(Source: Autoblog)

This past weekend at Le Mans, Audi unveiled the newest member to the R8 family, the GT Spyder. Shown in a matte gray finish, the R8 GT Spyder is an absolutely beautiful car with power to match. The Spyder will be powered by the same 560 horsepower V10 in the coupe. Audi’s super convertible will hit 60 mph in 3.8 seconds which is only .2 seconds slower than its hardtop sister, and will hit a top speed of 197 mph. The same weight saving improvements of the coupe GT will also be incorporated. Really there is not much more to say about the Audi R8 GT Spyder. It’s the same R8 GT we all know and admire without the roof and surely just as awesome.

(Source: Speed.com)

Even after losing two cars to horrifying crashes, team Audi was still able to obtain a victory with a 13 second gap in the #2 Audi R18 TDI driven by Andre Lotter, Marcei Fassler, and Benoit Treluyer. Peugeot took second and third to round out the podium. Audi’s win will be the tenth time they have done so in the past twelve years, but this race will be remembered slightly differently then the others as both of Audi’s top contenders Mike Rockenfeller and Allen McNish were involved in crashes that left their cars totaled. Luckily both walked away unharmed. The Corvette Racing team won the GTE class in the #73 car of Olivier Beretta, Tommy Milner, and Antonio Garcia while second went to the #41 AF Corse Ferrari and third-place was taking by the #56 BMW M3 GT. Congratulations to team Audi and the other teams who won this year. We look forward to them doing their thing next year.

Audi’s Final Lap

Allen McNish Crash

Nike Rockenfeller Crash

As we talked about earlier this week, Le Mans is a crazy event to follow. With multiple classes racing for 24 hours, it’s almost impossible to keep it all straight in your head. On top of the spotter guide from spotterguides.com, Audi has released its own site that will allow you to have up-to-the-minute information about all three R18′s going up against Peugeot. Last year they had comments from the team as well as a way to track the three cars flying around the track. Along with an online site there will also be iPhone and iPad apps available to check up on team Audi, because let’s face it, no one will let you sit in front of the T.V. for the full 24 hours (although we all wish we could). So no matter where you are this weekend, you can still watch team Audi kick some ass at Le Mans

This is simply amazing racing… Enough said.

(via Oscar Moyano)

(Source: Autoblog)

Worthersee is the uncontested ultimate Volkswagen/Audi car show in the world. For 30 years this event has gone on, and both companies reward their customers for their loyalty with cool concepts like this year’s A1 Clubsport Quattro. This concept is the first A1 to feature all-wheel drive, a staple of Audi’s design theory, and Audi did not stop there. The engineers at Audi have built a 2.5-liter turbo engine that sits devilishly under the hood capable of producing 500 horsepower. All of that power in the small hatchback will go from 0-62 mph in just 3.7 seconds and hit the limiter of 155 mph in 10.9 seconds. On the outside a more aggressive wide-body kit, carbon fiber roof, rear spoiler, and side exhaust were all added along with some unique 19-inch fan blade wheels. While the A1 Clubsport Quattro is most likely just fan service for Worthersee just as the GTI W12 was a few years ago, the car is available for download on Need For Speed and a similar body kit for the current A1 was released at the show

The BMW 1M has been creating quite the stir in the automotive industry, coming out strong beating its older brother the M3. Now that it has beat one of the industry benchmarks, magazines and readers alike are asking “what else will this baby BMW beat?” Motor Sport Magazine has begun to answer this question by pitting the 1M against Audi’s new sports coup, the TTRS. The two cars are very evenly matched with the 1M having only 15 horsepower on the TTRS, but the TTRS has all-wheel-drive. The tradeoff should lead to an epic matchup. The video below doesn’t give a clear verdict but it does show the BMW 1M and Audi TTRS dancing around the track.

Taking it old school. There is inspiration at every corner in this video. DTM FTW.

(Source: VW Vortex)

AWE Tuning decided to do some tuning work to an MkVI with two goals in mind, be able to keep it a daily driver and only use bolt-on parts. The project started with adding a larger K04- based turbo kit, 2.5-inch turbo-back exhaust, and cold air intake. To improve engine cooling an intercooler was taken from the new Audi S3, which apparently fits right in place. An ECU from GIAC was able to get 350hp out of the new engine on 93-octance gas. Of course the suspension was re-done with a set of Bilstein PSS-10 coilovers, an AWE/H&R “Time Attack” 28-mm adjustable rear sway bar, and a 328-mm big brake kit with calipers from Stoptech. Finally, the wheels were replaced for a set of 17-inch Enkei RPF.1s. The end result is an 11.87-second ¼ mile time, making it the fasted ¼ mile TSI-engine car. AWE Tuning was able to prove their point with this MkVI, you can have one of the fastest cars out there by just using bolt-on parts and still be a daily driver.