audi

GENEVA--BMW has its M badge, Mercedes-Benz has the AMG designation, but cars from Audi get two potential levels of tuned-up goodness, S and RS, and the A5 just got elevated to the top tier. Audi showed off the all-new RS5 at the 2010 Geneva auto show, combining a truly beautiful coupe design with ungodly power.

Although the engine configurations between the Audi S5 and RS5 match, both being 4.2-liter V-8s, the RS5's engine produces 450 horsepower, 101 more than that in the S5. It boasts loads of performance gear, such as Audi's Quattro all-wheel-drive system and a … Read more

GENEVA--As hybrids gained ascendancy in the U.S., Europe showed little interest, with diesels proving more popular. But if the 2010 Geneva auto show is any indication, that preference is about to change.

Toyota showed two hatchback hybrids, one under its own brand and one as a Lexus, with both building on the successful Prius power train. BMW and Audi both showed luxury hybrid sedans as concepts, with feature lists that show them ready for production, and Volkswagen announced a hybrid version of its Touareg SUV.

Chevrolet is growing its presence, and brought its Volt to the show, while Opel'… Read more

On Wednesday I gave lip service to the Audi Ice Driving Experience that took place roughly a month ago in Finland. Today's video is a continuation of the current topic, showing the sights and sounds of this yearly event that's been in effect since the mid-'80s. There isn't a whole lot that I can add to what this video displays--it's simply poetry in motion with cars driving around on the beautifully snowy mountainside, and that can hardly be a bad thing. Enjoy.

So recently we've gotten a look at BMW's xDrive all-wheel traction control system, both in theory and in action. Not surprisingly, German manufacturer Audi thinks its vehicles run and handle better on snowy and icy roads to the point that the company is hosting an event known as the Audi Ice Experience; it's a racing-track-based high-performance practical driving education event that's been around for more than 20 years now. And today we've got video from the most recent Experience held this year in Finland.

The Audi Ice Experience is a winter-specific course that is usually … Read more

GENEVA--The Geneva auto show always plays host to a fleet of exotic cars with completely unknown names, but Hispano Suiza isn't one of them. The nameplate, dormant for more than 70 years, previously belonged to a line of luxury touring cars, the last one built in 1938.

Spanish company Mazel has been attempting to bring it back, having launched a couple of Hispano Suiza concepts around 2000. For the latest model, shown at the 2010 Geneva auto show, the company took a shortcut, building its custom body onto an Audi R8 chassis.

Although retaining the Audi R8's 5.… Read more

GENEVA--The city cars of Audi present and Audi future showed themselves at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show. The A1 is a small car designed to appeal to young urban dwellers, and is a response to the increasing urbanization of populations. The A1 e-tron is a concept version of the A1 driven by an electric drive train, with a gas engine as a range extender.

If the name e-tron sounds familiar, it is because Audi used it for concepts at the Frankfurt and Detroit auto shows. Those concepts were pure electric sports cars using multiple drive motors and sleek bodies. The … Read more

Audi follows in parent company Volkswagen's footsteps by bringing a car to the U.S. with a TDI diesel engine. Using the same turbocharged 2-liter diesel engine as the VW Jetta, the A3 TDI offers the same stellar fuel economy as its lesser German cousin, and it has better cabin tech, including a good iPod connection and Bluetooth phone system. However, Audi lets the A3 TDI simmer with an older version of its navigation system that's not quite on par with its latest technology.

Read our review of the 2010 Audi A3 2.0 TDI.

Previews for next week's Geneva auto show announced this week, including a hybrid concept from Lotus, a diesel hybrid concept from Hyundai, an electric personal mobility vehicle from Honda, and the Audi RS5. We take a drive in another Audi, the A3 TDI.

• The Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid concept debuts at Geneva

• Hyundai's diesel-electric hybrid dream car

• Honda 3R-C is part motorcycle, part Segway, all weird

• 450 horsepower Audi RS5 announced for Geneva

• Mini becomes the unofficial iCar… Read more

The Audi A5 is one of (if not the) best looking vehicles that Audi makes. In the S5 trim, with its 354-horsepower direct-injected V-8, nobody's arguing that the coupe is short on power. However, there's no such thing as too much of a good thing, which is why we're grinning ear to ear at the announcement of a new, more powerful RS5 variant due to bow at the 2010 Geneva auto show.

The RS5's V-8 retains the same displacement as the S5, a healthy 4.2-liters, as well as its direct injection system, yet manages to … Read more