With the Audi A7 Sportback, which will be rolling into dealerships in the fall at a base price of €51,600, Audi is taking up a new design line representing elegance on a grand scale. The five-door coupe is 4.97 meters (16.31 ft) long and 1.91 meters (6.27 ft) wide, but only 1.42 meters (4.66 ft) high. Its long hood, the short front overhang, the long wheelbase, the sportily flowing C-pillars and the sharply dropping rear create a dynamic overall impression. The five-door coupe is an aesthetic athlete with a wide, powerful road stance.

Audi will initially offer the Audi A7 Sportback with a choice of four powerful and cultivated V6 engines: two gasoline and two TDI units. Their power output ranges from 150 kW (204 hp) to 220 kW (300 hp), and their efficiency sets impressive new standards in the vehicle class. The new 3.0 TDI with 150 kW (204 hp) and multitronic consumes on average just 5.3 liters of fuel per 100 km (44.38 US mpg), corresponding to CO2 emissions of just 139 g per km (223.70 g/mile). All engines use Audi’s innovative thermal management system, a recuperation system and a start-stop system.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is pleased to announce details of a product update to the 2009 model year Phantom and Phantom Extended Wheelbase. Building on a successful sales year in 2008, the phased introduction of a number of subtle model year enhancements will reinforce Phantom’s position as the pinnacle product of the super luxury segment.

Harmonising the front appearance of the car with that of the Phantom Drophead Coupé and Phantom Coupé, a new streamlined front bumper has been designed and integrated with a shallower grille, finished in stainless steel.
Other new exterior features include LED door handle illumination and the fitting of 21-inch cast aluminum wheels as standard. Two further wheel options exist, both manufactured in forged alloy and available in either painted or part polished finishes.

Inside, rear passengers will benefit from a new RCA component input which provides auxiliary audio and visual connectivity to the 12-inch monitors mounted within the picnic tables. Further features include new front and rear door cappings with integrated grab handles and new bi-directional double reading lights in the C-pillar provide additional illumination. Rear climate control, volume control and electric window switches are now conveniently repositioned, housed in a wood veneer panel in the door.

Production will commence at Goodwood in the spring.

Ingolstadt – In the course of the further development of the Audi R8 LMS, an ultimate endurance test is on the agenda for the new GT3 sports car of AUDI AG at the end of May: On May 23/24, Teams ABT Sportsline and Phoenix Racing, with “factory” support by Audi, will field a total of four vehicles in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring.

The 24 Hours is not only one of the biggest motorsport events in Germany,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “The Nürburgring-Nordschleife is considered one of the world’s toughest and most demanding race tracks. Similar to Sebring for the sports prototypes, it is superbly suited for revealing the final improvement potential of any new race car. This is exactly what we’re planning to do at the 24-hour race before delivering the R8 LMS to customers, starting this fall.”

The Audi R8 LMS delivering some 500 hp has so far completed two “test” races as part of the BFGoodrich Endurance Championship on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife and already clinched a podium result in the process. Another “test” race is planned for May 2. On that day, the 14 drivers scheduled to contest the 24-hour race will be at the wheel of the four vehicles.

Teams ABT Sportsline and Phoenix Racing managed to form high-calibre driver squads consisting of five current Audi “factory” drivers, four DTM Champions, four Le Mans winners and five drivers who have won the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring at least once. All 14 drivers are regarded as outstanding endurance racers who are intimately familiar with the Nürburgring-Nordschleife.

They include the reigning DTM Champion Timo Scheider, who – together with his DTM teammate Mattias Ekström and three-time Le Mans winner Marco Werner – will compete for Team ABT Sportsline. On the occasion of the Audi brand’s 100th anniversary, their Audi R8 LMS will contest the event as car number 100. The second ABT Sportsline R8 will be driven by Christian Abt, Jean-François Hemroulle, Pierre Kaffer and Lucas Luhr.

Marc Basseng, Mike Rockenfeller and Frank Stippler will drive one of the two cars of Team Phoenix Racing. With the multiple Le Mans winners Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro and Hans-Joachim Stuck as well as Marcel Fässler at the wheel, the second R8 LMS fielded by Phoenix Racing has a particularly prominent cockpit crew.

With three overall victories under his belt so far, Hans-Joachim Stuck, who has been the Motorsport Representative of the Volkswagen Group since January 2008, is one of most successful drivers of the 24-hour race. Lucas Luhr, Emanuele Pirro, Timo Scheider and Mike Rockenfeller have entered their names on the winners’ list of the endurance classic as well.

Also Team Phoenix Racing has already won the Nürburgring 24 hours. It triumphed at its home race in the Eifel region in 2003. The best result (second place) achieved by ABT Sportsline so far dates back to 2003 as well.

The 37th edition of the ADAC Zurich 24-Hour Race will start on Saturday, May 23, at 4 p.m. (local time). Practice sessions will be held on Thursday and Friday. The sports channel DSF will air extensive live coverage from the Nürburgring.