2006 Audi A4 1.8t Automatic 2-door Convertible on 2040-cars

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First impressions of Audi's next TT interior and Virtual Cockpit [w/video]

Not content to pummel CES show goers with laser lights and self-piloting vehicles, Audi has also pulled the wraps (well, some of the wraps) off the interior of its upcoming next-gen TT. While the car itself wasn't on hand for us to check out, Audi did mock up the cockpit, complete with its all-new Virtual Cockpit central display and the latest iteration of the company's Multi Media Interface (MMI).
Virtual Display is Audi's new brand name for a completely digital reinterpretation of the instrument binnacle, by way of a 12.3-inch TFT screen. Audi tells us that there are two operable modes for Virtual Display: in the standard mode, an average-sized tachometer and speedometer flank a smaller infotainment portion in the center. Infotainment mode, meanwhile, shrinks the gauges to discreet circles and allows the navigation map, audio controls, or whichever system is being operated by the driver, to fill the remaining screen real estate.
This design, says Audi, allowed engineers to slim down the size of the center console as a whole, without reducing function for the driver. We can say that it looks very impressive as a demonstrator, but we will need some time with it in a moving vehicle before we're convinced it isn't slightly more distracting that a traditional setup.

Audi kicks off ad campaign tonight with stirring new spot

Following last week's entertaining and wildly popular Spock vs. Spock video, Audi has come back with a bevy of videos for its new advertising campaign that will begin airing tonight in primetime and on cable.
There are five ads altogether, but the longest one, a 60-second spot titled It Couldn't Be Done, is our favorite by far. Set to a reading of the poem of the same name by Edgar Albert Guest, the commercial chronicles the history of Auto Union Deutschland Ingolstadt from the days of its founder, August Horch, through its many decades of innovation, competition and creativity. Indeed, watching the commercial gave us chills similar to when we first heard the Ram brand's Farmer commercial that aired during this year's Super Bowl.
The other four commercials are shorter 15-second spots that focus on such familiar themes as the company's Quattro all-wheel-drive system, the safety of its vehicles, their style and the company's advances in LED lighting. While less impactful than the longer ad, we think they effectively sound the drum beat of Audi's preferred tag line: Truth in Engineering. Scroll down to watch all five new ads, starting with the 60-second It Couldn't Be Done.

Audi debuts all-new R18 E-Tron Quattro with novel secondary hybrid system

This is the new Audi R18. It looks like the Bond villain of race cars (it has red running lamps), and if Audi's past is any indication, it'll prove difficult to beat in the LMP1 class of the 2014 World Endurance Championship.
The car's full name is the Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro, just like last year's car. Also like last year's car, the new R18 draws its power from a V6 turbodiesel, which powers its rear wheels, and Audi's E-Tron hybrid system, which runs its front axle. Unlike last year's car, though, this R18 has a secondary hybrid system. Audi has fitted the V6 with an electric turbocharger and figured out how to capture waste heat generated when the engine reaches its boost limit. That power can then be stored and fed back into either the turbo or the front axle's hybrid system under acceleration.
There are a number of changes to the body on the new car, forced in large part by series regulation changes. The car is narrower, particularly at the front, but it's also taller. The front end is set off by a new wing, as part of a new WEC regulation. Audi seems quite pleased about this, citing an improvement in front-end downforce and a reduction in cost. Like Formula One, the WEC contenders now have to contend with a ban on the so-called blown diffuser, which forced exhaust gases over the diffuser, creating downforce. That's necessitated some changes from Audi, although as we have no rear shots of the car, we can't tell you what it looks like.