Poole Audi Launch the all new Audi A8 and Audi R8 Spyder

The new Audi A8 and R8 Spyder arrived at Poole Audi on the 20th May 2010 - below is a short video of their arrival.

For more information on the latest additions to our range, please contact our sales team on 01202 775050 or e-mail a8launch@pooleaudi.com

The new A8 LWB and W12

The new A8 LWB and the new A8 LWB W12 bring a new level of luxury to the D segment. They are 130mm longer than the standard A8 and all of that extra length enhances the opulent rear-seat passenger space. First deliveries are due in December 2010.

New A8 LWB

The new A8L’s wheelbase and rear doors are longer to allow for easier access to the rear of the car.

Equipment
Standard equipment in addition to that on the standard A8
· 130mm of extra legroom in the rear
· Heated outer rear seats
· Electric rear window blind and electric side blinds
· 4-zone deluxe climate control
· Electric slide-and-tilt sunroof

The A8L costs just £3,880 more than the standard car – a £510 increase over the outgoing model that is easily offset by the efficiency of the new A8’s engines, the rear heated seats, the addition of the sunroof, the improved 4-zone climate control and the electric rear side blinds.

The new A8L has a range of truly luxurious optional extras, such as a panoramic sunroof (see image), a fridge, an executive rear seat (see image) and an extended rear centre console (see image). The full list of options will be published in the updated brochure during July 2010, for more information make sure to contafct us.

A8 LWB W12

The new A8 W12 quattro is the true flagship for the Audi range, combining luxury and performance like no other car in the class.

Equipment
The A8L W12 has a wealth of extra standard equipment over that on the SE Executive LWB models, including:
· 19-inch 15-spoke design alloy wheels
· Comfort front seats
· Individual electrically adjustable outer rear seats
· Extended leather pack plus
· Power door closure
· Twin pane UV and heat insulating glass
· All-LED headlights
· Mobile phone prep high with privacy handset and online services
· CD/DVD Changer
· BOSE® surround system

Audi’s engineers have extensively re-worked the existing 6.0 W12 engine to give an increased capacity of 6.3 litres, offer more power (from 450PS to 500PS), add FSI technology and improve efficiency.

Styling features
Subtle visual details distinguish the A8 L W12 quattro from the other new A8s. The single-frame radiator grille with integral grid structure has a high-gloss black paint finish and special chromed horizontal bars. The air inlets also have newly-designed chrome inserts, and the exterior mirrors have new chrome applications. W12 badges feature on the front single-frame grille and the rear of the car. The exhaust system has two trapezoidal-pattern tailpipe trims neatly integrated into the rear bumper.

The W12 will open for ordering towards the end of July. For more information, or to register your interest, please call 01202 775050 or e-mail chris.ryu@oceanautomotive.co.uk

New Audi A8 Hybrid

Audi is displaying an A8 hybrid at the Geneva Motor Show. Its two power units – a 2.0 TFSI engine and an electric motor – give the car the same outstanding performance as one fitted with a large-capacity conventional six-cylinder engine.

The A8 hybrid’s power units have a combined output of 256PS and a massive 480 Nm torque. The average fuel consumption is only 42mpg and thanks to the smaller engine, its CO2 emissions of 144 g/km will be class leading.


The powerful electric motor is integrated between the 211PS four-cylinder petrol engine and the 8-speed tiptronic transmission, reducing friction and power loss.

The A8 Hybrid can be powered by the engine or motor individually or simultaneously. The car is capable of staying in the pure electric drive mode at speeds of up to 40mph.

The A8 hybrid is expected to be available to order from late 2011. For more information call 01202 775050.

Audi scoops three Business Car Awards

Audi celebrated three excellent wins in the Business Car Awards yesterday, topping the luxury, small 4 x 4 and sporting car categories.

The A8 triumphed for the third consecutive year in the luxury category, despite being the oldest car in its class.

The Audi Q5 beat stiff competition from Volvo’s XC60, the BMW X3, the Land Rover Freelander and the 2008 champion, the Honda CR-V.

The R8 follows the TT and last year’s victor, the A5, with its win in the sporting car category. Although not a natural fleet pick, there were more than 160 R8s registered as fleet purchases in 2009. Its rock-solid residual values and head-turning ability a Porsche 911 can only dream of are highlighted by businesscar.co.uk.

Fleet and Aftersales Marketing Manager Nathan Dennis commented: “this is a really great start to the year. Not only have we won three awards, but the A8 picked up its third win in a row – more than any other model has won. These awards mean more than most to us because it’s the people who buy and run our fleet cars who vote for them. It confirms that we’re doing a fantastic job and our products are world-class.”

The Business Car Awards are designed to highlight the best in business, and are chosen by the people whose firms depend on using top-quality products, technology and services on a daily basis. The winners are selected by the readers of Business Car magazine, website and email newsletters.

If you would like to know more about choosing an Audi as your next car contact Poole Audi on 01202 775050

Back to the Future 4 – The Audi Prequel

We all take technology for granted; we can wake up to a random selection of songs played from a device that is capable of storing thousands of high quality albums. We can fit this device (what would have been a room full of LPs) in our pocket and use this handheld device to communicate with people all around the world. It needs no buttons, just caressing the screen with your finger or holding it a different way can be enough to activate its impressive functions. If that is not enough, you can download applications that turn it into a spirit level, a mobile office, or even a light-saber! This device is known as the Apple I-Phone and I salute you I-Phone for coming into our world and making it cool to be a gadget-loving geek.

So, if a phone can be made (with the help of new technology) to be so versatile, why not the humble motor car? 2010 may be the year for this to happen, especially if you are an Audi driver. They have a history of inventing, in 2006 they had already clocked up nearly 10,000 patents and they don’t stop. So, what could 2010 have in-store for Audi owners?

Google Earth Navigation – A8
Not pleased with simple 3D renditions of the road ahead, Audi has teamed up with Google to bring you satellite imagery. Now you can clearly tell which way the road bends and what features you can expect to be up ahead. Users can also search for locations and businesses using the Google search engine from in their car, then navigate to that point with just a simple to on the cars MMI-Touch interface.

Intelligent car features – A8 and E-Tron
The intelligent lighting system that Audi has put in place communicates with various sensors in the car and even the car’s satellite navigation system. They use several different light configurations for different road types and best of all, they are LED lights and so energy consumption is kept to a minimum.

In a similar way to how the headlights on the new A8 can use information from the satellite navigation, so can the latest gearbox in Audi’s range. Traditionally automatic gearboxes have had a reputation for shifting at bad times (i.e. in a corner) and while Audi have mostly removed the chance of this with their recent advancements, the inclusion of the navigation system means that they can eliminate it for good.

Self-parking car
It has been tried several times before with various other manufacturers and it has a reputation for not working as well as planned, until now. The parallel parking system has been an option on the Audi A3 for a while now and has yet to be surpassed for its ease of use. The car monitors the size of parking spaces and will take care of all of the angles, while you just control the speed.

A car that drives itself
Well, not quite but we are nearly there. For sometime now Audi have been offering Adaptive cruise control - a clever system that monitors the road ahead and will slow down, or accelerate the car to match the speed of other road users. When combined with other options, the car can warn you of cars in your blind-spots, detect (and help prevent) hazards on the road ahead and even use night vision to see things that you cannot. The uses heat recognition and clever cameras to calculate whether the hazard is a pedestrian or an animal. It will then highlight this on the screen and calculate the risk level by looking at the hazards movements i.e. which way they are walking, how fast, etc. The driver is alerted to the danger and if necessary the car will intervene by braking.

I figure that we now have all of the components needed to almost be able to do away with the driver. Let’s think about it;
o We have a satellite navigation system feeding information to various elements of the car
o The car is detecting obstacles with not only sensors, but cameras including night vision cameras that have a range far beyond high-beam headlights
o The car is able to steer itself into a difficult parking space
o Technology is already in production whereby cars can communicate with each other and traffic lights

Of course if my theory is correct, then I am now useless. However all hope is not lost, as the car still needs fuelling - for now anyway.

P.S. If you are reading this in the year 2011, then it is likely that your Audi is reading this to you while it drives you to work!

The All New Audi A8 Unveiled

Late on Monday night, Audi fans from all around the world tuned in to see the car on Audi TV. Was it worth the wait? Definitely! Many of us believe the existing A8 is the most appealing luxury car in this segment of the market. However, in the true spirit of Vorsprung durch Technik, Audi could not resist taking it to the next level.

This new epitome of luxury is now bigger, in fact it is now the biggest in its class. 7.5cm longer, 5.5cm wider and 2.6cm taller and yet this new muscular build does not come at the expense of fuel economy. Technology has moved along so far that the new Audi A8 is actually lighter and coupled with our new efficiency features, fuel economy has increased by up to 16%. CO2 emissions have also been reduced, some even by 21%! We now have a 3.0 TDI that produces only 159g/km and this is not at a loss of power as this has also been increased across the engine range. The 4.2 TDI now produces 350 PS (previously 326 PS), propelling the flag-ship to 60mph in 5.5 seconds and the 4.2 FSI has been increased to 372 PS from 350 PS.

In addition to the car’s green credentials, Audi Pre-sense has to be one of the highlights of the preview; this new system gives the car what we can only describe as pre-cognitive abilities. If the car senses an accident is about to happen, it will close the windows and the sunroof and turn on the hazard warning lights. For more minor incidents, if the Audi Pre-sense system predicts that there is a remote risk of a collision, it will prime the brake callipers, allowing the brakes to be applied that split second sooner. If the driver does not react to the impending collision, then Audi Pre-sense will alert the driver and even begin to slow the car down, buying the driver a few all important seconds. In the case of a rear collision the new Audi A8 will even move the front seats forward, reducing inertia and moving the passengers further away from the impact.

Other new features include the adaptive LED headlights. These revolutionary new all-LED headlights use less energy than conventional headlights. The adaptive lights use information from the new satellite navigation system, they will adjust to provide better visibility of upcoming corners and even offer different lighting dependant on the type of the road. The advancements don’t stop there either; the new A8 comes complete with an 8-speed automatic gearbox and electronic gear-lever. The Audi MMI system has been condensed and now includes a touch-sensitive pad, whereby the user can write numbers and letters with their finger to input phone numbers, and addresses.

To recap, the car is bigger, lighter, safer, more luxurious, more economical, has more technology and it is even more powerful – worth the wait? Definitely!

We have already requested two cars to use for demonstration, including the new 4.2 TDI model. We anticipate receiving those in April 2010. If you would like further information on this superb car, contact our sales team on 01202 775050.

Audi can show in Frankfurt R8 with electric motor

Audi Company may submit to the Motor Show in Frankfurt this fall based on the electric sports Audi R8, writes French magazine Automobile Magazine, referring to an informed source. Presumably, the model would be called R8 ePerformance. The publication stresses that this is not a hybrid, and pure electric car with a battery pack and electric drive.

Premiere of a new Audi A8 will be held at the end of 2010

Debut second-generation Audi A8 took place in 2003, and since then the model has only a small feyslift to remain in the "form" in the face of such rivals as Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Lexus LS and the new BMW 7-Series.

The next generation A8, which will premiere in late 2010, early stages of development and German engineers are beginning to test the new car mechanics, which passes road test in the bodywork of the current sedan. It is expected that the new model faired better contrast with typical along the lines of the body and the bonnet and new front and rear lights, while the radical exterior updates are foreseen and much of the technical improvements touches of the car.

The model is built on a modular platform Audi A4 with the use of more lightweight materials like aluminium and magnesium to reduce weight and improve dynamics. In all likelihood, will inherit the current number of new power units, ranging from 2.8 - six-liter engine and finishing 4.2 - liter vosmitsilindrovym FSI. The new 6.0 - litre V12 turbodizel can replace large W12, which is equipped with masthead version of Audi A8 with long wheel base, because the company intends to withdraw from the production of gasoline version of the engine due to too high costs of assembling the required standards and inconsistencies toxicity. In addition, the line will add a few more "charged" with the new units for gas distribution system. The base model, as before, remain peredneprivodnoy, while more expensive versions equipped with a full drive Quattro.

Audi conducting tests of prototype Convertible Audi R8

The prototype sports cabriolet Audi R8 paparatstsi noticed on the roads of Germany. Judging from the photos, the car will receive materchatuyu roof, but left without a branded aluminum thresholds.

A new version of the model still has no title: among the options - Convertible / Cabriolet, Spider and Targa. The latter seems most appropriate, given especially the body, covering the rear seats.

Convertible differ from the usual R8 additional air intakes behind the seats and a pair of other security-specific versions of open-top. Cover fuel tank shifted because of a lack of rear pillars body. Also, the chassis designers enhance the car.

At a prototype becomes the exhaust pipe and diffuser from the Audi R8 V10, which still has not been formally submitted. Perhaps these details point to the development of Convertible with 10 - cylinder engine. But, rather, Audi RS-experiencing masthead version of the new R8.

New Audi R8 takes buyers to six figures in a hurry

Fast, spectacular-looking cars with racing genes don't come cheap.

The new Audi R8 is no exception. Audi Canada has announced that the starting price for the R8 sports car will be $139,000 for the mid-engined, quattro all-wheel drive equipped aluminum machine.

Audi says it has incorporated the name and genes of the five-time 24 Hours of LeMans winner into the mid-engined sports car.

The 4.2-litre V8 engine delivers 420 horsepower at 7,800 r.p.m. and 317 lb.-ft. of torque between 4,500 r.p.m. and 6,000 r.p.m.

The R8 accelerates from a standstill to 10 km/h in 4.6 seconds and reaches a top speed of 301 km/h.

Among the design features of the R8 is the side blade which is available in three different styles and allows for greater personalization.

Canadian customers will be able to choose a wide array of Audi R8 branded merchandise and luxury goods, including a specially fitted R8 luggage set, a unique R8 watch and more. The first Canadian R8 owners should be driving their cars in September.

autos.canada.com