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From YourSITE.com Events Coverage Held once every two years, Germany’s Frankfurt IAA motor show is perhaps the biggest and most significant car show in the world. Its expanse is unrivaled, spread out over nearly ten halls. It includes stands for everything from car companies and OE suppliers to tuners and even automotive toy manufacturers. Given the German Auto Show’s status, the event marks an excellent opportunity to gauge the health of Audi’s business and the industry as a whole.
Volkswagen Group Night of Driving Ideas As is becoming customary at European auto shows, the Volkswagen Group began show week with an off-site preview of highlights from its nine brands, including Audi. Porsche, soon to be Volkswagen AG’s tenth brand, was also represented with key board members and executives on hand for the event. Ingolstadt used the evening event to debut its drop top Audi R8 Spyder. Audi AG chairman Rupert Stadler drove a red example of the car across the stage to an exuberant round of applause from the assembled press.
In the meantime, Lamborghini chief Stefan Winkelmann pulled the covers off of its latest Reventon Roadster. Only 15 units of this exclusive Lamborghini are planned at a price of 1.5 million Euros.
Audi e-tron Concept Diesel may be the present, but electric is the future according to most car manufacturers including Audi. To emphasize this, Ingolstadt revealed their all-electric Audi e-tron Concept. Utilizing four motors, one at each wheel for an electric take on quattro, the e-tron manages to put down 313hp and 3,319 lb-ft of torque. Power is supplied by lithium ion batteries, enough to propel the e-tron a range of154 miles. From all outward appearances, the car is very similar to an R8. There’s no side blade and cameras replace the exterior rearview mirrors in order to minimize aerodynamic drag, while seemingly electric-razor inspired air inlets and wheel design are used to cool the various motors and batteries. More subtle, the e-tron is actually slightly smaller than the roadgoing R8, however those hoping for a hint of an R4 in the car’s form shouldn’t hold their breath just yet. Audi development boss Michael Dick says he plans to allow journalist test-drives as early as next year and promises to build a small production run of approximately 2,000 units by 2011. According to Audi of America’s Johan de Nysschen, the car is being seriously considered for sale in the US as well, but a final decision has yet to be made.
Audi R8 Spyder It was probably only a matter of time before Audi launched an open-air version of its R8 coupe. Overall, the changes from coupe to open-air Spyder are minimal. Some elements such as the car’s silver windscreen framing are formulaically taken from other Audi convertibles such as the A4 and A5. Other changes such as losing the car’s side blade decorative element and see-through engine cover are slightly more radical for an R8 design. Rearward body panels on the Spyder are actually made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic in order to save weight. The car’s cloth top, a trademark of Audi convertibles, is also lighter and is said to be just as quiet as those in the rest of the line.
Inside, the R8 Spyder gets a few more binnacles behind and between the car’s two seats. Each R8 Spyder seen in Frankfurt also featured a new leather upgrade package that wraps both the center console and the plastic segmentation of the monoposto dashboard in leather with accenting stitching. This additional leather covering will also be made available in the coupe. The actual R8 Spyder on hand at the show was not the red of the previous evening, but a white car with Audi’s optional Recaro shell seating. Expect the Audi R8 Spyder to hit American shores by next summer and, contrary to earlier rumors, we hear a 4.2 version of the Spyder is still part of the plan.
Audi R8 Polished Aluminum Coupe Remember the Audi Avus concept car with its polished aluminum skin? Ingolstadt chose to revisit the polished aluminum idea again for 2009 in the form of an R8 V10 coupe. Every piece of bodywork save a carbon fiber sideblade was polished or finished to a satiny mirror shine, while the interior was covered in red hides.
A4 3.0 TDI Avant It’s not typical that America gets an Audi product before Europe, though that’s exactly what’s happened in the case of the cleanest 3.0 TDI with DeNox catalytic converter and AdBlue urea injection. This setup was first seen stateside in the Q7 this summer and now Audi has shown fitted to the A4 Avant in Frankfurt with the intent of making it available on that side of the Atlantic shortly. For Americans, this is a significant occurrence. Having developed all of the hardware necessary for the B8 and MLB-based A4, this makes the chances of an A4, A5, Q5 or even next-gen A6 and A8 with 3.0 TDI for the American market that much better. Of the group, the A4 is the most obvious choice since this B-segment sedan represents nearly 50% of North American Audi sales. Performance for the A4 3.0 TDI with this level of filtration remains robust. Audi claims a 0-62 mph in 6.2 seconds. Not surprisingly, it’s also quite efficient and capable of 34.59 mpg. Besides the new clean TDI configuration, the A4 3.0 TDI on display in Frankfurt was even more interesting. This particular Ibis White Avant also featured a raft of Audi Exclusive and Audi Accessories kit. The mix included a red Silk Napa Leather interior, 19-inch black painted 5-spoke alloys and an accessory body kit. In particular, don’t be surprised to see these wheels utilized more in the future on Audi offerings.
Audi S5 Sportback Audi’s A5 Sportback was first seen just this past summer and already an S-version has joined the fold. The appearance changes are formulaic, utilizing the same pieces from the S5 coupe and Cabriolet and under the hood is Audi’s 3.0T supercharged V6 and the same drivetrains as featured in S5s with the same engine. One other detail difference we noted on the Frankfurt display car was fitment of a slight trunk spoiler to further differentiate the S5 Sportback from A5 Sportback S-line models.
Audi A3 1.2 TFSI Diesel and electric power aren’t the only cards in Audi’s hand when it comes to efficiency and their latest gasoline direct injection engine exemplifies this. The new turbocharged 1.2 TFSI is good for 105hp and 129 lb. ft of torque. When fitted to the A3 as seen in Frankfurt, the 4-cylinder is reportedly capable of 0-62 mph sprints in 11.1 seconds and a combined fuel economy figure of 42.77 mpg. For now, the 1.2 TFSI is an A3 engine, but it’s not hard to imagine this as a cornerstone engine offering when the Audi A1 compact appears next year. From a visual design standpoint, the 1.2T FSI unit features the same simple look of the 2.5T FSI shown in the TTRS. Gone are the big plastic engine covers, leaving the components of the engine visible for ease of repair and the appreciation of its mechanical componentry.
Audi Exclusive Q7 Design Study Above the Audi stand in Frankfurt was an Audi Exclusive lounge. Walls of this swank room were lined with leather swathes and trim options offered by Audi for a full range of tailoring for your new car. The centerpiece of the lounge though was a Q7 V12 TDI painted in a metallic orange color known as Ipanema Brown. Heavily inspired by elements in the Q7 Coastline design study, this SUV featured special wood interior trim including a fully-lined trunk. The Q7 also featured a two-tone interior of light beige seats and brown leather-wrapped doors and door panels.
Ipanema Brown Cars by quattro GmbH The same metallic amber color as seen on the Audi Exclusive Q7 Design Study was also seen on a TTRS, RS 6 Avant and Q7 V12 TDI on Audi’s main show stand. It’s said the hue was first used on Audi Design boss Stefan Sielaff’s own personal TT coupe before it was chosen to highlight the three current quattro GmbH-built offerings. In fact, we’re told the color combination on the TTRS is virtually identical to Sielaff’s TT except the show version is built to RS spec. Fitting these three high performance models identically was a bold choice that both showed off the Audi Exclusive availability for the Audi range and also emphasized the cars currently being manufactured by Audi’s skunk works.
Other Cars in Audi Stand Aside from the star cars, those with an eye for detail may have noticed other new details from Audi as well. These ranged from a new 20-inch wheel design on the A5 Cabriolet to a new metallic white paint color on the R8 5.2 FSI coupe. It seemed most every car on the stand had some unique bit of equipment or trim, making it clear there is much new in the pipeline for those who like to tailor their Audi.
Audi Accessories Speaking of the tailored Audi, Ingolstadt’s accessories division continues with its own cadence. There was the aforementioned full body kit and wheel fitment on the A4 3.0 TDI Avant and a second display car in the form of a matching white TT coupe with black painted wheels and body kit. Even the TT’s shell seats sported Recaro labels making us wonder if these can be ordered over the counter at least in Europe.
The stand’s usual accessories wheel display was fitted this time with more than the usual suspects within Ingolstadt’s alloy catalogue. Audi’s latest offerings from the TTRS, Q5 and A4 seemed to be the oldest offerings on the display, with several first-seen designs including a modern swept evolution of the traditional ‘B7 RS 4’ wheel. Summary Elsewhere around the show, it is apparent the industry has constricted in the wake of the global financial downturn. Whole show halls such as the normally burgeoning tuner hall were entirely empty while other car manufacturer stands were significantly scaled down. This wasn’t the case with Audi, having the usual large display area complete with an even more aggressive mix of new products. Ingolstadt’s top brass has continually stated that Audi will pick up even more market share within the confines of a slowing economy and this certainly seems the case based on the level s of both new product and media interest in the brand in Frankfurt.
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