Audi RS3 Tyre Syndrome

I recently mentioned about the new Audi RS3's interesting tyres size measures (Previous post). The front tyres are wider than the rear ones. This is quite unusual in automotive world, usually the rear tyres are wider for more grips and the front tyres are narrower. And aesthetically, it looks nice too.

However, new RS3 has a different setting for tyre sizes and I assumed that, Audi did this to reduce the understeer by providing more grip on front tyres. And I asked this to Audi UK to test my hypothesis! I thought my assumption may not be right and there will be an another explanation for this. However I was right, Audi placed wider front tyres for more grip and reduce the understeer :)

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Audi

Published at: http://uygarr.blogspot.com http://carsandlife.net

Need For Speed World: Personality Against Brute Force

2009 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 Edition (Need For Speed World)

So, the guys of NFS World were at Gamescom in Germany last week, which made it perfect for them to release three new German cars for the game. First up, there's the Porsche Cayman S Treasure Hunt which makes hunting for gems much easier for those struggling to get some money. Next is the heavy Audi RS4, of which I think is still not as good as an M3. And last, but certainly not least, Mercedes-Benz enters NFS World with the brutal SLR McLaren 722 Edition. I'll say it as of now: it isn't the fastest thing in World. But, if you're looking for a Tier 3 tank besides the Viper that can barrage throw cops with ease, this is definitely the car. I made three videos showcasing all three cars with some extras of course. All 3 feature a dude from World-Garage who has some awesome skill when it comes to driving. Check them out!

DTM Revival (Part 2)

2012 Audi A5 DTM (Rendering)

More DTM madness out of Germany. Now that BMW's back in the sport, Audi figured it was time to show them who they were messing with. So, they released these renderings of the new A5 DTM. Built to replace the already steady A4 DTM, Audi says that this car will house a 456 horsepower 4.2-liter V8 engine, which is also being used in the A4 DTM. The renderings resemble the car before its facelift, but Audi says that come production time at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the model will closely resemble the new A5 which was revealed a couple days ago.

Audi Nip/Tucks Their Sport Coupe

2012 Audi S5

If you're an S5 lover, you'll pleased when I say that Audi have updated the car with a more futuristic look. Unfortunately, the handsome 4.2-liter FSI V8 has been replaced with a fuel-saving 3.0-liter TFSI Supercharged V6. So, it's not the most powerful S model in their line (333 horsepower) and because it's a heavy sport coupe, it won't be much faster, but Audi does say that they've lightened it so you'll still get power and more fuel, which should be brilliant. As for the design, the lines stay the same. Only the front and tail lights are different. The LED "jeweled eyes" seem to have been taken from the A1, though I maybe wrong. The tail lights, however, are definitely from the A8. Everything else on the car is exactly the same: same luxurious commodities, same sport-tuned suspension, same R-tronic transmission. Now, here's the catch. Audi says that the model that you see here won't be coming to America, yet. So, the bold 4.2-liter FSI V8 S5 with the be-spoke LED "Jeweled eyes" is here to stay for a couple of years. So, if you're in Europe and miss the V8 engine, you might wanna look into the American market, cuz it's here to stay!

An Audi Full of Surprises (Part III)

2012 Audi A1 Clubsport Quattro "Speed" Edition 

Just when you thought the A1 Clubsport couldn't get any cooler, well, it has. Audi and NFS have teamed up once again to produce this unique "Speed" edition to the A1 Clubsport. Nothing else really special about it, except that the new vinyl design perfectly fits with this car and looks absolutely awesome. The car itself is fantastic with amazing handling, acceleration, top speed, and, in a strange way, looks. You can have it now for 3,800 speedboost, or for free if you're one of the lucky twenty stooges who wins a code from the NFS dev team. All you have to do is hit up twitter, follow @NFSworld, and tweet "I just entered to win an Audi A1 speed car code from @NFSWorld. RT to enter http://bit.ly/mkhVER". It's that simple. As for me, I'll buy it in order to keep it. Who says I can't collect cars? If you missed my Audi A1 Clubsport Review, check it out below. The regular car is still available for 3000 speedboost, so get yours today!

Captain, Your S7 is Ready!

2012 Audi S7 (Courtesy of WorldCarFans)

It would seem that Audi's done preparing the S7 for it's global debut this fall at the Frankfurt Motor Show as it was seen not too long ago with no masking tape or covers on it at all. The S7 is the more powerful, more aggressive sibling to the very pretty A7. Under the hood, Audi says you'll find a 4.0-liter 435 horsepower Turbocharged V8 engine, the same one to be used on the new baseline Bentley Continental GT. With the help of the Quattro all-wheel drive system, Audi speculates that it will do 0 to 60 in less than 5 seconds on its way to a limited top speed of 155 MPH. Audi's been giving this car some very thorough tests to see if it's ready for some fast paced driving. It's been to the Nürburgring, where they honed in the car's weight distribution and speed. It's been to the Alps where they tested it's all-wheel drive system mixed with its sport-tuned suspension. After other thorough tests, Audi finally said,  "It's Ready!" Well, technically they didn't say it like that, but you know what I mean. Expect this car to be quite expensive, though, as the A7 3.0t already costs about $60,000. So if you like how it looks now, save up, cuz it's gonna get even more pretty.

Hardcore Droptop

2012 Audi R8 GT Spyder

At long last, Audi's hardcore droptop has been unveiled. Say hello to the 2012 Audi R8 GT Spyder. It's like the regular 5.2 FSI Spyder, just much, much darker. As you can see, the car gets some wild carbonization all-round, from the front splitter, bumper-side airflows, interior trim, rear spoiler, and rear diffuser. Even the rear LED Taillights have received their own dark extensions. If you thought the 5.2 FSI Spyder was cool, you'll want to ditch that for this. Why? Well it's much lighter than the regular Spyder with loads of carbon fiber and lightweight material used to make this car, shedding about 85 kilograms (187 lbs.)  of weight. Under the hood, the car gets an upgraded 5.2-liter FSI V10 engine producing 560 horsepower. Because of this, 0 to 60 is achieved in 3.8 seconds and it will do 197 MPH with either the roof up or down. This is sort of weak though because the most powerful non-turbo V8 convertible in the world, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster, has 3 more horses and will do that same speed without any weight reduction. But anyway, the car itself looks quite stunning. Like the GT Coupe, Audi plan to only make 333 GT Spyders. No word on how many the U.S. will get or what the car itself will cost over here. In Germany, it's good for €207,800, which is about $300,748 if your calculations are correct. So, if this car is intriguing to you, you might as well save your money now!

An Audi Full of Suprises (Part II)

2012 Audi A1 Clubsport Quattro Concept (Need For Speed World)

I told you guys I'd test it! So earlier today, I went online to see why this car's become the main buzz of NFS World. Well, it seems that while Audi was making this crazy compact monster, Need For Speed managed to contact them and settle an agreement in having that car be an ultra exclusive item in the game. So far, it still is. No other game has pitched in to get it. Anyway, when it was finished and unveiled behind closed doors, NFS went over to Germany to do their 3D rendering, performance inputs, and detailing to bring this car into the virtual world, and voilà! The Audi A1 Clubsport came into existence and everyone is happy, both online and offline. As a general car, it actually is quite good. It handles well thanks to its Quattro all-wheel drive system. As a racer, it's quite phenomenal! The car handles corners with ease and turns on dime, instantly. It's quite uncanny when you think about it because, genuinely, a compact car with a big heavy engine in the front combined with front-wheel drive would be the recipe for one massive accident. So, luckily Audi fitted this car with all-wheel drive instead of front-wheel drive in order to cooperate with a 2.5-liter 500 horsepower turbo-5 engine. So, in the end, I did some races, cruised for a while, and took some pictures with it. You, yourself can drive it now if you have a computer and the game installed. From now til June 4, you can drive it around NFS World, but for 3,500 Speedboost, you can drive it until the day you die, or your account gets hacked, whichever comes first. I'd go with the second one because, as you see here, you can customize it with performance parts and visual upgrades. Check out the video below to see how Audi and NFS got along. I'll have a video of my encounter with the car very soon.

An Audi Full of Suprises

2012 Audi A1 Clubsport Quattro Concept

Imagine putting a 7.0-liter 500 horsepower V8 engine in your Mini Cooper S. You'd probably crash it after two minutes, wouldn't you? Sometimes, big engines and small cars don't mix. So, what do you do? Induction! Grab some turbochargers, put them in a small engine, and spool that baby up. That's exactly would Audi did here with this very unique A1. It has the same 2.5-liter turbo-5 that the Audi TT-RS has, but the turbo has been spooled to its peak producing, what makes no difference, 500 horsepower! And, since the power is distributed to all four wheels thanks to the car's Quattro all-wheel drive system, it will do 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds, 0.1 seconds faster than the Audi R8 5.2 FSI Coupe. Top speed, however, stays limited to 155 MPH. This might not be the most brilliant of small cars, but let's be honest. A 500 horsepower turbocharged engine in car as small as a Mini? That's insane. Audi claims that this is a concept car, but in reality it is a one-off which will be sold to one happy, crazy German. Audi have no plans of putting this thing on sale to the public, but, if you have a computer, there is a way for you to test drive this crazy compact car.

2012 Audi A1 Clubsport Quattro Concept (Need For Speed: World)

Audi and Need For Speed have teamed up to make the beginning of June sort of memorable for all you NFS World players. From June 1 to June 4, you'll be able to rent the Audi A1 Clubsport Quattro for free. For the first time ever, you'll be able to outrun cops through tight squeezes, beat your opponents by using shortcuts, or even become a city road rat with this crazy car. I'll be online tomorrow to test it out and see if its good. 

Exotisches Kabriolett

2012 Audi R8 GT Spyder (Courtesy of WorldCarFans)

Here it is! Looks like it could be it, doesn't it? It seems the Audi R8 GT Spyder has already been seen cruising around Ingolstadt. Unfortunately, this is just a prototype. You can tell just by looking at the front and the rear bumper. There's supposed to be a front splitter and side air vanes on the front bumper. As for the rear, the massive circular race-spec exhaust and rear diffuser are still in the works. The large carbon fiber spoiler, however, seems to fit quite well. When it comes out later this year, the R8 GT Spyder will have the same 5.2-liter FSI 560 horsepower V10 engine that the hardtop GT had. But, since it's a spyder, the top speed (193 MPH) and 0 to 60 time (3.8 seconds) are slightly slower because of some added weight in order to stabilize the car. It won't matter anyway, because while driving it, with the top down, you'll be able to hear the awesome savagery of that fantastic Lamborghini V10 engine. Audi will only be making 333 of this, with a possible 90 coming over here in the U.S. Prices will range from $240,000 to $300,000, so if you want one, you better save up now.
You can not beat a good euphonious

The Race For Your Life

2010 BMW M6 Convertible

Need For Speed is back and it's bringing the cops and the action with it. If you remember Hot Pursuit with just pure racing and cop chasing, put that all aside, because in this new game, it's a matter of life and death. No word on who will develop this game, but it's most likely that Black Box Studios will come back to make a knock-your-socks-off racing game. It looks like there's gonna be an array of new cars from the Audi R8 5.2 FSI Quattro, the BMW M3 GTS, the Shelby GT500 Super Snake, the Ford Taurus SHO Interceptor, the Aston Martin V12 Vantage, and many more. So, to sum it up, Black Box Studios is bringing back the cop chases, the insane races, and the movie scenes to this latest NFS title. I just hope it's not another Undercover. Let's see if Black Box can redeem themselves with this title. Need For Speed: The Run is scheduled for release this November 15 for the PS3, Xbox 360, and the PC. Check out the trailer below.

Look out Hatchbacks!

2012 Opel Astra GTC

Saturn may be gone, but Opel and Vauxhall still live, and they're cooking up something interesting to compete with some top notch hatchbacks. Say hello to the all new Astra GTC, due for official unveiling in Frankfurt, Germany at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Opel and Vauxhall say that this new hatchback will make room for their new 300 horsepower hot hatch due to take on the VW Golf R and Audi's turbo-boosting RS3. It's a shame Saturn shut down, though. Not that they produced really good cars, but if they were still alive and brought this here, people would be buying it. This might just be a rendering, but Opel and Vauxhall say that the final product will look almost exactly like it. It looks good. This could take GM somewhere. The car is scheduled for internet debut on June 7 when the pre-order books open. Check back here to see the hot hatch's greatest threat.

They Keep Getting Smaller

2012 Audi Q3

First it was the Q7 back in 2005. Then the Q5 came in 2008. And now, we have this: the Audi Q3, Audi's take on making an entry level luxury SUV. This isn't really a bespoke Audi, though. Pull back the body, and you'll find the chassis from a Volkswagen Tiguan, which wasn't the best thing to come out of VW. Still, Audi is known for making their cars way better than their subsidiaries Porsche and VW. A perfect example of this is the new A7. Anyway, the new Q3 will feature a diesel and a petrol engine at production time with horsepower ranging from 140 to 211. The two most powerful models will feature Audi's Quattro™ All-Wheel Drive system and a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. There will be a 170 horsepower front-wheel drive model that will be available later. As for features, there are the traditional Audi LED Daytime running lamps, the Adaptive Light Technology, the Electronic Parking Assist, the hard-drive based MMI infotainment and navigation system, and, coming soon, the wireless hotspot integration. The Q3 will go on sale in Germany for €29,900, which is about $43,245 by current exchange rate. Hopefully, this price will be updated by the time it heads to our shores. The car will make its official debut at the Shanghai Motor Show. You can check it out there. 

Open Top = Better

2012 Audi R8 GT Spyder (Sketch)

It comes to everyone's attention now and then that anything without a top on is always better, whether it be a girl, a guy, or even a car. Audi has taken this theory once more into their premiere sports car, the R8. We've seen the R8 Spyder do its work on people. Now, Audi wants to see how popping the top off their lightweight R8 GT will do on the wealthy. This is just a sketch of what will be the 2012 Audi R8 GT Spyder. Like all convertibles, it will be slightly heavier than the original GT Coupe. But, it will still have the 5.2-liter V10 engine producing 556 horsepower mated with Audi's R-Tronic 6-speed auto-manual transmission. Audi predicts the car to top out at about 193 MPH, 6 less than the GT coupe, 3 less than the regular V10 coupe, but about 2 more than the V10 spyder. All the same lightweight stuff will carry over like the rear spoiler, the front splitter, and the rear diffuser, as well as the awesome Alcantara interior. Production might be the same as the coupe (333 units) with a slightly higher price tag. Audi plans to officially debut this car this fall at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Hopefully, we'll have more info then.

Beauty Combined with Innovation

2011 Audi A7 3.0 TFSI

I have one question for Porsche. Why couldn't your Panamera look a lot more like this? They might be crazy group of Germans, but Audi sure knows how to make some very nice looking cars, well, except for the Q7 of course. This is the all new Audi A7, Audi's answer to the Mercedes-Benz CLS and Porsche Panamera. Audi says it's ready to go on sale in the U.S. for a base price of $59,250. That's pretty expensive for a V6 car. Then again, the Porsche Panamera starts at $74,400. Also, this is no regular V6. This is Audi's 3.0-liter FSI Supercharged (TFSI®) 310 horsepower V6 engine. They that thanks to its Quattro™All Wheel Drive system, it will do 0 to 60 in just 5.4 seconds on its way to a limited top speed of 130 MPH. Not to mention it's a lot less complicated then the Panamera, with the car doing almost everything for you, except driving. You also have the option of installing a Bang & Olufsen® Sound System with speakers that rise out of the compartments. And since it comes with 15 different speakers around the cockpit of the car, you get full HD sound whenever your driving; it's like being in a moving concert hall. Luxury, Style, Performance: all great attributes of this car. So, if you've got money and want an alternative to the ugly Porsche Panamera, here you go: the Audi A7.  

Shift 2 Unleashed: Review

2010 BMW 135i Coupe

So, once again, Need For Speed has decided to get under Gran Turismo's nose with their own realistic sim game. This time, they say it's the most realistic racing game ever created. You will be able to feel the tension as a you drive at 200 MPH through a narrow straight. You will feel the terror as you navigate your way through the dark while racing against other aggressive drivers. You'll sit at the edge of your seat as you battle for first place against another racer. These are just the many descriptions people have told me about the game, so, of course, I had to experience this for myself. And guess what? I did, and more!

2010 Audi R8 4.2 FSI Quattro

I played the first Shift when it came out about two years ago and I didn't really like it as much as I thought I would. The handling was no where close to realistic and the physics were a bit deformed. But, a majority of NFS fans loved it, so they brought it back. And, I'm happy to report that this game has greatly improved. The handling is still slightly drifty, but you'll be able to find grip through corners. The physics have greatly improved as well. The cars are more stable at high speeds and you'll be able to control them more. The damage models are more refined for each car which makes them better to look at. For the first time ever, wheels and bumpers will fall off instead of having your car smushed up into a cube. They've even put in the automatic features that were absent in the last game. At long last, you can see the hydraulic spoiler rise up off your Bugatti Veyron at 200 MPH. You'll be able to the airbrake flaps rise as you brake into a corner in your Pagani Huayra. I don't know about you, but that looks absolutely awesome!

2011 Lamborghini Reventon Interceptor

As for gameplay, this game is much more exciting than the old Shift. For once, you'll stand at the edge of your seat as you race for first place. The eerie journey music from 30 Seconds to Mars and Switchfoot that have been accompanied with the game also provide another level of excitement. The drivers you race against aren't your boring Gran Turismo AI that just find the racing line and drive fast. These drivers are aggressive. If they find an opening, they will take it. If you block them, they'll fight you until they leave you in the dust. You're gonna need skill, aggression, and speed if you're gonna stay in first. Speaking of speed, there are 140 cars in this game that each will deliver enough speed for every event in the game, from the beginner's level all the way to the Works Championship, and even the FIA GT1 Championship. Each car has been styled almost flawlessly by the guys at Slightly Mad Studios, from the Alfa Romeo 8C to the VW Golf Mk. I GTI. They've even included some hot pursuit cars like this Lamborghini Reventon Cop Car, the Pagani Zonda Cinque HP Roadster, and, get this, the Porsche 918 Spyder Concept Study. You can even customize the 918 to look like an open top GT car. In fact, you can convert almost every car into a Works GT car if you have enough money and enough parts. You can customize everything in the car, including engine swapping your car's engine with a much more powerful car. For example, I was customizing my Audi R8 and I found out that I can swap my 420 horsepower 4.2-liter FSI V8 engine with a 500 horsepower 5.2-liter FSI V10 engine from the Audi R8 LMS. That's pretty sick, but Forza ricers have been doing this for years now.

Bugatti vs. Gumpert: a Race of the Hypers

As for online play, I am pleased to report that Autolog has been brought back for more online fun. Autolog helped make Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit one of the best online games of last year, so, of course you would expect NFS to make it better for Shift 2, and they did. Since you can tune your cars in this game, this will be key when trying to beat your friends time records or drift scores. Then again, it's all in the fingers and wrists so make sure you drive well. As far as sharing goes, you can now share screenshots taken from the game. You can even share iconic replays of one of your best races. You can also compare profiles to see who has more badges. I mean, there's nothing in this game that you can't share with friends. Sharing is caring, right?

Lexus LFA Race

When I review racing games, I try to compare them to driving in real life. I always ask myself this question: will this game help me become a better driver? My answer: yes, somewhat. There is a lot of realism to go with this game that will help you realize how dangerous racing can be if you're not careful. As far as driving goes, this game can help you become a better driver, that is if you don't mess around with it. In some ways it can't though. The handling is still too drifty and on some long curves where you're supposed to grip the racing line, you instead slide the whole way, which can get quite irritating. But, nevertheless, there is more grip in this game than in its predecessor which makes it very good.

LFA vs. Gallardo: V10 Supercar Duel

So, comparing this to Gran Turismo 5 or Forza Motorsport 3, I think Shift still has a lot of ground to cover if it wants to compete with them. But, this game has shown some potential and it definitely has taken some sips of reality. So, I'm giving this game 4.5 stars out of 5 because it's real, it's exciting, and it's much better than the last one. Well done, NFS!

Top of the Line

2011 Audi R8 GT

Audi's top of the line supercar, the Audi R8 GT, has finally made its way over to our shores. Only 90 of these cars are coming in, each costing $196,800, which is actually not bad for an exclusive supercar. The R8 GT is the pinnacle of performance from the R8 branch. Under the hood is a Lamborghini-derived 5.2-liter FSI V10 producing 560 horsepower. 0 to 60 MPH is done in 3.6 seconds on its way to the 200 MPH top speed mark. This is car is 180 lb. lighter than the standard R8 V10 since the car all around is made from Carbon Fiber. If you are one of the 90 who get this car, I'm pretty sure you'll have more fun with this than the regular R8. Unfortunately, manual fans might not have as much fun since the R8 GT only comes with Audi's 6-speed R-Tronic sequential transmission with paddle shifters. But, it won't matter. Manual or Automatic, this car just looks fantastic and I'm betting that this will translate to how well it drives. I'll find that out for myself.

Ice King Pt. III

2010 Audi RS6 Nokian Tyres

To all of those who ordered the Bentley Continental Supersports ISR edition, you might want to fill a return notice to Bentley and take your special car back. It's ice speed record was recently beaten, by an Audi. Yep! Just when you thought Bentley had done it, Nokian Tyres came up with their lightened Audi RS6 and set a speed record of 206.06 MPH on the ice. That smashes the 205.48 record set by the Bentley. So, right now, that special edition Bentley means absolutely nothing. Don't even bother buying it if you haven't. It looks like Nokian preferred Audi to Bentley because of its Quattro-all-wheel drive system and their new studded snow tires. What will Audi do now since they produce the fastest snow car on earth? They might bring RS6 back sooner. Who knows?

R8 Madness

2012 MTM R8 V10 BiTurbo

I'm going to introduce you to another insane tuner from Germany. They go by MTM and they specialize in tuning Audis. This is their newest creation, the R8 V10 BiTurbo. You can see that they've done some heavy modification to the body as well as the engine. A standard Audi R8 V10 produces 525 horsepower. MTM decided it needed lots more power. So, what they've done is they've put in two turbochargers and some modifications to the engine itself so it can produce what makes no difference 766 horsepower. That's more powerful than a Zonda R. 0 to 60 is done in less than 3.4 seconds on its way to a top speed of just 216 MPH. Of course with so much power, they had to think of a way to keep it all balanced. Well this is an Audi so, of course it has Quattro all-wheel drive. On the outside, they've fitted the car with 20-inch rims, very shiny chrome paint, a new front lip and rear spoiler, and a massive rear wing. The price: €400,000, and it will only be available in Europe. MTM had no plans of releasing this car over in North America. Anyway, this car is set to shine at Geneva this week. Check it out there.

Test Drive Unlimited 2: Iron Audi

2011 Audi R8 Spyder 5.2 FSI Quattro (Test Drive Unlimited 2)

What do you get when you mix the theme song to MARVEL's greatest hero with this favorite car? An all new video by me driving his car all around Oahu. It's my video of the week! Check it out! I did some work on this one.