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which produces cars under the Audi brand, (pronounced /a??di/). Free Auto Price Quotes It is part of the Volkswagen Group. The name Audi Free Auto Price Quotes is based on a Latin translation of the last name Free Auto Price Quotes of the founder August "Horch", itself the German word for Free Auto Price Quotes “hear. Audi is headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany and has Free Auto Price Quotes been an almost wholly-owned (99.55%) subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group Free Auto Price Quotes (Volkswagen AG) since 1964. Volkswagen Group relaunched the Audi name Free Auto Price Quotes when it was acquired as part of Volkswagen's purchase of Free Auto Price Quotes the Auto Union and NSU Motorenwerke AG (NSU) assets Audi's Free Auto Price Quotes corporate tagline is Vorsprung durch Technik, meaning "Advantage through Technology". Free Auto Price Quotes The German-language tagline is used in many European countries, including Free Auto Price Quotes the United Kingdom, and in other markets, such as Latin Free Auto Price Quotes America, Oceania and parts of Asia including Japan. A few Free Auto Price Quotes years ago, the North American tagline was "Innovation through technology", Free Auto Price Quotes but in Canada the German tagline Vorsprung durch Technik was Free Auto Price Quotes used in advertising. More recently, however, Audi has updated the Free Auto Price Quotes tagline to "Truth in Engineering" in the U.S Histor [edit] Free Auto Price Quotes Birth of the company and its nam Audi Type EThe Free Auto Price Quotes company traces its origins back to 1899 and August Horch. Free Auto Price Quotes The first Horch automobile was produced in 1901 in Zwickau.[3] Free Auto Price Quotes In 1909, Horch was forced out of the company he Free Auto Price Quotes had founded.[3] He then started a new company in Zwickau Free Auto Price Quotes and continued using the Horch brand His former partners sued Free Auto Price Quotes him for trademark infringement and a German court determined that Free Auto Price Quotes the Horch brand belonged to his former company.[3] August Horch Free Auto Price Quotes was barred from using his own family name in his Free Auto Price Quotes new car business, so he called a meeting at the Free Auto Price Quotes apartment of Franz Fikentscher to come up with a new Free Auto Price Quotes name for his company. During this meeting Franz's son was Free Auto Price Quotes quietly studying Latin in a corner of the room. Several Free Auto Price Quotes times he looked like he was on the verge of Free Auto Price Quotes saying something but would just swallow his words and continue Free Auto Price Quotes working, until he finally blurted out, "Father – audiatur et Free Auto Price Quotes altera pars... wouldn't it be a good idea to call Free Auto Price Quotes it audi instead of horch?". "Horch!" in German means "Hark!" Free Auto Price Quotes or "hear", which is "Audi" in Latin (compare audible). The Free Auto Price Quotes idea was enthusiastically accepted by everyone attending the meeting.[4] It Free Auto Price Quotes is sometimes (incorrectly) believed that AUDI is a backronym which Free Auto Price Quotes stands for "Auto Union Deutschland Ingolstadt" Audi started with a Free Auto Price Quotes 2,612 cc (2.6 litre) four cylinder model[clarification needed] followed by Free Auto Price Quotes a 3564 cc (3.6 L) model, as well as 4680 Free Auto Price Quotes cc (4.7 L) and 5720 cc (5.7L) models. These cars Free Auto Price Quotes were successful even in sporting events. The first six cylinder Free Auto Price Quotes model,[clarification needed] 4655 cc (4.7 L) appeared in 1924 August Free Auto Price Quotes Horch left the Audi company in 1920. In September 1921, Free Auto Price Quotes Audi became the first German car manufacturer to present a Free Auto Price Quotes production car with left-hand drive, the Audi Type K.[5] Left-hand Free Auto Price Quotes drive spread and established dominance during the 1920s because it Free Auto Price Quotes provided a better view of oncoming traffic, making overtaking maneuvers Free Auto Price Quotes safer.[5 [edit] The Auto Union er Cover of the 1937 Free Auto Price Quotes English motor sport magazine with an Auto Union racing car Free Auto Price Quotes on a banked trackIn August 1928 Jorgen Rasmussen, the owner Free Auto Price Quotes of DKW, acquired the majority of shares in Audiwerke AG.[6] Free Auto Price Quotes In the same year, Rasmussen bought the remains of the Free Auto Price Quotes US automobile manufacturer Rickenbacker, including the manufacturing equipment for eight Free Auto Price Quotes cylinder engines. These engines were used in Audi Zwickau and Free Auto Price Quotes Audi Dresden models that were launched in 1929. At the Free Auto Price Quotes same time, six cylinder and four cylinder (licensed from Peugeot) Free Auto Price Quotes models were manufactured. Audi cars of that era were luxurious Free Auto Price Quotes cars equipped with special bodywork In 1932, Audi merged with Free Auto Price Quotes Horch, DKW and Wanderer, to form Auto Union Before World Free Auto Price Quotes War II, Auto Union used the four interlinked rings that Free Auto Price Quotes make up the Audi badge today, representing these four brands. Free Auto Price Quotes This badge was used, however, only on Auto Union racing Free Auto Price Quotes cars in that period while the member companies used their Free Auto Price Quotes own names and emblems. The technological development became more and Free Auto Price Quotes more concentrated and some Audi models were propelled by Horch Free Auto Price Quotes or Wanderer built engines [edit] The four-ring log The Audi Free Auto Price Quotes emblem is four overlapping rings that represent the four marques Free Auto Price Quotes of Auto Union. The Audi emblem symbolizes the amalgamation of Free Auto Price Quotes Audi with DKW, Horch and Wanderer: the first ring represents Free Auto Price Quotes Audi, the second represents DKW, third is Horch, and the Free Auto Price Quotes fourth and last ring Wanderer.[7] [8 [edit] Second World War Free Auto Price Quotes perio The build up and onset of World War II Free Auto Price Quotes encouraged the development and production of special vehicles for military Free Auto Price Quotes purposes in the 1930s. The Auto Union became an important Free Auto Price Quotes supplier of vehicles to Germany's armed forces.[6] Following the outbreak Free Auto Price Quotes of war, civilian production was interrupted in May 1940. After Free Auto Price Quotes this, the company produced exclusively for military purposes.[6 During World Free Auto Price Quotes War II, the Auto Union produced the Sd-Kfz 222 armored Free Auto Price Quotes car, which was used in the German army during the Free Auto Price Quotes war. It was powered by an 81 hp (60 kW) Free Auto Price Quotes Horch/Auto Union V8 engine and reached a top speed of Free Auto Price Quotes 50 miles per hour on the road Another vehicle which Free Auto Price Quotes was used in World War II to shuttle German military Free Auto Price Quotes officials safely was known as the Kraftfahrzeug (KFZ 11) or Free Auto Price Quotes the Horch Type 80. The military used it as a Free Auto Price Quotes light transport vehicle The Auto Union plants were heavily bombed Free Auto Price Quotes and severely damaged within the last two years of the Free Auto Price Quotes war [edit] Post-War perio The Saxonian plants of Auto Union Free Auto Price Quotes was located in what was the Soviet occupied zone of Free Auto Price Quotes Germany. In 1945 on the orders of the Soviet military Free Auto Price Quotes administration in Germany, they were dismantled as part of war Free Auto Price Quotes reparations.[9] Following this, the company’s entire assets were expropriated without Free Auto Price Quotes compensation.[9] On 17 August 1948 Auto Union AG of Chemnitz Free Auto Price Quotes was deleted from the commercial register.[9] These actions had the Free Auto Price Quotes effect of liquidating Germany's Auto Union AG. The remains of Free Auto Price Quotes the Audi plant of Zwickau became the VEB (for "People Free Auto Price Quotes Owned Enterprise") Automobilwerk Zwickau, AWZ for short (which translates into Free Auto Price Quotes English as Automobile factory Zwickau).[10 A new Auto Union was Free Auto Price Quotes launched in Ingolstadt, Bavaria with loans from the Bavarian state Free Auto Price Quotes government and Marshall Plan aid.[11] The reformed company was launched Free Auto Price Quotes 3 September, 1949 and continued DKW's tradition of producing front-wheel Free Auto Price Quotes drive vehicles with two-stroke engines.[11] This included production of a Free Auto Price Quotes small but sturdy 125 cc motorcycle and a DKW delivery Free Auto Price Quotes van, the DKW F 89 L, also known as DKW-Schnelllaster. Free Auto Price Quotes Many employees of the destroyed factories in Zwickau came to Free Auto Price Quotes Ingolstadt and restarted the production In 1950, after a former Free Auto Price Quotes Rheinmetall gun factory in Dusseldorf was established as a second Free Auto Price Quotes assembly facility the company's first post-war car went into production: Free Auto Price Quotes the DKW Meisterklasse F 89 P, available as a saloon Free Auto Price Quotes and a four-seater Karmann convertible.[9][12] The van and sedan were Free Auto Price Quotes based on the DKW F8 and the DKW F9 pre-war Free Auto Price Quotes constructions The former Audi factory in Zwickau, now under Soviet Free Auto Price Quotes control, restarted assembly of the pre-war-models in 1949. Those models Free Auto Price Quotes were renamed to IFA F8 and IFA F9 and were Free Auto Price Quotes similar to the West German versions. West German and East Free Auto Price Quotes German models were equipped with the traditional and renowned DKW Free Auto Price Quotes two-stroke engines In 1958, Daimler-Benz acquired 87% of Auto Union Free Auto Price Quotes and in the next year 100% Audi 75In 1964, Volkswagen Free Auto Price Quotes acquired the factory in Ingolstadt and the trademark rights of Free Auto Price Quotes the Auto Union. Two-stroke engines became less popular towards the Free Auto Price Quotes middle of the 1960s as customers were more attracted to Free Auto Price Quotes the comfortable four-stroke engines. In September 1965, the last DKW Free Auto Price Quotes model, the DKW F102, got a four-stroke engine implanted and Free Auto Price Quotes some front and rear styling changes. Volkswagen dumped the brand Free Auto Price Quotes DKW because of its two-stroke smell, relaunching the Audi brand. Free Auto Price Quotes The new model was classified internally as the F103 and Free Auto Price Quotes sold as simply the "Audi" (the name being a model Free Auto Price Quotes designation rather than the manufacturer, which was still officially Auto Free Auto Price Quotes Union) but later came to be known as the Audi Free Auto Price Quotes 72. Developments of the model were named for their horsepower Free Auto Price Quotes ratings and sold as the Audi 60, 75, 80, and Free Auto Price Quotes Super 90. These models sold until 1972 Audi 80 assembly Free Auto Price Quotes line in Wolfsburg as of 1973In 1969, Auto Union merged Free Auto Price Quotes with NSU, based in Neckarsulm, near Stuttgart. In the 1950s, Free Auto Price Quotes NSU had been the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles, but Free Auto Price Quotes had moved on to produce small cars like the NSU Free Auto Price Quotes Prinz, the TT and TTS versions of which are still Free Auto Price Quotes popular as vintage race cars. NSU then focused on new Free Auto Price Quotes rotary engines based on the ideas of Felix Wankel. In Free Auto Price Quotes 1967, the new NSU Ro 80 was a space-age car, Free Auto Price Quotes well ahead of its time in technical details such as Free Auto Price Quotes aerodynamics, light weight, and safety but teething problems with the Free Auto Price Quotes rotary engines put an end to the independence of NSU. Free Auto Price Quotes Today the Neckarsulm plant is used to produce the larger Free Auto Price Quotes Audi models A6 and A8. The Neckarsulm factory is also Free Auto Price Quotes home of the quattro GmbH, this subsidiary is responsible for Free Auto Price Quotes development and production of the Audi high performance cars: the Free Auto Price Quotes R8 and the "RS" model range The mid-sized car that Free Auto Price Quotes NSU had been working on, the K70, was intended to Free Auto Price Quotes slot between the rear-engined Prinz models and the futuristic NSU Free Auto Price Quotes Ro 80. However, TT Model Volkswagen took the K70 for its own Free Auto Price Quotes range, spelling the end of NSU as a separate brand Free Auto Price Quotes [edit] The modern era of Aud The new merged company Free Auto Price Quotes was known as Audi NSU Auto Union AG, and saw Free Auto Price Quotes the emergence of Audi as a separate brand for the Free Auto Price Quotes first time since the pre-war era. Volkswagen introduced the Audi Free Auto Price Quotes brand to the United States for the 1970 model year Free Auto Price Quotes The first new car of this regime was the Audi Free Auto Price Quotes 100 of 1968. This was soon joined by the Audi Free Auto Price Quotes 80/Fox (which formed the basis for the 1973 Volkswagen Passat) Free Auto Price Quotes in 1972 and the Audi 50 (later rebadged as the Free Auto Price Quotes Volkswagen Polo) in 1974. The Audi 50 was a seminal Free Auto Price Quotes design in many ways, because it was the first incarnation Free Auto Price Quotes of the Golf/Polo concept, one that led to a hugely Free Auto Price Quotes successful world car Audi QuattroThe Audi image at this time Free Auto Price Quotes was a conservative one, and so, a proposal from chassis Free Auto Price Quotes engineer Jorg Bensinger[13] was accepted to develop the four-wheel drive Free Auto Price Quotes technology in Volkswagen's Iltis military vehicle for an Audi performance Free Auto Price Quotes car and rally racing car. The performance car, introduced in Free Auto Price Quotes 1980, was named the "Audi Quattro," a turbocharged coupe which Free Auto Price Quotes was also the first German large-scale production vehicle to feature Free Auto Price Quotes permanent all-wheel drive through a center differential. Commonly referred to Free Auto Price Quotes as the "Ur-Quattro" (the "Ur-" prefix is a German augmentative Free Auto Price Quotes used, in this case, to mean "original" and is also Free Auto Price Quotes applied to the first generation of Audi's S4 and S6 Free Auto Price Quotes sport sedans, as in "UrS4" and "UrS6"), few of these Free Auto Price Quotes vehicles were produced (all hand-built by a single team), but Free Auto Price Quotes the model was a great success in rallying. Prominent wins Free Auto Price Quotes proved the viability of all-wheel drive racecars, and the Audi Free Auto Price Quotes name became associated with advances in automotive technology In 1985, Free Auto Price Quotes with the Auto Union and NSU brands effectively dead, the Free Auto Price Quotes company's official name was now shortened to simply Audi AG Free Auto Price Quotes In 1986, as the Passat-based Audi 80 was beginning to Free Auto Price Quotes develop a kind of "grandfather's car" image, the type 89 Free Auto Price Quotes was introduced. This completely new development sold extremely well. However, Free Auto Price Quotes its modern and dynamic exterior belied the low performance of Free Auto Price Quotes its base engine, and its base package was quite spartan Free Auto Price Quotes (even the passenger-side mirror was an option.) In 1987, Audi Free Auto Price Quotes put forward a new and very elegant Audi 90, which Free Auto Price Quotes had a much superior set of standard features. In the Free Auto Price Quotes early 1990s, sales began to slump for the Audi 80 Free Auto Price Quotes series, and some basic construction problems started to surface This Free Auto Price Quotes decline in sales was not helped in the United States Free Auto Price Quotes by a 60 Minutes report which purported to show that Free Auto Price Quotes Audi automobiles suffered from "unintended acceleration". The 60 Minutes report Free Auto Price Quotes was based on customer reports of acceleration when the brake Free Auto Price Quotes pedal was pushed. Independent investigators concluded that this was most Free Auto Price Quotes likely due to a close placement of the accelerator and Free Auto Price Quotes brake pedals (unlike American cars), and the inability, when not Free Auto Price Quotes paying attention, to distinguish between the two. (In race cars, Free Auto Price Quotes when manually downshifting under heavy braking, the accelerator has to Free Auto Price Quotes be used in order to match revs properly, so both Free Auto Price Quotes pedals have to be close to each other to be Free Auto Price Quotes operated by the right foot at once, toes on the Free Auto Price Quotes brake, heel on the accelerator; a driving technique called heel-and-toe). Free Auto Price Quotes This did not become an issue in Europe, possibly due Free Auto Price Quotes to more widespread experience among European drivers with manual transmissions Free Auto Price Quotes The report immediately crushed Audi sales, and Audi renamed the Free Auto Price Quotes affected model (The 5000 became the 100/200 in 1989, as Free Auto Price Quotes it was elsewhere). Audi had contemplated withdrawing from the American Free Auto Price Quotes market until sales began to recover in the mid-1990s. The Free Auto Price Quotes turning point for Audi was the sale of the new Free Auto Price Quotes A4 in 1996, and with the release of the A4/A6/A8 Free Auto Price Quotes series, which was developed together with VW and other sister Free Auto Price Quotes brands (so called "platforms") Audi R8In the early part of Free Auto Price Quotes the 21st century, Audi set forth on a German racetrack Free Auto Price Quotes to claim and maintain several World Records, such as Top Free Auto Price Quotes Speed Endurance. This effort was in-line with the company's heritage Free Auto Price Quotes from the 1930s racing era "Silver Arrows" Currently, Audi's sales Free Auto Price Quotes are growing strongly in Europe. 2004 marked the 11th straight Free Auto Price Quotes increase in sales, selling 779,441 vehicles worldwide. Record figures were Free Auto Price Quotes recorded from 21 out of about 50 major sales markets. Free Auto Price Quotes The largest sales increases came from Eastern Europe (+19.3%), Africa Free Auto Price Quotes (+17.2%) and the Middle East (+58.5%)[citation needed]. In March 2005, Free Auto Price Quotes Audi built its first two dealerships in India following its Free Auto Price Quotes high increase in sales in the region Their 2007 worldwide Free Auto Price Quotes sales have been released as 964,151 vehicles sold, yet another Free Auto Price Quotes record for the brand. In 2008, Audi has achieved the Free Auto Price Quotes 13th record year in a row passing the 1 million Free Auto Price Quotes unit mark with 1,003,400 sold units.[14 Audi Q7 Audi Q5 Free Auto Price Quotes Audi R8 Audi TT Audi A4 Audi A3 Audi A5 Free Auto Price Quotes Audi A6 Audi A8 2007-Present 2009- Present 2006-Present 1999-Present 1996- Free Auto Price Quotes Present 1996- Present 2007- Present 1995-Present 1994- Present xcludes the Free Auto Price Quotes S Models, and Of Audi the Hybrid [edit] Technolog This section Free Auto Price Quotes does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve Free Auto Price Quotes this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material Free Auto Price Quotes may be challenged and removed. (June 2008) [edit] Bodyshell Audi Free Auto Price Quotes produces 100% galvanized cars to prevent corrosion,[15] and was the Free Auto Price Quotes first mass-market vehicle to do so, following introduction of the Free Auto Price Quotes process by Porsche, c.1975. Along with other precautionary measures,the full-body Free Auto Price Quotes zinc coating has proved to be very effective in preventing Free Auto Price Quotes rust. The body's resulting durability even surpassed Audi's own expectations, Free Auto Price Quotes causing the manufacturer to extend its original 10-year warranty against Free Auto Price Quotes corrosion perforation to currently 12 years (except for Aluminium bodies Free Auto Price Quotes which don't rust).[16 An all-aluminium car was brought forward by Free Auto Price Quotes Audi, and in 1994 the Audi A8 was launched, which Free Auto Price Quotes introduced aluminum space frame technology (called Audi Space Frame). Audi Free Auto Price Quotes introduced a new series of vehicles in the mid-nineties and Free Auto Price Quotes continues to pursue leading-edge technology and high performance. Prior to Free Auto Price Quotes that effort, Audi used examples of the Type 44 chassis Free Auto Price Quotes fabricated out of aluminum as test-beds for the technique [edit] Free Auto Price Quotes Drive layou In all its post Volkswagen-era models, Audi has Free Auto Price Quotes firmly refused to adopt the traditional rear-wheel drive layout favoured Free Auto Price Quotes by its two arch rivals Mercedes-Benz and BMW, favouring either Free Auto Price Quotes front-wheel drive or four-wheel drive. To achieve this, Audi has Free Auto Price Quotes usually engineered its cars with a longitudinally front mounted engine, Free Auto Price Quotes in an "overhung" position, over the front wheels – in Free Auto Price Quotes front of the axle line. While this allows for equal Free Auto Price Quotes length driveshafts (therefore combatting torque steer), and the easy adoption Free Auto Price Quotes of four-wheel drive, it goes against the ideal 50:50 weight Free Auto Price Quotes distribution (as do all front wheel drive cars) Audi has Free Auto Price Quotes recently applied the quattro badge to models such as the Free Auto Price Quotes A3 and TT which do not actually use the Torsen-based Free Auto Price Quotes system as in prior years, with a mechanical centre differential, Free Auto Price Quotes but with the Swedish Haldex Traction electro-mechanical clutch 4WD system Free Auto Price Quotes [edit] Engine In the 1980s, Audi, along with Volvo, was Free Auto Price Quotes the champion of the inline 5 cylinder, 2.1/2.2 L engine Free Auto Price Quotes as a longer lasting alternative to more traditional 6 cylinder Free Auto Price Quotes engines. This engine was used not only in production cars Free Auto Price Quotes but also in their race cars. The 2.1 L inline Free Auto Price Quotes 5 cylinder engine was used as a base for the Free Auto Price Quotes rally cars in the 1980s, providing well over 400 horsepower Free Auto Price Quotes (298 kW) after modification. Before 1990, there were engines produced Free Auto Price Quotes with a displacement between 2.0 L and 2.3 L. This Free Auto Price Quotes range of engine capacity was a good combination of good Free Auto Price Quotes fuel economy (which was on the mind of every motorist Free Auto Price Quotes in the 1980s) and, of course, a good amount of Free Auto Price Quotes power [edit] Luxury competitor Through the early 1990s, Audi began Free Auto Price Quotes to move more towards the position of being a real Free Auto Price Quotes competitor in its target market against global luxury leaders Mercedes-Benz Free Auto Price Quotes and BMW. This began with the release of the Audi Free Auto Price Quotes V8 in 1990. It was essentially a new engine fitted Free Auto Price Quotes to the Audi 100/200, but with noticeable bodywork differences. Most Free Auto Price Quotes obvious was the new grille that was now incorporated in Free Auto Price Quotes the bonnet By 1991, Audi had the 4 cylinder Audi Free Auto Price Quotes 80, the 5 cylinder Audi 90 and Audi 100, the Free Auto Price Quotes turbocharged Audi 200 and the Audi V8. There was also Free Auto Price Quotes a coupe version of the 80/90 with both 4 and Free Auto Price Quotes 5 cylinder engines Although the five cylinder engine was a Free Auto Price Quotes successful and very robust powerplant, it was still a little Free Auto Price Quotes too different for the target market. With the introduction of Free Auto Price Quotes an all-new Audi 100 in 1992, Audi introduced a 2.8L Free Auto Price Quotes V6 engine. This engine was also fitted to a face-lifted Free Auto Price Quotes Audi 80 (all 80 and 90 models were now badged Free Auto Price Quotes 80 except for the USA), giving this model a choice Free Auto Price Quotes of 4, 5 and 6 cylinder engines, in saloon/sedan, coupe Free Auto Price Quotes and Cabriolet body styles The 5 cylinder was soon dropped Free Auto Price Quotes as a major engine choice; however, a turbocharged 230 hp Free Auto Price Quotes (169 kW) version remained. The engine, initially fitted to the Free Auto Price Quotes 200 quattro 20V of 1991, was a derivative of the Free Auto Price Quotes engine fitted to the Sport Quattro. It was fitted to Free Auto Price Quotes the Audi Coupe, and named the S2 and also to Free Auto Price Quotes the Audi 100 body, and named the S4. These two Free Auto Price Quotes models were the beginning of the mass-produced S series of Free Auto Price Quotes performance cars [edit] Audi Space Fram The Audi A8 replaced Free Auto Price Quotes the V8 in 1994, with a aluminium space frame, known Free Auto Price Quotes as the "Audi Space Frame" (ASF), to save weight. The Free Auto Price Quotes weight reduction was offset by the quattro four-wheel drive system. Free Auto Price Quotes It meant the car had similar performance to its rivals, Free Auto Price Quotes but superior roadholding. The Audi A2 and Audi R8 also Free Auto Price Quotes use Audi Space Frame designs [edit] A The next major Free Auto Price Quotes model change was in 1995 when the Audi A4 replaced Free Auto Price Quotes the Audi 80. The new nomenclature scheme was applied to Free Auto Price Quotes the Audi 100 to become the Audi A6 (with a Free Auto Price Quotes minor facelift). This also meant the S4 became the S6 Free Auto Price Quotes and a new S4 was introduced in the A4 body. Free Auto Price Quotes The S2 was discontinued. The Audi Cabriolet continued on (based Free Auto Price Quotes on the Audi 80 platform) until 1999, gaining the engine Free Auto Price Quotes upgrades along the way. A new A3 hatchback model (sharing Free Auto Price Quotes the Volkswagen Golf Mk4's platform) was introduced to the range Free Auto Price Quotes in 1996, and the radical Audi TT Model TT coupe and roadster Free Auto Price Quotes were debuted in 1998 based on the same underpinnings. Another Free Auto Price Quotes interesting model introduced was the Mercedes-Benz A-Class competitor, the Audi Free Auto Price Quotes A2. The model sold relatively well in Europe, however, the Free Auto Price Quotes A2 was discontinued in 2005 and Audi decided not to Free Auto Price Quotes develop an immediate replacement The engines available throughout the range Free Auto Price Quotes were now a 1.4L, 1.6L and 1.8L 4 cylinder, 1.8L Free Auto Price Quotes 4-cylinder turbo, 2.6L and 2.8L V6, 2.2L turbo-charged 5 cylinder Free Auto Price Quotes and the 4.2L V8 engine. The V6s were replaced by Free Auto Price Quotes new 2.4L and 2.8L 30V V6s in 1998, with marked Free Auto Price Quotes improvement in power, torque and smoothness. Further engines were added Free Auto Price Quotes along the way, including a 3.7L V8 and 6.0L W12 Free Auto Price Quotes engine for the A8 [edit] DS At the turn of Free Auto Price Quotes the century, Volkswagen introduced the Direct-Shift Gearbox, or DSG, an Free Auto Price Quotes automated manual transmission, drivable like a conventional automatic transmission. Based Free Auto Price Quotes on the gearbox found in the Group B S1, the Free Auto Price Quotes system includes dual electrohydraulically controlled clutches instead of a torque Free Auto Price Quotes converter. This is implemented in some VW Golfs, Audi A3 Free Auto Price Quotes and TT models where DSG is called S-tronic [edit] FS Free Auto Price Quotes New models of the A3, A4, A6 and A8 have Free Auto Price Quotes been introduced, with the aging 1.8 litre engine now having Free Auto Price Quotes been replaced by new Fuel Stratified Injection (FSI) engines. Nearly Free Auto Price Quotes every petrol engined model in the range now incorporates this Free Auto Price Quotes fuel-saving technology, including the following FSI engine.Petrol engines 1.6 Free Auto Price Quotes litre 4 cylinder 115 bhp (86 kW; 117 PS) 2.0 Free Auto Price Quotes litre 4 cylinder 150 bhp (112 kW; 152 PS) (Slowly Free Auto Price Quotes being phased out in order to make way for TSI Free Auto Price Quotes engines – see section below) 2.0 litre turbocharged 4 cylinder Free Auto Price Quotes 200 bhp (149 kW; 203 PS) 3.0 litre supercharged v6 Free Auto Price Quotes 300 bhp (224 kW; 304 PS) - 333 bhp (248 Free Auto Price Quotes kW; 338 PS) 3.1 litre V6 265 bhp (198 kW; Free Auto Price Quotes 269 PS) 4.2 litre V8 350 bhp (261 kW; 355 Free Auto Price Quotes PS) 4.2 litre V8 414 bhp (309 kW; 420 PS) Free Auto Price Quotes 5.2 litre V10 435 bhp (324 kW; 441 PS) - Free Auto Price Quotes 450 bhp (336 kW; 456 PS) 5.2 litre biturbo V10 Free Auto Price Quotes 573 bhp (427 kW; 581 PS) 6.0 litre W12 331 Free Auto Price Quotes kW (450 PS) Other engines on sale and featuring in Free Auto Price Quotes products of the Audi brand include 1.6 litre 4 cylinder Free Auto Price Quotes 102 bhp (76 kW; 103 PS) 1.9 litre TDI 4 Free Auto Price Quotes cylinder 105 bhp (78 kW; 106 PS) 2.0 litre TDI Free Auto Price Quotes 4 cylinder 141 bhp (105 kW; 143 PS) 2.0 litre Free Auto Price Quotes TDI 4 cylinder 170 bhp (127 kW; 172 PS) 2.7 Free Auto Price Quotes litre TDI V6 180 bhp (134 kW; 182 PS) 3.0 Free Auto Price Quotes litre TDI V6 233 bhp (174 kW; 236 PS) 4.2 Free Auto Price Quotes litre TDI V8 326 bhp (243 kW; 331 PS) 6.0 Free Auto Price Quotes litre TDI V12 500 bhp (373 kW; 507 PS) 1,000 Free Auto Price Quotes N·m (740 ft·lbf)/1750 rpm (All TDI models are turbodiesels. [edit] Free Auto Price Quotes Electric technolog Audi is planning an alliance with the Japanese Free Auto Price Quotes electronic giant Sanyo to develop a pilot hybrid electric project Free Auto Price Quotes for the Volkswagen Group. The alliance could result in Sanyo Free Auto Price Quotes batteries and other electronic components being used in future models Free Auto Price Quotes of the Volkswagen group. [17 Hybrid electric vehicles includes Audi Free Auto Price Quotes A1 Sportback Concept.[18] Audi A4 TDI Concept E.[19] This Free Auto Price Quotes section requires expansion. [edit] LED Daytime Running Light Since the Free Auto Price Quotes end of 2006 Audi has started using the latest white Free Auto Price Quotes LED daytime running light (DRL) technology as their new trademark Free Auto Price Quotes for their new models. The style was first introduced in Free Auto Price Quotes the R8, and is now being orientated to suit the Free Auto Price Quotes whole Audi model range. As of 2009, LED DRLs are Free Auto Price Quotes available throughout the current Audi model range [edit] Multi Media Free Auto Price Quotes Interface (MMI Audi has recently started offering a computerised control Free Auto Price Quotes system for its cars called Multi Media Interface (MMI). This Free Auto Price Quotes comes amid criticism of BMW's iDrive control, essentially a rotating Free Auto Price Quotes control knob designed to control radio, satellite navigation, TV, heating Free Auto Price Quotes and car controls with a screen. MMI was widely reported Free Auto Price Quotes to be a considerable improvement on BMW's iDrive, although BMW Free Auto Price Quotes has since made their iDrive more user-friendly MMI has been Free Auto Price Quotes generally well-received, as it requires less menu-surfing with its mass Free Auto Price Quotes of buttons around a central knob, with shortcuts to the Free Auto Price Quotes radio or phone functions. The screen, either colour or monochrome, Free Auto Price Quotes is mounted on the upright dashboard, and on the A4 Free Auto Price Quotes (new), A5, A6, A8, and Q7, the controls are mounted Free Auto Price Quotes horizontally. However, an "MMI-like" system is also available on the Free Auto Price Quotes Audi A3 and A4 models when equipped with the optional Free Auto Price Quotes Audi Navigation System Plus (RNS-E) [edit] Motorsport This section Free Auto Price Quotes does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve Free Auto Price Quotes this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material Free Auto Price Quotes may be challenged and removed. (June 2008) Audi has competed Free Auto Price Quotes in numerous forms of motorsports. Audi's rich tradition in motorsport Free Auto Price Quotes began with their former company Auto Union in the 1930s. Free Auto Price Quotes In the 1990s, Audi dominated the Touring and Super Touring Free Auto Price Quotes categories of motor racing after success in circuit racing in Free Auto Price Quotes North America [edit] Rallyin Walter Rohrl with his Quattro Free Auto Price Quotes A2 during the 1984 Rally Portugal.In 1980, Audi released the Free Auto Price Quotes Quattro, a four-wheel drive turbocharged car that went on to Free Auto Price Quotes win rallies and races worldwide. It is considered one of Free Auto Price Quotes the most significant rally cars of all time because it Free Auto Price Quotes was one of the first to take advantage of the Free Auto Price Quotes then-recently changed rules which allowed the use of four-wheel drive Free Auto Price Quotes in competition racing. Many critics doubted the viability of four-wheel Free Auto Price Quotes drive racers, thinking them to be too heavy and complex, Free Auto Price Quotes yet the Quattro was to become a successful car. Leading Free Auto Price Quotes its first rally it went off the road, however the Free Auto Price Quotes rally world had been served notice 4WD was the future. Free Auto Price Quotes The Quattro went on to achieve much success in the Free Auto Price Quotes World Rally Championship. It won the 1983 (Hannu Mikkola) and Free Auto Price Quotes the 1984 (Stig Blomqvist) drivers' titles,[20] and brought Audi the Free Auto Price Quotes manufacturers' title in 1982 and 1984.[21 Audi Quattro S1 Free Auto Price Quotes driven at the 2007 Rallye Deutschland.In 1984, Audi launched the Free Auto Price Quotes short-wheelbase Sport Quattro which dominated races in Monte Carlo and Free Auto Price Quotes Sweden, with Audi taking all podium places, but succumbed to Free Auto Price Quotes problems further into WRC contention. In 1985, after another season Free Auto Price Quotes mired in mediocre finishes, Walter Rohrl finished the season in Free Auto Price Quotes his Sport Quattro S1, and helped place Audi second in Free Auto Price Quotes the manufacturers' points. Audi also received rally honors in the Free Auto Price Quotes Hong Kong to Beijing rally in that same year. Michele Free Auto Price Quotes Mouton, the first and only female driver to win a Free Auto Price Quotes round of the World Rally Championship and a driver for Free Auto Price Quotes Audi, took the Sport Quattro S1, now simply called the Free Auto Price Quotes "S1", and raced in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Free Auto Price Quotes The climb race pits a driver and car to drive Free Auto Price Quotes up a 4,302 meter high mountain in Colorado and in Free Auto Price Quotes 1985, Michele Mouton set a new record of 11:25.39, and Free Auto Price Quotes being the first woman to set a Pikes Peak record. Free Auto Price Quotes In 1986, Audi formally left international rally racing following an Free Auto Price Quotes accident in Portugal involving driver Joaquim Santos in his Ford Free Auto Price Quotes RS200. Santos swerved to avoid hitting spectators in the road, Free Auto Price Quotes and left the track into the crowd of spectators on Free Auto Price Quotes the side, killing three and injuring 30. Bobby Unser used Free Auto Price Quotes an Audi in that same year to claim a new Free Auto Price Quotes record for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb at 11:09.22 In Free Auto Price Quotes 1987, Walter Rohrl claimed the title for Audi setting a Free Auto Price Quotes new Pikes Peak International Hill Climb record of 10:47.85 in Free Auto Price Quotes his Audi S1 which he retired from the WRC two Free Auto Price Quotes years earlier. The Audi S1 employed Audi's time-tested 5-cylinder turbo Free Auto Price Quotes charged engine, with the final version generating 441 kW (600 Free Auto Price Quotes PS; 591 bhp).[22] The engine was mated to a 6-speed Free Auto Price Quotes gearbox and ran on Audi's famous all-wheel drive system. All Free Auto Price Quotes of Audi's top drivers drove this car; Hannu Mikkola, Stig Free Auto Price Quotes Blomqvist, Walter Rohrl and Michele Mouton. This Audi S1 started Free Auto Price Quotes the S-series of cars for Audi which now represents an Free Auto Price Quotes increased level of sports options and quality in the Audi Free Auto Price Quotes line-up [edit] Motorsports in the US As Audi moved away Free Auto Price Quotes from rallying and into circuit racing, they chose to move Free Auto Price Quotes first into America with the Trans-Am in 1988 In 1989, Free Auto Price Quotes Audi moved to IMSA GTO with the Audi 90, however Free Auto Price Quotes as they avoided the two major endurance events (Daytona and Free Auto Price Quotes Sebring) despite winning on a regular basis, they would lose Free Auto Price Quotes out on the title [edit] Touring car In 1990, having Free Auto Price Quotes completed their objective to market cars in the United States, Free Auto Price Quotes Audi returned to Europe, turning first to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Free Auto Price Quotes Meisterschaft (DTM) series with the Audi V8, then in 1993, Free Auto Price Quotes being unwilling to build cars for the new formula, they Free Auto Price Quotes turned their attention to the fast growing Supertouring series, which Free Auto Price Quotes took place nationally, first in the French Supertourisme and Italian Free Auto Price Quotes Superturismo. In the following year, Audi would switch to the Free Auto Price Quotes German Super Tourenwagen (known as STW) and then to British Free Auto Price Quotes Touring Car Championship (BTCC) the year after that The Federation Free Auto Price Quotes Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), having difficulty regulating the quattro four Free Auto Price Quotes wheel drive system, and the impact it had on the Free Auto Price Quotes competitors, would eventually ban all four wheel drive cars from Free Auto Price Quotes competing in 1998, by then Audi switched all their works Free Auto Price Quotes efforts to sports car racing By 2000, Audi would still Free Auto Price Quotes compete in the US with their RS4 for the SCCA Free Auto Price Quotes Speed World GT Challenge, through dealer/team Champion Racing competing against Free Auto Price Quotes Corvettes, Vipers, and smaller BMWs (where it is one of Free Auto Price Quotes the few series to permit 4WD cars). In 2003, Champion Free Auto Price Quotes Racing entered an RS6. Once again, the quattro four wheel Free Auto Price Quotes drive was superior and Champion Audi won the championship. They Free Auto Price Quotes returned in 2004 to defend their title but a newcomer, Free Auto Price Quotes Cadillac with the new Omega Chassis CTS-V, gave them a Free Auto Price Quotes run for their money. After four victories in a row, Free Auto Price Quotes the Audis were sanctioned with several negative changes that deeply Free Auto Price Quotes affected the car's performance. Namely, added ballasts and Champion Audi Free Auto Price Quotes deciding to go with different tires and backing off the Free Auto Price Quotes turbos boost pressure In 2004, after years of competing with Free Auto Price Quotes the TT-R in the revitalized DTM series, with privateer team Free Auto Price Quotes Abt Racing/Christian Abt taking the 2002 title with Laurent Aiello, Free Auto Price Quotes Audi returned as a full factory effort to touring car Free Auto Price Quotes racing by entering two factory supported Joest Racing Audi A4s Free Auto Price Quotes [edit] Sports Car racin Audi R10 TDIBeginning in 1999, Free Auto Price Quotes Audi built the Audi R8R (open-top prototype) and the Audi Free Auto Price Quotes R8C (GT-Prototype) to compete in sports car racing, including the Free Auto Price Quotes Le Mans Prototype LMP900 class at the 24 Hours of Free Auto Price Quotes Le Mans. For the 2000 season, Audi focussed mainly on Free Auto Price Quotes the new Audi R8, due to favorable rules for open-top Free Auto Price Quotes prototypes. The factory-supported Joest Racing team won at Le Mans Free Auto Price Quotes three times in a row with the Audi R8 (2000 Free Auto Price Quotes — 2002), as well as winning every race in the Free Auto Price Quotes American Le Mans Series in its first year. Audi also Free Auto Price Quotes sold the car to customer teams such as Champion Racing Free Auto Price Quotes In 2003, two Bentley Speed 8s, with engines designed by Free Auto Price Quotes Audi, and driven by Joest drivers loaned to the fellow Free Auto Price Quotes Volkswagen Group company, competed in the GTP class, and finished Free Auto Price Quotes the race in the top two positions, while the Champion Free Auto Price Quotes Racing R8 finished third overall and first in the LMP900 Free Auto Price Quotes class. Audi returned to the winner's circle at the 2004 Free Auto Price Quotes race, with the top three finishers all driving R8s: Audi Free Auto Price Quotes Sport Japan Team Goh finished first, Audi Sport UK Veloqx Free Auto Price Quotes second, and Champion Racing third At the 2005 24 Hours Free Auto Price Quotes of Le Mans, Champion Racing entered two R8s along with Free Auto Price Quotes an R8 from the Audi PlayStation Team Oreca. The R8s Free Auto Price Quotes (which were built to old LMP900 regulations) received a narrower Free Auto Price Quotes air inlet restrictor, reducing power, and an additional 50 kg Free Auto Price Quotes (110 lb) of weight compared to the newer LMP1 chassis. Free Auto Price Quotes On average, the R8s were about 2–3 seconds off pace Free Auto Price Quotes compared to the Pescarolo-Judd. But with a team of excellent Free Auto Price Quotes drivers and experience, both Champion R8s were able to take Free Auto Price Quotes first and third while the ORECA team took fourth. The Free Auto Price Quotes Champion team was also the first American team to win Free Auto Price Quotes Le Mans since the Gulf Ford GT's in 1967. This Free Auto Price Quotes also ends the long era of the R8; however, its Free Auto Price Quotes replacement for 2006, called the Audi R10 TDI, was unveiled Free Auto Price Quotes on 13 December 2005 The R10 TDI employs many new Free Auto Price Quotes features, including a twin-turbocharged diesel engine. Its first race was Free Auto Price Quotes the 2006 12 Hours of Sebring as a race-test for Free Auto Price Quotes the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans, which it later Free Auto Price Quotes went on to win. Audi has been on the forefront Free Auto Price Quotes of sports car racing, claiming a historic win in the Free Auto Price Quotes first ever diesel sports car at 12 Hours of Sebring. Free Auto Price Quotes As well as winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans Free Auto Price Quotes in 2006 making history, the R10 TDI has also shown Free Auto Price Quotes its capabilities by beating the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP in Free Auto Price Quotes 2007, and beating Peugeot again in 2008 [edit] Sponsorship Audi Free Auto Price Quotes Medcup: sailing regatta located in Spain, France, Italy, and Portugal. Free Auto Price Quotes Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta. Audi Hamilton Island Race. [edit] See Free Auto Price Quotes als Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Audi Free Auto Price Quotes Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Audi Audi Driving Free Auto Price Quotes Experience Audi Centre of Excellence quattro GmbH Audi Channel Volkswagen Free Auto Price Quotes list of German cars [edit] Cultural reference In the 1998 Free Auto Price Quotes Ronin (film) The professional driver requests an Audi S8 as Free Auto Price Quotes the Getaway car. In in the 2004 Layer Cake (film) Free Auto Price Quotes a 2003 Audi RS6 Avant (wagon) is used by the Free Auto Price Quotes primary characters throughout the film. On August 22 2004 a Free Auto Price Quotes Black Audi A6/S6 wagon was used as the getaway car Free Auto Price Quotes for the Munch Museum heist where both the Scream and Free Auto Price Quotes the Madonna paintings were stolen. The Audi A8 W12 was Free Auto Price Quotes featured in the 2005 film Transporter 2 and 2008 film Free Auto Price Quotes Transporter 3 Taken (film) has a silver A3 as the Free Auto Price Quotes rental car of choice for the main character while he Free Auto Price Quotes is in France. The movie I, Robot (film) features a Free Auto Price Quotes prototype Audi RSQ driven by actor Will Smith. November 25 Free Auto Price Quotes 2008, an ATM heist went wrong when the 
explosives used Free Auto Price Quotes for the ATM took out the Thieves Silver late model Free Auto Price Quotes A6 Getaway car. In the 2008 movie "Iron Man", Tony Free Auto Price Quotes Stark drives an Audi R8 to the Fireman's Benefit dinner. Free Auto Price Quotes In the 2009 show airing on BBC and BBC America, Free Auto Price Quotes Titiled, "Ashes To Ashes", Philip Glenister,(D.I. Gene Hunt) Drives an Free Auto Price Quotes Audi Quattro, and signifies it with his famous quote, "Fire Free Auto Price Quotes up the Quattro!". In the 2009 movie "Transformers: Revenge of Free Auto Price Quotes the Fallen," the Decepticon, Sideways, takes the form of Fallen," Free Auto Price Quotes the Decepticon, Sideways, takes the form of an