]

These are the first pictures of Audi's driverless TTS Pikes Peak experimental model in Ingolstadt's traditional motorsports colors. Audi is currently gearing up the so-called "Autonomous TTS" for high-speed test runs up Pikes Peak in Colorado this fall.

"With the changed appearance, the Autonomous Audi TTS Pikes Peak is now squarely aligned with Audi cars that made motorsports history a generation ago in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb and other rally racing events," said the German manufacturer in a statement.

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Xenatec Shows Off its "Dream Cars": Bentley SUV, BMW 6-Series Sedan and More

Now that their limited production Maybach 57S Coupe (see here) has made the rounds, here are some of the other proposals from Xenatec. Since the company's specialty is chassis modification (and the necessary body work thereafter), they've got some ideas for a lengthened (and shortened) "dream cars".

Have a look at the gallery below and see what tickles your fancy. The SUV limos are a bit much, but the rag-top conversions don't look too bad (especially the CLS and 300).

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Audi A9 Hybrid Sports Sedan Concept by Daniel Garcia

This is the A9 sports sedan study, a look at BMW's Vision concept through Audi's eyes (unofficially of course) that was created by independent designer Daniel Garcia from Spain.

Just as BMW tried to invent a new market with its 5-Series GT, the Audi A9 would aim to be in a league of its own: over-styled (in a good way) über-luxury hybrid sports saloons. A technologically-advanced Panamera killer.

Garcia says some of the lines were inspired by architect Santiago Calatrava's buildings in Valencia. As for that opaque front wind-ceiling, it's made of "as-yet undiscovered nanotechnology material" that can fix itself and be color/tint adjusted.

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