Audi A3 makes the smooth shift to a saloon

   
When it comes to Ireland’s love of the boot we’re up there with the Iranians, the Turks and the middle-class suburbanites of Tashkent. This has nothing to do with romanticising the years of Jack Charlton’s lads hoofing the ball up the pitch, nor a fondness for a bit of no-nonsense ass-kicking when it comes to policing. What we’re talking about is a car’s rear end.

 Hatchback me hat: if it’s not a saloon, then, according to the typical motoring bore in the bar, it’s only “a woman’s car”. According to these petrolhead pint-sippers, whether you can peek in at their luggage or not is a useful indicator as to the gender of a driver.

Most bars have an expert like this, holding court over his Heineken, and the more Pringle jumpers in the audience the more likely that the boot rule is taken as an unspoken social norm. After all, this guy’s best friend’s wife’s brother used to live next door to a mechanic, so it stands to reason he knows more than most about cars. And if he says that the ultimate expression of motoring manhood is a boot, then you need a boot.

We laugh off the ways of our crazy continental cousins, for whom a hatchback or even an estate (yes, they’re that open-minded when it comes to motoring needs) is the natural choice. And we ignore the fact that these days mainstream car firms start with the touring or estate version when designing cars and work back to the saloon when time permits. So when Audi announced it was doing a saloon version of the A3 I admit to feeling underwhelmed.

Once more a car firm was pandering to a ridiculously old-fashioned stereotype of what represents a family car. You could hear the sniggers of the engineers in Ingoldstadt: “Herman, stick a boot on that A3 for the crazy Chinese drivers and the bankrupt Irish. Let’s call it the A3 limousine while we’re at it.” Big surprise Yet this was one of the big surprises of the year to date; I really enjoyed driving this car. Part of the reason, I suspect, is that as the regular saloons have grown larger over the years they have lost some of their agility and fun. .

Despite claims at weight loss and chassis rigidity they can’t help but feel a little bloated when compared with their predecessors from a decade ago. What we have here with the latest saloon iterations of premium hatchbacks is a revival of the small, fun saloon.

The A3 saloon is not alone: the likes of the BMW 1 Series coupé and to a certain extent the Mercedes CLA have similar traits. These are cars that carry the modern tech of today’s cars but in the format and scale of the small saloons that made these brands so well regarded so many years ago. Driving the A3 saloon provokes a Proustian moment, whisking me back to the early iterations of Audi saloons.

Audi e-bike: A bicycle that runs at 80 kmph

The prototype cycle combining an electric drive and muscle power along with tech used on Audi cars was showcased at the Worthersee Tour in Austria.

Audi unveiled an extremely emotion-inspiring sports machine, the Audi e-bike Wörthersee at Wörthersee in Carinthia, Austria. The prototype cycle combines an electric drive and muscle power. Head of Design Wolfgang Egger comments: “As a high-performance e-bike for sports and trick cycling, it features the Audi core competences of design, ultra, e-tron and connect.” The Audi e-bike Wörthersee puts in its first major appearance at this year’s Wörthersee Tour, the 31st meet for Audi, VW, Seat and Skoda fans; trial biker Julien Dupont and downhill specialist Petra Bernhard will demonstrate their stunts and streetbike skills.

The uncompromising dynamism of the bike prototype is fully visible at first sight. “When developing the Audi e-bike Wörthersee we drew on motor racing design principles for inspiration,” explains Hendrik Schaefers, one of the designers at Concept Design Studio Munich. “The e-bike appears incredibly precise, highly emotional and strictly functional. Indeed, the design effort focused on its function as a sports machine. All design elements are thus firmly aligned to the technical features.”

The airy frame boasts a low center of gravity and a compact overall volume. In this way, the e- bike is superbly agile at the sporty handling limits. The lithium-ion battery is incorporated into the frame and needs 2.5 hours to freuteully charge. On long trial tours, only a few simple steps are required to remove the battery and replace it with a charged one.

The frame and the swinging arm that holds the back wheel are made of carbon fiber- reinforced polymer (CFRP). The same material is used for the 26” wheels, which feature an innovative “Audi ultra blade” design with broad flat spokes for an optimized transmission of pedal power. “We were able to demonstrate with the choice of materials just how closely design goes hand in hand with expertise in ultra lightweight construction,” Hendrik Schaefers comments.

Homogeneous LED light strips round out the frame and create the immediately recognizable Audi light signature. For extreme tricks and stunts the seat can be lowered to run flush with the frame itself. At the press of a button, the seat then rises up and the biker can adopt a comfortable position.

Cycling modes and countless other functions can be set using the touchscreen on-bike computer. The cyclist's smartphone hooks up by WLAN to the computer – when you start cycling, for example, the immobilizer is deactivated. Video images of the trial drive or of a trick, as recorded via the in-helmet camera, are uploaded to the Internet in real time via your smartphone.

Each trick performed successfully is then awarded success points, and as the number of points awarded grows, the cyclist receives awards and the challenge level rises, too. The rankings table in the Internet means you can measure yourself against other bikers and your friends. And where they happen to be comes to you via Facebook status reports that pop up on the Audi e-bike Wörthersee display.

The cyclist can choose between a total of five cycling modes – pure muscle power, the electric motor alone, or pedaling supported by the electric motor. In the “Pure” mode, the drive power is purely the product of the cyclist’s legs, while in “Pedelec” mode you are supported by the electric motor that then makes speeds of up to 80 km/h (50 mph) possible and gives you a range of 50-70 kilometers (31-44 miles).

If you select “eGrip”, the Audi e-bike Wörthersee runs solely on the electric motor and can reach a top speed of 50 km/h (31 mph). The cyclist then controls forward momentum using a gripshift and can configure the power as desired using the computer.

When performing wheelies, an electronic control system supports the rider when performing tricks and back-wheel biking. Different modes can be set using a smartphone or directly on the e-bike – either “Power Wheelie” mode, with adjustable wheelie angle for less skilled bikers or “Balanced Wheelie” mode for sporting challenges.

In "Balanced Wheelie" mode, the electronic control system maintains the rider’s balance, by compensating the biker’s movements forwards or backwards via the electric motor.

This means the rider can influence the bike’s speed by shifting weight: if you lean forwards the bike picks up speed, and if you lean back it slows. You select “Training” mode if you want to keep your performance constant for training purposes.

The electric motor is located at the lowest point on the frame and drives the bottom bracket shaft directly. The maximum torque delivered to the rear wheel is 250 Nm (184.39 lb-ft).

The Audi e-bike Worthersee

The electric motor generates a maximum output of 2.3 kW, a new world best for e-bikes. The complete bike excluding electrical components weighs in at 11 kg (24.25 lb), equivalent to a power-to-weight ratio of 9 kg (19.84 lb) per kilowatt, or 7 kg (15.43 lb) per horsepower – another record-breaking value.

First Drive: 2012 Audi Q3

Audi got into the crossover business late, and it's been scrambling to catch up. The Q7 arrived in 2005, some three years after its VW Touareg relative. The smaller Q5 followed three years later and the passage of yet another three is marked by the arrival of the even smaller Q3. Audi's top brass apparently believes the Q3 is too small for America. During our recent drive, the project chief told us it wasn't built to meet U.S. regulations, and there are no plans for export.

But when pushed, he conceded the all-new Q3 could be altered for U.S. sale without too much effort. If the similarly sized BMW X1 makes it here, we bet Audi will be watching its reception very closely.

Because it is built around a transverse AWD drivetrain, the Q3 doesn't suffer too much in cabin accommodation compared to the larger Q5 with its longitudinally mounted engine. The Q3's European prices are about 15 percent cheaper than the Q5, with matched spec and engine.

Just to make things a little more interesting, in addition to the very fine 211 horsepower 2.0 TFSi quattro dual-clutch model, we also sampled a couple of other engines that might do nicely in the U.S. and as of now have no direct competition.

The first short but intriguing squirt was on some mountain roads in a prototype Q3 powered by a mildly detuned, 300-hp version of the five-cylinder turbo out of the TT RS. What a hoot that turned out to be, with heaps of readily accessible power and an engine note to make you smirk.

We also sampled a front-drive Q3 with Audi's 140-hp diesel, which was no slug and went about its business in relative quiet. In the U.S. it could be the new green SUV poster child. Audi has been careful to keep its weight under control, using aluminum for the hood and tailgate, for example, which should help boost fuel economy across the range.

While it may be too small for the U.S., the Q3 certainly doesn't look small. Its up-front confidence and full-on body detailing to the body commands your field of vision more than adequately for a shrimp of a crossover.

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Goodwood Festival of Speed...Glorious Goodwood!!!

The Festival of Speed kicked off on Thursday with the second running of the Moving Motor Show where invited guests and lucky members of the public could get behind the wheels of the latest models from the major motor manufacturers and actually take them for a spin up Lord March’s famous hillclimb.

It’s a great opportunity for people to closely examine the cars and see and hear them running. Mercedes, Porsche, Ferrari, Rolls Royce, BMW, Chevrolet, Abarth, Ford, Honda, Jaguar, Morgan, Alfa Romeo, Audi, Volvo, Seat, MG, Peugeot, Skoda, Toyota and Citroen all had stands and judging by the crowds, were probably glad they had. Folk also had chance to mooch about the many merchandise stalls and additional manufacturers stands on the infield, or take a free ride on the Honda big wheel which gave a spectacular birds eye view of the event.

Friday was the start of the Festival of Speed proper, this year themed “Racing Revolutions”. The featured marque was Jaguar and in celebration of 50 years of the iconic E Type, a huge tubular sculpture of an E Type was erected on the lawn in front of Goodwood House.

A flick through the programme and entry list showed that the cursor had moved a little forward this year with a greater emphasis on modern cars than previously. The Supercar class was absolutely bulging with exotica which included Ferrari’s 458, California and new four seater FF, the Koenigsegg Agera R, the hard core Hulme Can Am Spyder and Ariel Atom V8, the glitzy and unpronounceable Pagani Huayra, the whacky six wheeled Covini C6W, the understated McLaren MP4-12C and AMG SLS and the futuristic Citroen Survolt, plus the latest Lambos, Bugattis, Maseratis, Porsches, BMWs, Bentleys, Nobles, Teslas, Spykers, Alfas, Astons, Chevrolets, Corvettes and Jaguars. With two runs a day each, the drivers and their lucky passengers had a ball.

More moderns included the latest crop of Touring cars and Endurance racers. The 2011 Peugeot and Audi Le Mans racers looked fantastic and such are their aerodynamics that even driving slowly in the paddock, their undertrays acted like hoovers, sucking up the dirt and leaves off the ground and blowing it all out the back in a great cloud of dust. This was something innovator Jim Hall understood well back in 1970 when he built his Chaparral Chevrolet 2J which used a secondary snowmobile engine to suck air out from the underside of the car to stick it to the ground. This year it was demonstrated by it’s great driver, Vic Elford. Hall was also a pioneer of high winged cars, with his 1966 Chaparral 2E which was also at Goodwood. When the Formula One brigade tried to copy him, they made the wings too fragile and dangerous failures soon led to their ban.

Many of this year’s Formula One teams were out to play along with their star drivers. Red Bull’s Mark Webber, McLaren’s Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna from Lotus Renault, Ferrari’s Marc Gene, Nico Rosberg from Mercedes and Karun Chandhok from Team Lotus all signed hundred of autographs, had a good thrash and did a few burnouts and doughnuts. However, my vote for King of the smokey doughnuts was this year split between Kris Meeke in his red Mini WRC rally car and wild man Ken Block in his “Monster” Ford Fiesta gymkhana car. Both were really spectacular and wowed the crowds with their unbelievable car control. Also smoking up the place in red white and blue were the fabulous Red Arrows who performed three days running while on Sunday, the menacing Vulcan swooped low in the blue skies across Goodwood House.

On the infield, the GAS trick cycle and motorcycle displays were a big hit with the youngsters especially, while on track, ace motorcycle stunt rider Mattie Griffin tied his BMW in knots and ran rings around the marshals, while Terry Grant broke a new world record by driving his Nissan Juke the entire length of the hillclimb course on two wheels.

From the pre-war era, stand outs included a brace of fabulous supercharged rear engined Auto Unions and the 1939 Mercedes Benz W165 “Tripoli” car, driven by John Surtees.

Surtees, the only man to have won premier class world championships on two wheels and four, also had a ride on the ex Georg Meier 1939 TT winning BMW Kompressor to celebrate 100 years of the Isle of Man TT. Himself a six time TT winner, he was joined by 17 time TT winner John McGuiness, Ian Hutchinson, who in 2010 became the only man to win five TTs in a single week, Stuart Graham and many more TT winners and stars.

The highlight of the Festival was a celebration of 100 years of the Indianapolis 500, arguably the most famous race in the world. Lord March laid on a theatrical recreation of the build up to the start of an Indy 500 race with marching bands, cheerleaders, a fantastic array of Indy cars from throughout it’s history and fifteen Indianapolis 500 winning drivers, namely Bobby Unser, Al Unser Jnr, Johnny Rutherford, Emerson Fittipaldi, Arie Luyendyk, Parnelli Jones, Bobby Rahal, Eddie Cheever, Danny Sullivan, Gil de Ferran, Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Kenny Brack, Dario Franchitti and fresh from this years win, Dan Wheldon. Rock legend Brian May belted out the music while multi coloured streamers were sent shooting high into the air as the order was given “Gentlemen, start your engines”. Just wonderful.

Sunday afternoon climaxed with the Top Ten Shootout when the weekend’s ten fastest cars in the competition class battled it out for overall honours. Dan Collins drove superbly in his 1981 Lotus Cosworth 88B to come out top dog with a time of 48.52 seconds, fending off the purpose built Toyota Celica Sprint Special of Johnny Milner who was 0.47 seconds behind. Michael Bartels in his glorious Maserati MC 12 FIA GT car was third with 49.09. Over on the more sedate Cartier Style et Luxe concours lawn, a 1951 Ferrari 340 America was judged winner.

Audi celebrates 40 years of ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’

Now synonymous phrase reaches its 40th anniversary in 2011 and is just as pertinent as ever.

• ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ (Advancement through Technology) tagline, which is synonymous with Audi values, was first used by the brand in Germany in 1971
• Advertising agency BBH brought the slogan to the brand’s UK advertising in 1983

‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ is 40 years young in 2011, and the sentiment in the famous motto – which translates as ‘advancement through technology’ – encapsulates the Audi philosophy just as perfectly now as it did way back in 1971.

In that year the famous slogan made its debut in a German publicity campaign. It was first used by Audi in its UK advertising in 1983, and at a time when the origins of the nascent brand weren’t widely known here, London-based advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) is credited with realizing its potential as a means of emphasizing German quality and engineering integrity.

Today, it is not only indelibly linked to the brand, but also one of very few ‘foreign’ phrases to have become firmly ingrained in British popular culture. It can be heard in everything from tracks by Blur and U2 to films such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

The classic BBH television ad which gave birth to this star of screen and sound bite made the link between the now iconic Audi quattro and the permanent all-wheel-drive system that made it more agile on the road than a glider in the air.

But the phrase is rooted in the pioneering innovations and technical leadership the brand was already synonymous with long before this point.

The newly-formed Audi NSU range was so impressively diverse – it included rear-engined, air-cooled NSU 2- and 4-cylinder cars, front-wheel-drive Audi models with 4-cylinder water-cooled engines, the lightweight Audi 100 and the aerodynamically wedge-shaped and rotary-engined Ro 80 – that a unifying brand claim was needed to epitomise what all models had in common. ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ united the new range and summed up the brand‘s philosophy in one.

The Audi range of today, and tomorrow, is just as deserving of the phrase. It spans virtually every category from city-friendly sub-compact hatchback, via leading edge saloons and Avants, steamlined Sportbacks and agile SUVs through to the world renowned R8 super car. All 32 models in the current line-up are characterised by advanced technology, be it in the construction process as in the lightweight aluminium and steel hybrid-bodied TT or all-aluminium R8, in remarkable engines such as the award-winning 2.5-litre five-cylinder TFSI or in innovative features such as all-LED lighting, head-up displays, MMI with Google mapping functionality and in-car WLAN internet connectivity.