2009 Audi Q5 Premium Plus Sport Utility 4-door 3.2l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ward's Automotive Ten Best Engines of 2014 dominated by diesels, turbos

With the Car and Driver Ten Best decided, the North American Car and Truck of the Year finalists announced and Cadillac, Ram and Subaru chalking up wins with Motor Trend, it's fair to say that the automotive awards season is in full swing. The next set of trophies to be handed out will be from Ward's Automotive, which has announced the winners of its 2014 10 Best Engines.
The latest contest was marked by the widespread emergence of diesel power and the continued success of turbocharged engines. There was even an electric motor on this year's list. In fact, only three of the ten winners were naturally aspirated and only two winners returned from last year.
"We weren't looking to throw the bums out, as they might say about an election. We were just really impressed with the flood of new powertrains," said Ward's Automotive Editor-in-Chief Drew Winter. Those new powertrains include the 83-kilowatt electric motor from the Fiat 500e, the 1.0-liter, EcoBoost three-cylinder from the Ford Fiesta and the 2.0-liter turbodiesel from the Chevrolet Cruze.

Audi RS Q3 is funky, chunky, spunky forbidden fruit [w/videos]

After salivating over the Audi RS6 Avant last night, we're happy to see yet another RS-branded Audi here on the show floor at the Geneva Motor Show. Meet the RS Q3, Audi's first ever high-performance crossover, showing what's possible when the Ingolstadt automaker brings its best sporting bits to its smallest CUV.
Powering the RS Q3 is Audi's 2.5-liter turbocharged five-cylinder engine - the same one found in sweetie-darlings like the TT RS and RS3. Output is rated at 310 horsepower and 309 pound-feet of torque, sent to all four wheels via the automaker's seven-speed S-tronic dual-clutch transmission. Weighing in at just over 3,800 pounds, the RS Q3 is indeed a porky little pig, but no matter - that forced-induction fire will propel the small crossover to 62 miles per hour in five and a half seconds. And that's with launch control, too.
The RS Q3 certainly looks the part of a proper sporty Audi, with exaggerated air vents and bulgy, aggressive bits all around. Honestly, we like the way the RS package has translated to the Q3 form - this design really works well on the smaller CUV package. Inside, performance-minded fittings like a flat-bottomed steering wheel, upgraded gauges and sport seats bring the whole RS pack full circle. We'll admit, we're definitely intrigued by this little guy.

Tuner may sue Monaco hotel for damage caused by valet's injury

It's relatively common to hear about unethical valets taking a joyride and wrecking high-performance cars. However, a recent 'accident' in Monaco might be one of the weirdest cases ever. Of course, now the lawyers may get involved.
Andreas Belzek, owner of tuning firm Prior Design, was driving his highly modified, black with gold pinstripes, widebody Audi R8 (pictured above) to the Hotel de Paris in the famously rich city on the shores of the Mediterranean. Upon arriving, he was going to check in but wanted to park the supercar himself, which was against the hotel's rules. He protested to the valet but eventually gave in and handed over the keys. Then the problems began.
The Audi barely moved before the valet herniated a disk in his back and couldn't leave the car. The police and paramedics arrived to the scene, which had to be quite a crowd in a city as tiny as Monaco. To get the guy out, the rescue crew had to hook him to a special hoist and carry him out, according to Germany's Focus Online. Belzek claims the efforts to save the man caused roughly 10,000 euros ($13,622) in damage to the car's carbon fiber, Alcantara and Nappa leather interior.