Horchaus to import Europe-only Audis to North America

Horchaus, the Canadian distributor for MTM, has been given permission by Audi to import Europe-only Audis into North America. The cars in question are the RS4 Avant, RS4 Convertible, S3, RS6 and RS6 Avant, Q7 V12 TDI and TT RS.

These models were intended for European consumption only, due to the North American market not really liking most of these products, though the RS4 Avant just didn’t get its rear-mounted battery to pass DOT certification.

Because of MTM’s connection in this, you can have your car of choice tuned before it is delivered. For instance, you could go berserk and instead of an RS6 Avant, go straight for the MTM RS6 R (Our Tuned Car of the Year runner-up). 735 hp in a station wagon. You know you like the sound of that.

The pricing looks like a bargain as well. Converting from Euros to dollars, the RS6 costs $150,000 in Europe. However, Horchaus is selling it for just $107,600. That’s not a very big discount compared to this: Supposedly Horchaus can sell you an R8 V10 for just $98,000: roughly half-price of what it costs in a dealership here. Sounds a bit fishy to me.

Nonetheless, it’s something to be excited about. Except that it might not be. While the RS4s shouldn’t have a problem getting through safety regulations and such, the RS6s haven’t been tested. They’ll need to get through tests to be imported here, so we’ll have to wait and see how that goes. Despite this though, some RS6s have already been imported into both Canada and the US. Hopefully it’ll end well and we can finally get our hands on some of those brilliant German masterpieces that Europe’s had for ages now.

Source: IEDEI via Autoblog

[Via http://theblogofcars.wordpress.com]

Minimizate jajaj k wenoo :p

Rafa M. Mora

Los minicoches SMART:

Que pronto tendrán que usarse en el mundo por la crisis económica…….

Pero miren todos las "nuevas elecciones" que estarán disponibles de los Smart cars….

El Smorvette! (hijo del Corvette)

The Smaudi A3 (Hijo del Audi)

The Smamborghini! (hijo de un Lamborginni)

The Smorsche! (Hijo del Porsche)

The Smerrari! (hijo del Ferrari)

Pero finalmente, para no quedarnos detrás en el ahorro energético,
tan..taran..tan..tan!!

El Mini Rociero

No te rías leche que esto es serio..

[Via http://thefrem.wordpress.com]

Confira as principais atrações do Salão de Genebra

O Salão de Genebra tem início no dia 04 de março e, com o fantasma da crise financeira mundial cada vez mais apagado, o evento conta com um bom número de lançamentos de peso. Alguns deles você confere abaixo.

Novo Kia Sportage:

imagem: divulgação

A nova geração do SUV Sportage marca a nova identidade visual da Kia e concorre com modelos como o VW Tiguan. O coreano divide plataforma com o ix35, da Hyundai.

Audi A1:

imagem: divulgação

A nova onda de compactos urbanos como o Fiat 500, Mini Cooper, Smart e Citroën DS3, fez com que a Audi buscasse a sua fatia nesse nicho de mercado. Eis a missão do A1.

Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid:

imagem: divulgação

O modelo da Porsche conta com o KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System), sistema que foi utilizado na temporada 2009 de F-1. A diferença é que nesse sistema, além da energia gerada na frenagem, a energia do esterço da direção também será acumulada, gerando até 81cv a mais de desempenho para o esportivo de corrida.

A primeira corrida do bólido serão as clássicas 24h de Nürburgring, em maio.

imagem: divulgação

fonte: webmotors

[Via http://autoreport.wordpress.com]

Seen on the Ring

More cars we like (some of our very favorites here), courtesy of nordschleifenfan…

Cayman S:

Does this really need any introduction? Rolling on BBS LMs:

One of the top two or three most heralded FWD performance cars at the moment:

So aggressive and muscular, but going about it rather quietly (which we like), the weird color on this particular car notwithstanding:

We’re big fans of these:

This is a pretty rare sighting for the Ring (we think):

[Via http://bulgogibrothers.wordpress.com]

Why do we need group B back

This is a Lancia Delta, however it isn’t what you think when you think Lancia delta do you.

Oh no you think of this

This

The Delta Integrale took Lancia’s run-of-the-mill hatchback and turned it into something memorable, we owe all of this awesomeness to Group B. The Group B regulations fostered some of the quickest, most powerful and sublime rally cars ever built. However, a series of major accidents, some fatal, were blamed on their outright speed.

Group B regulations also said that 200 road legal models had to be sold to the public, this rule gave birth to some of the best cars including the totally awesome Audi Quattro and the Ford RS200.   Even Porsche had a go with the 959.

That's a car everybody could love

The thing is  cars can do fast so much better than they could do when Group B was removed from the championship, The technology has advanced considerably and cars are now safer.  Imagine the possibilities if we brought Group B back from the dead, it could also be a tribute for all of those who gave their lives behind the wheel.

source: Wikipedia

[Via http://theblogofcars.wordpress.com]

New R8 Spyder

Bad color, but the car is growing on me. (pictures from the team at  Automotive Addicts)

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[Via http://2autocritics.com]

2010 Audi A5 Cabriolet

When the luxurious four ringed German automaker introduced the all new Audi A5 complete with sleek styling and a sporty fastback coupe character thanks to its stretched mid section and its elongated lines the world took notice. So it was only a matter of time before they decided to drop the top and come up with the most attractive Audi Cabriolet of all time. The new Audi A5 Cabriolet was such a good new car design; featuring the fastest folding rag top in its segment, taking only 15 seconds to be stowed away and can even operate at speeds of up to 30 MPH, and not to mention that the Audi Acoustic Roof technology gives the new A5 Cabriolet interior noise levels on par with a hard top. That the folks back in the motherland decided to effectively use it to replace the smaller A4 based convertible, for good.

The model we were fortunate enough to become familiar with was a well equipped Ibis White 2010 Audi A5 2.0 TFSI FWD Multitronic Cabriolet set off by a Brown Roof and slightly sweeter Cinnamon brown interior. The combination of Xenon charged headlamps and LED driving lights and rear clusters ensured that we would clearly see the road ahead as well as being seen by everyone around us. On the inside we enjoyed such creature as Bluetooth hands free connectivity while sitting snugly inside the ventilated and heated sport buckets wrapped in perforated milano leather and get a little extra help from the large colorful LCD navigation display with built in back up camera that also controls the Audi Multi Media Interface (MMI).

Powered by a combination of forward thinking and fuel efficient turbocharging and direct injection, the 2.0 Liter TFSI four cylinder produced a total of 211 HP and 258 lb-ft of torque being routed to the 18 inch 15 spoke rollers via Audi’s FrontTrak front wheel drive Multitronic CVT transaxle to a top speed of 130 MPH while returning an estimated 23 MPG in the city and as much as 30 MPG on the highway all starting at $42,000 and climbing up to a nicely equipped $51,525.

[Via http://autowheel.wordpress.com]

Don’t Surrender to The Ecofascists

I, like so many others that I know, enjoy watching Super Bowl commercials.  Although most are forgettable, there are always one or two that stick in my mind.  This year, Audi’s “Green Police” was the most memorable and controversial of the day.  It has captured the attention of many conservatives like Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Senator Obenshain, and fellow bloggers such as SWAC Girl, and Virginia Virtucon.  I suppose if you didn’t watch the game (or was using the bathroom during the commercial), you should see it for yourself.  For the record, for those who don’t know, the theme for the commercial is a rewording of the song “Dream Police” by Cheap Trick.

In a recent email, the Attorney General calls the spot, “eco-funny…or not-so-funny”.  As Senator Obenshain puts it, the ad “would be funny if had been a little more farfetched”.  In recent years environmentalists have been getting more and more vocal and they are now relying on the government to enact their agenda.  From cap and trade, to the upcoming banning of incandescent light bulbs, to the regulation of thermostats in new homes in California, the green movement continues to flex their political muscles.  No longer simply content to “live in harmony with mother nature and her creatures”, some have become increasing radical, forcing their neighbors to adopt their lifestyles choices as well.  Such tactics mirror the fascist movements of the 1930s, and, like it’s historical predecessor, I fear that a police force designated to enforce this code of ethics can’t be too far behind.  Going through a person’s trash and spying on their activities in their own homes and yards without a warrant is not only an invasion of privacy, it is a clear indication of a police state, not a free society.  Although my critics will declare me to be an alarmist, without any safeguards, we will one day have a green police.  It will happen, and it will happen within our lifetimes.

Although Audi might think differently, after watching this ad, all I can say is “green has never felt so wrong”.

[Via http://virginiaconservative.wordpress.com]

Audi A4 Car Leasing Deals From £209 + VAT

HelpFindMeA.co.uk locates another Audi car leasing deal in the UK. The German’s popular brand, the Audi A4 can be leased from as little as £209 + VAT with 12 initial payments upfront. Initial payments are the number of down payments made on a car lease. The 1st payment for the Audi A4 Business Contract Hire is therefore £2508 + VAT followed by 35 payments of £209 + VAT. The rest of the balance is spread across the remaining months of the contract hire.

The most popular business contract hire terms are 24 months and 36 months. Alternative initial payments are available and HelpFindMeA.co.uk does one thing no other leasing comparison site does. We use your desired initial payments and convert all the adverts to match your criteria. This gives you an estimated price in which the leasing company may be able to achieve if you make direct contact with them.

HelpFindMeA.co.uk also displays running costs, technical & standard specification of the lease car. Personal contract hire offers are also available.

Save money and compare UK’s best car leasing offers @ HelpFindMeA.co.uk.

[Via http://helpfindmea.wordpress.com]

Super Bowl Ads

So with the nearest Super Bowl party 90 minutes away, I lamed out and watched Lost instead, catching a glimpse of the game and falling asleep just as the Colts put 10 points on the Saints at the end of the first quarter. And of course the first thing i did when I woke up this morning was start watching the ads. Some of them are 60 seconds of art genius.

Being the liberal left-learning environmentalist with hard-hitting conservative views, this ad was my favourite:

Closely followed by the beautiful simplicity of this.

You can watch them all here. Or go to the reviews that I read first by my friend-who-don’t-know-at-all-but-read-his-blog-a-lot, Brett.

[Via http://keepfishing.wordpress.com]