Audi A5 Sportback

Audi has instead given us some actual eye candy, providing official design sketches of four upcoming models: the A5 Cabrio and Sportback, the all-new 2010 A7 four-door coupe and the 2011 A8 sedan. While the A5 Cabrio looks pretty much like a topless A5 coupe, the A5 Sportback is unique for not looking at all like a traditional sportback model, instead bearing resemblance to notchbacks of yore. The A7 brings TT-esque styling to the burgeoning four-door coupe market, while the revised A8, at least in sketch form, looks just about tough as hell.

Audi A7

The flowing lines of the coupe-sedan seem to be increasingly appealing in Germany with four of the countries top brands now releasing similar designs. The A7 will be based on the A6 platform and utilise aluminium (with steel reinforcement in key areas) to reduce weight.

Engines begin with a 2.8-litre V6 FSI with optional 3.0-litre V6 on the petrol front with diesel models said to include a 2.7-litre TDI (single turbo) or 3.0-litre TDI (twin turbo).

Meanwhile the range topping RS7 will feature air suspension and a 5.0-litre twin turbo V10 which will be shared by the S7, albeit slightly detuned. A hybrid version is also expected to be made available shortly after initial release.

BMW PAS Crossover

Another round of spy shots of BMW’s Progressive Activity Sedan (PAS) has surfaced, revealing what appear to be production-ready front and rear light treatments under disguise. The car, which is expected to be a five-door fastback sized between the 5-Series and 7-Series that will debut as a 2010 model, has not yet been officially unveiled. It’s expected to be the first of a possible new range of BMW products, the V-Series.


The PAS--or is it the V5?--will sport “coupe-sedan” styling similar to that of the X6, with a more road-going stance. It’s expected to be a four-seater, also in the same vein as the X6, powered by BMW’s 3.0 liter straight-six in gasoline and diesel permutations. A more powerful 4.0 liter diesel V8 may be offered, and BMW has not ruled out the possibility of a hybrid version.

Underneath the camouflage in these photos, the final hood lines can be discerned, and the dramatically sloped rear glass will give this car a unique profile on the road.

BMW Z4 spied

One of the most controversially-designed but immensely satisfying driver’s cars
, the BMW Z4, is almost at its tail’s end. These are the latest spy photos of its replacement, the 2010 version which has been spied a few times before already. The roof looks like a two-piece hard-top convertible which if it makes it into final production, will mark BMW Z’s first foray into tin top territory.


What makes these particular pictures special, apart from the red colour, is how little effort BMW has put into hiding the car from us. Of course 9 out of 10 times they get found out anyway, which is why we still advocate for a ‘less is more’ policy across the board from all manufacturers in future.


Even in this state a few details are still under wraps, like the front and rear lights, the latter though giving clear clues as to the styling direction the Z4 is taking. We can see how the rear bumper convexes toward the concave boot lid. Z4 is expected to show its first public face at Detroit in January 2009, with production commencing a few months later in Germany.

Audi S5 Cabrio

While these photos are grainy, our spies still got a great look at the 2010 Audi S5 convertible during a sunrise photo shoot. In what appears to be Audi's Ibis White exterior finish, this brochure-ready, convertible two door will pack all the same mechanicals as the current S5 coupe. Though we aren't sure if the convertible will carry the coupe's 354-hp rating.

If you like what you see, you may want to drop everything and place a deposit at your local dealer. With the S5 and A5 coupes already in short supply and high demand, the convertible versions of these coupes may be even harder to come by. The S5 cabrio should go into production in Ingolstadt sometime in the latter half of 2009. Look for the official debut at either the L.A. or Detroit auto show

BMW X4

The BMW X4 will be a smaller version of the BMW’s Sports Activity Coupe, the X6. Today, our friend Palbay confirms one of the speculations: the X4 will be using most of the new second generation BMW X3 components, in a move to reduce costs. This also goes hand in hand with their latest trend of releasing smaller size cars, powered by fuel efficient technologies.

The projected launch date is set at the beginning of 2010 and the X4 will be released in an all wheel-drive and rear-wheel-drive models. As mentioned before, the BMW X4 will join the X models production at the Spartanburg plant in South Carolina.

Audi TT- RS

The TT RS will naturally use quattro all-wheel drive to keep all that grunt in check. Audi will use a single turbo – not the twin-turbo set-up that other media have speculated upon.


That 2.5-litre five-pot comes from a far-flung corner of the VW empire: the North American Jetta. And if a five-cylinder, turbocharged, 4wd Audi sports coupe rings any bells (Ur Quattro, anyone?) that's deliberate. Expect many connections to be made in the marketing material.

With the latest version of Audi’s S tronic twin-clutch box, the RS is said to hit 60mph in around five seconds – putting it firmly in supercar territory.

VW's new 2-seat sports car

The modular chassis is said to use clever new kinematics in the new strut-based suspension system that does away with the need for pricey, Golf-style multi-link axles . Money pinching is crucial here, but not at the expense of delivering a fun-to-drive, pointy sports car.

To this end, R&D boss Ulrich Hackenberg has disclosed to CAR that the new affordable sports car will use parts-bin steering, brakes, electronics and DSG twin-clutch transmissions. Bearing in mind some of the expertise out there on Planet VW, that’s no bad thing…

You bet. CAR Online has already revealed the new sub-Boxster Porsche sports car and Ingolstadt is developing its own budget mid-engined sportster in the shape of the Audi R3.

VW, Audi , Porsche : low cost mid-engine sports car

At the Los Angeles auto show in November, Volkswagen will unwrap a new mid-engine sports car concept. This marks the third iteration of a theme that started in 2003 with the Concept R and continued in 2005 with the EcoRacer.


The proposal we'll see in L.A. pursues three different strategic goals:

* For Volkswagen, it provides an attractive product in a niche that has long been defined by the Mazda Miata.
* For Audi, it offers the opportunity to switch the next-generation TT from the current FWD/AWD platform to a much more prestigious and more dynamically rewarding mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout.
* For Porsche (which recently cleared another legal hurdle in its quest to take control of VW), there's a chance to join the fray with a modern successor to the rear-engine 356.

Posche Panamera : Coming with Diesel ?

At launch, the rear-wheel-drive Panamera will come with a 300-hp 3.6L V6 from V-Dub. A 400-hp 4.8L V8 will also be available along with a turbocharged 500-hp version. Porsche has already confirmed a hybrid Panamera for 2010 that will reduce fuel-consumption by 30 percent.


According to Automotive News, the Stuttgart based automaker is now considering a diesel version along with a targa top version for the Panamera as well.

Buggati Veyron : 2009

2009 Bugatti Veyron 16.4: No significant changes.

2009 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport : The new Grand Sport is an open-top or targa version of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4. It's powered by the same midmounted 8.0-liter quad-turbocharged W16 engine used in the coupe. It's good for 1,001 hp and an unbelievable 922 pound-feet of torque. The all-wheel-drive supercar also packs a beefed-up seven-speed version of its excellent dual-clutch gearbox.

Audi S5 : Spy Shots

We found an interesting source saying that the next-generation Audi S5 which is expected for early next year will receive the new 3.0 TFSI engine, also used in the new Audi S4 and leaving the V8 for the Audi RS5. Anyway the picture looks more like the Audi RS5 to us.

Looks have received subtle revisions over the current car, but we know that under its bonnet the new S5 gets Audi’s new supercharged 3.0-litre V6 engine in place of the current model’s 4.2-litre V8.

The new motor made its debut in the recently-revealed S4, and although its 329bhp is slightly down on old V8’s 339bhp, it has more mid-range torque and a broader powerband.

The revised S5 will also benefit from the option of a seven-speed twin-clutch DSG transmission and the latest iteration of Audi’s Quattro four-wheel drive system, which uses a torque vectoring active rear differential to assist cornering.