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Audi celebrates diesel milestone with triple-charged RS5 TDI concept

Diesels are typically slower than their gasoline counterparts, but leave it to Audi to turn that notion on its head. After dominating Le Mans and the international endurance racing scene under diesel power for the better part of a decade, the German automaker toyed with the idea of an oil-burning R8 for the road and ultimately made its first performance crossover a diesel. It's made the letters TDI a battle cry, and now it's yelling even louder with the RS5 TDI concept.
Set to be unveiled in a couple of days at the Leipzig Auto Show to celebrate 25 years of the TDI engine, the concept ditches the gasoline-burning 4.2-liter V8 in the production RS5 in favor of a 3.0-liter V6 twin-turbo-diesel with an electric supercharger added on to combat turbo lag. Output comes in at 385 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque, which means that while it has 65 fewer horses than the gasoline model, it packs a staggering 236 lb-ft more torque.
The result of the triple-charged madness is a 0-62 time around four seconds flat, trumping the 4.6 seconds for the road-going model. Top speed, of course, is electronically limited to 155 miles per hour, which is a bit of a shame because we bet it'd be a kick to pass a Porsche on the Autobahn in a diesel, now wouldn't it?

Audi S3 pitted against BMW M135i in track battle

Audi and BMW have long been enemies on both the road and the track, with their respective M and S/RS lines duking it out to the delight of auto enthusiasts everywhere. In this video from Evo, two of the rivalry's newest combatants take to the track - the Audi S3 and the BMW M135i.
The new Audi S3, which is finally coming to America, throws down with a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder. 290 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque are deployed to a Quattro all-wheel-drive system via a six-speed, S-Tronic dual-clutch transmission, allowing the five-door Audi to scamper to 60 in under five seconds.
The BMW, which Americans will know as a long-roof version of the new M235i Coupe, comes to the track with 320 ponies and 331 lb-ft of torque. That's a good bit more than the Audi, but the M135i has only two wheels to send its power to, an eight-speed single-clutch automatic (a six-speed manual is available) and a slightly higher curb weight.

2014 Audi R8 officially on sale, starting at $114,900*

After skipping the 2013 model year, the Audi R8 is back for 2014 with a new look, added performance and a slightly higher starting price. In V8 coupe form, the 2014 R8 starts at $114,900 (*not including $1,250 for destination and a $3,000 gas-guzzler tax), but looking at that price, which has risen just $5,900 since the performance coupe first debuted in the US for 2008, inflation doesn't seem to have hit the R8 as hard as some other sports coupes - like, say, the Nissan GT-R.
Opting for the S tronic automatic gearbox will cost $9,100 for all models, while R8 V8 and R8 V10 models still offer the drop-top Spyder model for an extra $13,500. Not available in Spyder form, is the all-new 550-horsepower R8 V10 Plus, which starts at $170,545. Scroll down for the full pricing breakdown of the 2014 R8, which went on sale yesterday.