Tag Archives: audi

Here Are Your Nightmare Two-Car Garages

2009 BMW 7 Series

2009 BMW 7 Series
Image: BMW

Some cars are just plain, old not good cars. Whether they are unreliable, have terrible driving dynamics, baffling design or, worse, all three, some models really can be nightmare fuel.

The worst of the worst for me would be out-of-warranty German luxury cars. Specifically an F01 BMW 750i with the terrible N63 twin-turbo V8 and a VW Touareg V10 (Sorry Mercedes).

The F01 7 Series was just not good. If you want one you can try and save yourself some trouble by going with the I6 powered 740i, but then you still have to deal with the electronics. The 750i is worse. Not only do you have the unreliability of the engine (the hot vee setup with the turbos in the valley of the engine was not a good idea on this thing) but you have to deal with the electronic issues as well. The Touareg V10 and its problems are well documented.

We asked readers what was their nightmare two car garage. These were their answers.

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The Audi A6 E-Tron Concept Is A Long-Range EV With A Confusing Name

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Image: Audi

Audi’s electric range is finally taking shape, now that the E-Tron GT and Q4 E-Tron have joined the existing E-Tron crossover. And in case you thought the E-Tron branding couldn’t possibly get more puzzling, Audi just revealed a concept of the A6 E-Tron it expects to hit showrooms sometime in the next two years.

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It’s bothering my obsessive-compulsive tendencies that E-Tron now exists as a standalone nameplate and a version of existing Audi models, but I’ll try my best to keep that down to focus on the concept itself, which looks pretty good. The A6 E-Tron debuted at the Shanghai Auto Show today, and marks the first Audi we’ve seen based on the company’s Premium Platform Electric architecture.

Audi calls the A6 E-Tron a sportback, which followers of the brand may argue actually make it more of an A7 by nature. According to Audi, the A6 name was chosen to link this car to one of the brand’s most historically significant models, and dimensionally it’s equivalent to the existing A6. Here I am again talking about the car’s name — you just can’t get away from it with these new electric Audis.

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Image: Audi

The design you see here is reportedly 95 percent representative of the final model, which isn’t bad news considering that the A6 E-Tron cleans up for the most part. Sure, it’s derivative in places — the high beltline of the profile evokes the departed Ford Fusion in my mind’s eye, and the way the headlights meet the grille — I’m sorry, the inverted face, as Audi calls it — strikes me as remarkably similar to the Mustang Mach-E’s furrowed brow. Neither of these familiarities are necessarily bad though. Don’t hold your breath for images of the interior yet — Audi is saving those for later.

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Image: Audi

Audi designers say the tautness of the roofline and width of the track on this concept will be scaled back slightly ahead of production, though the black trim near the floor that looks like a cutaway panel will be retained. It’s a neat visual trick that slims the car down somewhat, and I like the way it trails toward the rear bumper. There are projectors at the corners that beam light at the ground to greet passengers and signal turns that may or may not make it to the final iteration. There’s a precedent for similar tech in road cars already, though, so it wouldn’t be inconceivable if it did come to pass.

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In terms of performance figures, Audi is mostly keeping those close to the chest for now. This concept packs a pair of electric motors combining for 469 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque. That’s projected to get the A6 E-Tron to 62 mph from a standstill in under four seconds.

Illustration for article titled The Audi A6 E-Tron Concept Is A Long-Range EV With A Confusing Name

Image: Audi

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Turning to range, Audi claims the A6 E-Tron will return more than 700 km on a full charge (434 miles), though under the generous WLTP cycle. The E-Tron GT is rated for 298 miles by that same measure, so the A6 E-Tron is sure to bring a huge range improvement to the brand even if the actual, real-world distance falls short of the WLTP-based projection. For reference, the latest Tesla Model S starts at an EPA-estimated 412 miles of range.

The A6 E-Tron’s efficiency is helped by an ultralow drag coefficient of 0.22 — one of the lowest out there, matching Mercedes-Benz’s A-Class — though there’s no confirmation on whether those slight exterior changes to the production car will dent that somewhat. Like other new electric Audis, it supports 800-volt peak charging that aims to replenish 300 km of range in just 10 minutes.

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As far as timing of the sedan’s arrival, for now Audi is saying only that its first PPE-based cars will emerge in the second half of next year. That will likely begin with the Q6 E-Tron, before this A6. In the meantime, I’m going to try and work out a flowchart to make sense of all these E-Trons.

Another German Carmaker Just Dropped Formula E

Illustration for article titled Another German Carmaker Just Dropped Formula E

Photo: BMW Group

BMW on Tuesday announced that it is officially bowing out of the ABB Formula E Championship after competing in the series for seven seasons (as a factory team since season five). The automaker’s withdrawal is not effective immediately, but will finalize at the end of the upcoming season, which kicks off next month with a double header in Chile.

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It’s less of a swift pull of the plug and more of a sunset of its Formula E operations. Still, the news is a setback: BMW is the second team to announce its departure this week, following an earlier announcement from Audi that it’s withdrawing from Formula E at the end of the upcoming season.

BMW Group struck a dramatic tone in its press release, stating that all opportunities to apply knowledge gained on the track to production EVs has been exhausted. In other words, the well has run dry and there is no point in sticking around. Here’s a clip from BMW’s announcement:

The same engineers who develop the drivetrains for electric production vehicles are also responsible for the drivetrains in the race cars. Examples of the successful transfer of technology between the Formula E project and production development include new findings regarding energy management and energy efficiency, the transfer of software for power electronics from racing to production, and an improvement in the power density of the e-motors.

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The statement broadly outlines what it was that BMW transferred from track to showroom as a result of its racing in Formula E, and it briefly mentions the team’s modest record in the series. But the press release mostly seems sponsored by the letter “P” as in “production.”

BMW emphasized that its decision comes on the heels of a realignment and renewed commitment to increase EV production. There just seems to be little return on investment in the series; the company said that investment is better directed elsewhere.

Cost has been a recent concern for the teams, and that prompted the FIA to draft regulations addressing this. But even with upcoming regulations mandating significantly lower operating costs, it seems BMW would rather its resources go to meeting the EV goals.

That’s not going to be easy. BMW wants one million of its EVs on the road by the end of next year, and seven million by the end of the decade. That’s a lot of blue-and-white roundels, let alone a lot of EVs.

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Now we have two German marques leaving FE, but at least Mercedes is still sticking around. The upcoming season will be the first to have FIA World Championship status, so maybe the BMW i Andretti team will rally near the end.

How Would You Configure Your 2020 Audi RS6 Avant?

Illustration for article titled How Would You Configure Your 2020 Audi RS6 Avant?

Image: Audi (Fair USe)

After a ton of rumors, Audi is finally bringing the RS6 Avant super-wagon to the American market. This is one of my all-time favorite cars and for the dozen or so of your that can actually afford it now this is your chance to buy one of the coolest wagons to wear the four-rings. Audi recently launched the configurator for the RS6, so let’s build one up.

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Just in case you need a refresher the RS6 wagon was forbidden fruit on US soil, and I fully admit that due to the fact that the wagon market is incredibly limited here and that this would be a very low volume car, I never expected Audi to actually take the step to bring it over. The Mercedes E63 AMG occupied the super wagon space for a long time, with the Porsche Panamera SportTurismo also in the running. Though I would argue that the Sport Tursimo, while really fast, falls a bit short in the “wagon” department due to limited cargo capacity.

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The all-new RS6 has a 4.0 liter twin-turbo V8 with 591 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque, of course, all that power is sent to the wheels through Audi’s Quattro all-wheel-drive system. One of the reasons we love fast wagons here at Jalopnik is because you can have supercar level performance but practicality for the whole family. This is a car that can do it all and looks pretty badass as well.

As expected the RS6 won’t come cheap with a starting price of $109,000. Though in fairness, that is slightly cheaper than the Mercedes E63 AMG S that starts at around $112,000, and a lot cheaper than the Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo at $157,000,

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I would build mine in Navarra Blue Metallic which isn’t quite as nice as the older Estoril Blue from previous generations, but I’m a sucker for blue cars. I will also load it up with all the Executive Package and all the tech goodies, with the exception of the B&O Stereo because, honestly, I’m not enough of an audiophile to really notice. I’ll forgo the sports seats and the carbon-ceramic brakes because I don’t think I would track this car in my fantasy garage. However, the Black Optic package certainly improves the look and tones down some of the aluminum trim pieces.

Illustration for article titled How Would You Configure Your 2020 Audi RS6 Avant?

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Go kill some time on Audi’s configurator and drop your dream wagon below