New optional paint and body styling package for A2 models (standard and SE only)
Pack costs £630 and includes special paintwork and unique finish for mirrors, roof and rubbing strips, plus exclusive upholstery
Three colour schemes - Misano red, Imola yellow, Sprint blue
Climate control available at a reduced price of £250 for Colour Storm models until September 30th

Some of you will have read our test drive of the new A3 we were fortunate to drive at the end of July in Denmark & Sweden; today is the day that customers in the UK finally get to see the car "up close and personal", as the today is the day the car is launched to the UK public (Some actually received theirs this weekend!).

Since we wrote the article, the A3 has managed to achieve  the maximum five-star rating for passive crash safety from the Euro NCAP consortium. The results for adult occupant protection in a frontal, rear, and side impact as well as child safety and pedestrian protection make the new Audi A3 one of the safest cars in its class.

The test engineers awarded the A3 the best rating for driver and passenger in the frontal and side impact collisions. Children are also afforded very good protection in the new Audi A3. Euro NCAP also singled out the seat belt reminder for the front and, in particular, the rear seats. The Audi A3 comes as standard with both systems.

The latest incarnation of the RS4 is now available- and we've driven it hard.

What did we think? One word springs to mind: Immense

Audi all-terrain Avant bringing major efficiency gains and even more extensive specification to the UK is now available to order

• New generation version of all-terrain A6 now available priced from £43,150 OTR to £49,445 OTR -  first deliveries in July
• Four engine options – 3.0 TFSI with 310PS and 440Nm, 3.0 TDI with 204PS and 450Nm, 3.0 TDI with 245PS and 580Nm, 3.0 BiTDI with 313PS and 650Nm
• Fuel consumption reduced by as much as 20 per cent
• Four-level adaptive air suspension as standard

No doubt there have been various publications with the history of the quattro / quattro system by Audi. This looks at it from a competitive slant.
I started to write this back in 1999; I've republished it here "warts and all" unmodified- so any errors remain, with the exception of "the latest version"..... and it's probably going to be "image intensive" so be advised if on a "slow" connection....

Having not managed to get to any BTCC races this year, this meant that we hadn't managed to get to see Rob Austin Racing's A4 NGTC (Next Generation Touring Car) "in the flesh"- or, indeed, the "King of Cool", Rob Austin, himself.

Own an RS4?

Audi UK are running a competition for a lucky owner;

Thanks to Audi UK, we have a PAIR of tickets to give away for the THURSDAY of the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed!

For more details, and to enter, click HERE

New Brighton Promenade Stage - Wirral 7^th & 8^Th September 2012

It has been several years since I have competed in this rally and thought that a return to the closed public roads was overdue. 2001 saw the 30^th anniversary of the event and a special ‘one off’ super special stage was organised. This saw two cars start together and complete two laps of the stage. This made it quite entertaining for the spectators and the drivers too. The super special stage was such a success that they decided to run a longer version of it in 2012 on the Friday evening.

The 2012 event was fully subscribed to within 3 weeks with over 110 cars wanting one on the 90 places. Held over 2 days the area welcomed crews and spectators from all over the country to a unique driving challenge of closed public road 100% tarmac rally.

Audi Q3 Jinlong yufeng

At Auto China 2012 in Beijing, Audi has presented two themed vehicles based on the Q3 – the Q3 jinlong yufeng (quite a mouthfull!) and the RS Q3 concept.
Both cars are based on the Q3 which will launch on the Chinese market this year.

Audi innovate; typically backed up with motorsport success for a given technology that is being developed that will make it's way into road cars that "Joe Bloggs" can buy and drive. This, in turn, gives their marketing departments LOTS of "ammunition"- they bang the drum about quattro at any given opportunity- even if the parts departments fail to "pick up the mantle" supplying parts for cars that are over ten years old.
Audi started this in 1980 with the quattro system- and it took several years (some would say "too many") before quattro was available with a diesel engine- tending to be reserved for use in the higher performance cars- which in turn then spawned the S and -eventually- the RS models. The RS model was once akin to the "holy grail"- limited numbers, blistering performance and an enhanced specification package to suit. This has changed in recent years, with the RS models tending to be "all common and garden" vehicles- no limited runs, not limited to one particular body style, and losing that special appeal that ever more so justified the price tag increase over the "standard" performance S models.

There are a LOT of common issues with the Audi 80 based Cabriolet; thanks to the forum members, help is at hand

During our trip to Copenhagen & Sweden, as well as drving the new A3 in 3 door form, the S6, S7 & S8 on the track, we also managed to sample the new A6 2.0TFSI Hybrid.

Now available in the UK, the A6 Hybrid 2.0 TFSI tiptronic with 245bhp is available from  £42,700.00

Find out what we thought about the car, and the technology....

Airbox Modification

Jas11n started (and finished) this project a long time back; the photo above shows how it started- "missing" photos will be re-uploaded over the next few days. Covered in this project were things such as Tdi maintenance/ tweaks, 4 stud to 5 stud conversion (not using hub adaptors), HID fitment, retro fit trip computer, and a whole host of other things. Definitely a good read. Visit the forum for more details.

Fancy winning a place on the Audi Driving Experience at Silverstone, worth nearly £500? Well, we have a place available on Friday 31st May 2013- and it's a FANTASTIC prize!

Want to be in with a chance of winning? See this thread HERE for details

Details on the experience itself can be found on Audi UK's website

Good Luck!

Site User Beerbelly has upgraded the stereo/ head unit in his 2007 A4 from a concert CD single din to a double din RNS-e sat nav unit.

Here's a "step by step" with photos how he did it:- http://www.audifans.net/ftopicp-252608.html#252608

Thanks Mark!