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Audi Sport customer racing has acquired the first customers for the Audi R8 LMS GT4. The racers from America, Australia, China and Europe took over the first twelve sports cars of the most recent model range in Neuburg an der Donau. The Audi R8 LMS GT4 is Audi Sport customer racing’s third model.

Stephan Winkelmann, CEO of Audi Sport GmbH, and Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing, personally welcomed the customers at Audi’s Neuburg location. Five race cars went to customers from the USA and two each to customers from Asia, to Team Bourguignon from the Netherlands, to Phoenix Racing from Germany and one to an Australian customer.

“A new project always symbolizes new beginnings. The first deliveries mark a special moment for our customers as well as for us. We wish the teams the best of success with the new Audi R8 LMS GT4,” says Chris Reinke. The race car delivers up to 364 kW (495 hp) and has been directly derived from the production model. It shares 60 percent of the assemblies with its road-approved “brother,” and, like the road-going car, is built at the Böllinger Höfe site. The GT4 category in North America, Europe and Asia has become an established element as an overall classification or class in more than 15 racing series and major individual events. Additionally, from 2018 on, the new GT4 model will be fielded in the Audi R8 LMS Cup.

Audi has successfully tested the R8 LMS GT4 this year on several occasions, including the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring and in the VLN Endurance Championship. Now the first purely private racing commitments of the Audi R8 LMS GT4 are coming up when Phoenix Racing contests the Dubai 24 Hours with two cars from January 12 to 13, 2018. Two weeks later, the season of the North American IMSA series will kick off at Daytona. On the first weekend in February, customers are going to contest the Bathurst 12 Hour before the Audi R8 LMS Cup starts its seventh season in March.

In addition to the Audi R8 LMS GT3 for top-flight racing and the Audi RS 3 LMS entry-level touring car, the Audi R8 LMS GT4 is Audi Sport customer racing’s third model.

Article source: www.audi-mediacenter.com

Sophisticated, progressive and sporty – the new Audi A8 defines the style of the entire brand. From the end of January, there will be an extended equipment range for customers who want to give more emphasis to their luxury sedan’s dynamic looks. The sport exterior package and sport seats accentuate the A8’s strong presence.

The sport exterior package features an aluminum clip below the wide, upright Singleframe grille, exclusively for the Audi A8. It helps the brand’s flagship model achieve an even more powerful visual impact. Clear contours surround the air inlets, while honeycomb grilles and a vertical strut define their inner structure. The side sills become wider as they approach the wheels – a clear reference to the Audi A8’s quattro drive as standard.

The redesigned rear bumper integrates a rhombus-grille insert and a clearly contrasting diffuser. Down the sides and at the rear, an aluminum strip echoes the design of the front splitter and serves as the body’s lower edging. Customers in Germany and other European markets can order the sport exterior package from the end of January at a price of EUR 1,950 for the Audi A8 50 TDI (combined fuel consumption in l/100 km:5.8 – 5.6*; combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 152 – 145*). Its launch also marks the introduction of the exterior color Daytona gray for the luxury sedan.

Inside the car, customers will also be able to set more accents from the end of January: In a first for the Audi A8, the new sport seats feature optically integrated head restraints which, as previously, come with electric height adjustment. The seats also adopt the technical highlights of the comfort customized contour seats complete with pneumatic seat and backrest side bolster adjustment. The latter are about 15 millimeters (0.6 in) more deeply contoured. Other advantages include the climate control and massage function, plus the comfort center armrest at the front.

There is impressive evidence of the flagship model’s exceptional quality standards in the rhombus pattern of the new sport seat with square perforations and embossed S logos towards the top of the backrest. For the upholstery, customers can choose from the top leather grades Valcona and unicum – the latter exclusively in nutmeg brown with tourmaline blue stitching. In addition to the five basic colors, Valcona leather is also available in sard brown with steel gray contrasting stitching. and in metropolis gray with tourmaline blue stitching. For a particularly elegant look, there is the new “design selection” pastel silver with contrasting stitching and piping in granite gray. The sport seats can be ordered for all engine versions and both body versions. They cost EUR 4,520.

The new Audi A8 and the A8 L (combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 8.0 – 5.6*; combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 182 – 145*) are built at the Neckarsulm site and have been on sale at dealers in Europe since the end of November. The base price for the sedan with standard wheelbase is EUR 90,600, with the A8 L starting at EUR 94,100.

Article source: www.audi-mediacenter.com

Thin-film solar cells in panoramic glass roofs of Audi models: Audi and Alta Devices, a subsidiary of the Chinese solar-cell specialist, Hanergy, are working together on this development project. With this cooperation, the partners aim to generate solar energy to increase the range of electric vehicles. The first prototype is to be built by the end of 2017.

As the first step, Audi and Hanergy want to integrate Alta Devices’ thin-film solar cells into a panoramic glass roof. In the future, almost the entire roof surface is to be covered with solar cells. The electricity they generate will flow into the car’s electrical system and can supply for example the air-conditioning system or the seat heaters – a gain in efficiency that has a direct positive impact on the range of an electric vehicle.

“The range of electric cars plays a decisive role for our customers. Together with Hanergy, we plan to install innovative solar technology in our electric cars that will extend their range and is also sustainable,” stated Audi Board of Management Member for Procurement Dr. Bernd Martens.

At a later stage, solar energy could directly charge the traction battery. “That would be a milestone along the way to achieving sustainable, emission-free mobility,” continued Martens.

The green electricity will be generated by innovative solar cells. They have an efficiency of more than 25 percent, they are very thin and flexible. Furthermore they perform very well also in conditions of low light and high temperature. The solar cells are produced by Alta Devices in California.

Dr. Ding Jian, senior Vice President of Hanergy Thin Film Power Group Limited, CEO of Alta Devices, Inc. and co-leader of the Audi/Hanergy Thin Film Solar Cell Research and Development Project, said: “This partnership with Audi is Alta Devices’ first cooperation with a high-end auto brand. By combining Alta’s continuing breakthroughs in solar technology and Audi’s drive toward a sustainable mobility of the future, we will shape the solar car of the future”.

Article source: www.audi-mediacenter.com

On December 7, 1972, NASA launched the Apollo program’s final spacecraft bound for the moon. And exactly 45 years later, Audi is commemorating the historic event with “Apollo 45” – a commercial specially created for the occasion. In about 65 seconds it pays homage to the famous Inuit-themed quattro commercial from the 1990s and gives viewers a peek at the “Mission to the Moon” with the Audi lunar quattro. The moon rover is scheduled to begin its mission in 2019.

The new commercial is set in the year 2030. Two astronauts exploring the lunar surface come across tracks – the footprint left by Neil Armstrong in 1969, tracks from the Lunar Rover that landed in 1972 with Apollo 17, and the tire track impressions made by the Audi lunar quattro from the year 2019.

The spot picks up on elements of the 1990s commercial, in which an Inuit father teaches his son how to identify the impressions various animals leave in the snow – and concludes with the tire tracks of an Audi quattro. Audi produced the new video in remembrance of the final manned space flight to the moon 45 years ago with Apollo 17, while also publicizing its own role in a moon mission with the Audi lunar quattro. “We’re sending quattro to the moon,” said Giovanni Perosino, Head of Marketing Communications at Audi. “This is an opportunity to demonstrate our technology’s performance under the most arduous test conditions. And it was also this idea that inspired us to make the short film.”

The Ingolstadt-based premium automaker is now preparing the Audi lunar quattro for a real-life mission to the moon. Since 2015, Audi has been jointly developing the rover with a team led by Robert Boehme, the founder and CEO of PTScientists (“Part-Time Scientists”). Audi experts are supporting the Berlin-based start-up, particularly with their expertise in the areas of all-wheel drive (quattro technology), lightweight construction, electric and plug-in hybrid drives (e-tron), and design optimization.

To learn more about the development history of the Audi lunar quattro, visit the website www.audi.com/mission.

Link to Audi commercial www.audimedia.tv/en

Article source: www.audi-mediacenter.com

The players from Spanish record champion Real Madrid will be driving Audi cars again in the new season. On Thursday, the football stars received their personal models in the Spanish capital city. Before the handover, the players changed from their football outfits into racing suits. In simulators, they were able to get an impression of the Audi e-tronFE04’s handling, Audi’s fully electric race car in Formula E.

Again at the very top of the wish list of many footballers, including Gareth Bale, Luka Modrić and Casemiro, is the Audi Q7 (combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 7.6–7.2; combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 199–189). 14 players in total selected the premium SUV, three of them the Audi Q7 e-tron quattro plug-in hybrid model (combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 1.9–1.8; combined electricity consumption in kWh/100 km: 19.0–18.1; combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 50–48). Popular as well are the sporty RS models. Coach Zinédine Zidane opted for the Audi RS 6 Avant (combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 9.6; combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 223), Cristiano Ronaldo and Keylor Navas for the Audi RS 7 Sportback (combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 9.5; combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 221). Captain Sergio Ramos will be driving an Audi R8 Spyder (combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 12.5–11.7; combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 292–277).

Before the handover of the company cars, the football stars performed a virtual test drive in the Audi e-tron FE04. The fully electric race car will have its first official outing at the Formula E season opener in Hong Kong (December 2/3). In addition to the players from Real Madrid, a number of fans qualified for a lap in the race simulator before the handover as well. Dani Carvajal finished as the fastest driver on the circuit inside the replica Formula E cockpit simulator.

Audi has been partnering with Real Madrid since the summer of 2003. The club won three of the most recent four Champions League titles and in 2017 was the first team to even defend the title in the premier competition.

Article source: www.audi-mediacenter.com

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