About this
sound Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer that designs, engineers,
manufactures and distributes automobiles. Audi oversees worldwide operations
from its headquarters in Ingolstadt ,
Bavaria , Germany
Audi has been
a majority owned (99.55%) subsidiary of Volkswagen Group since 1966, following
a phased purchase of AUDI AG's predecessor, Auto Union, from Daimler-Benz.
Volkswagen relaunched the Audi brand with the 1965 introduction of the Audi
F103 series.
The company
name is based on the surname of the founder, August Horch. "Horch",
meaning "listen" in German, becomes "Audi" when translated
into Latin. The four rings of the Audi logo each represent one of four car
companies that banded together to create Audi's predecessor company, Auto
Union. Audi's slogan is Vorsprung durch Technik, meaning "Advancement
through Technology". Recently in the United States , Audi has updated the
slogan to "Truth in Engineering". Audi is a member of the
"German Big 3" luxury automakers, along with BMW and Mercedes-Benz,
which are the three best-selling luxury automakers in the world.
Birth of the company and its name
Originally in
1885, automobile company Wanderer was established, later becoming a branch of
Audi AG. Another company, NSU, which also later merged into Audi, was founded
during this time, and later supplied the chassis for Gottlieb Daimler's
four-wheeler.
On 14
November 1899, August Horch (1868–1951) established the company A. Horch &
Cie. in the Ehrenfeld district of Cologne. Three years later in 1902 he moved
with his company to Reichenbach im Vogtland. On May, 10th, 1904 he founded the
August Horch & Cie. Motorwagenwerke AG, a joint-stock company in Zwickau (State of Saxony ).
After
troubles with Horch chief financial officer, August Horch left Motorwagenwerke
and founded in Zwickau
on July 16, 1909, his second company, the August Horch Automobilwerke GmbH. His
former partners sued him for trademark infringement. The German Reichsgericht
(Supreme Court) in Leipzig ,
eventually determined that the Horch brand belonged to his former company.
Since August
Horch was banned from using "Horch" as a trade name in his new car
business, he called a meeting with close business friends, Paul and Franz
Fikentscher from Zwickau, Germany. At the apartment of Franz Fikentscher, they
discussed how to come up with a new name for the company. During this meeting,
Franz's son was quietly studying Latin in a corner of the room. Several times
he looked like he was on the verge of saying something but would just swallow
his words and continue working, until he finally blurted out, "Father –
audiatur et altera pars... wouldn't it be a good idea to call it audi instead
of horch? "Horch!" in German means "Hark!" or
"hear", which is "Audi" in the singular imperative form of
"audire" – "to listen" – in Latin. The idea was
enthusiastically accepted by everyone attending the meeting. On April 25, 1910
the Audi Automobilwerke GmbH Zwickau (from 1915 on Audiwerke AG Zwickau) was
entered in the company's register of Zwickau registration court.
The first
Audi automobile, the Audi Type A 10/22 hp (16 kW) Sport-Phaeton, was produced
in the same year, followed by the successor Type B 10/28PS in the same year.
Audi started
with a 2,612 cc inline-four engine model Type A, followed by a 3,564 cc model,
as well as 4,680 cc and 5,720 cc models. These cars were successful even in
sporting events. The first six-cylinder model Type M, 4,655 cc appeared in
1924.
August Horch
left the Audiwerke in 1920 for a high position at the ministry of transport,
but he was still involved with Audi as a member of the board of trustees. In
September 1921, Audi became the first German car manufacturer to present a
production car, the Audi Type K, with left-handed drive. Left-hand drive spread
and established dominance during the 1920s because it provided a better view of
oncoming traffic, making overtaking safer.
The merger of the four companies under the
logo of four rings
In August
1928, Jørgen Rasmussen, the owner of Dampf-Kraft-Wagen (DKW), acquired the
majority of shares in Audiwerke AG.[22] In the same year, Rasmussen bought the
remains of the U.S.
automobile manufacturer Rickenbacker, including the manufacturing equipment for
eight-cylinder engines. These engines were used in Audi Zwickau and Audi
Dresden models that were launched in 1929. At the same time, six-cylinder and
four-cylinder (the "four" with a Peugeot engine) models were
manufactured. Audi cars of that era were luxurious cars equipped with special
bodywork.
In 1932, Audi
merged with Horch, DKW, and Wanderer, to form Auto Union AG, Chemnitz .
It was during this period that the company offered the Audi Front that became
the first European car to combine a six-cylinder engine with front-wheel drive.
It used a powertrain shared with the Wanderer, but turned 180-degrees, so that
the drive shaft faced the front.
Before World
War II, Auto Union used the four interlinked rings that make up the Audi badge
today, representing these four brands. This badge was used, however, only on
Auto Union racing cars in that period while the member companies used their own
names and emblems. The technological development became more and more
concentrated and some Audi models were propelled by Horch or Wanderer built
engines.
Reflecting
the economic pressures of the time, Auto Union concentrated increasingly on
smaller cars through the 1930s, so that by 1938 the company's DKW brand
accounted for 17.9% of the German car market, while Audi held only 0.1%. After
the final few Audis were delivered in 1939 the "Audi" name
disappeared completely from the new car market for more than two decades.
Post-World War II
Like most
German manufacturing, at the onset of World War II the Auto Union plants were
retooled for military production, and were a target for allied bombing during
the war which left them damaged.
Overrun by
the Soviet Army in 1945, on the orders of the Soviet Union
military administration the factories were dismantled as part of war
reparations. Following this, the company's entire assets were expropriated
without compensation.[23] On 17 August 1948, Auto Union AG of Chemnitz was
deleted from the commercial register.[22] These actions had the effect of
liquidating Germany's Auto Union AG. The remains of the Audi plant of Zwickau became the VEB
(for "People Owned Enterprise") Automobilwerk Zwickau or AWZ (in
English: Automobile Works Zwickau).
The former
Audi factory in Zwickau
restarted assembly of the pre-war-models in 1949. These DKW models were renamed
to IFA F8 and IFA F9 and were similar to the West German versions. West and
East German models were equipped with the traditional and renowned DKW
two-stroke engines. The Zwickau
plant manufactured the infamous Trabant until 1991, when it came under Volkswagen
control—effectively bringing it under the same umbrella as Audi since 1945.
New Auto Union unit
A new West
German headquartered Auto Union was launched in Ingolstadt , Bavaria Ingolstadt site
was large, consisting of an extensive complex of formerly military buildings
which was suitable for administration as well as vehicle warehousing and
distribution, but at this stage there was at Ingolstadt no dedicated plant suitable for
mass production of automobiles: for manufacturing the company's first post-war
mass-market passenger car plant capacity in Düsseldorf was rented from
Rheinmetall-Borsig. It was only ten years later, after the company had
attracted an investor that funds became available for construction of major car
plant at the Ingolstadt head office site.
In 1958, in
response to pressure from Friedrich Flick, then their largest single
shareholder, Daimler-Benz took an 87% holding in the Auto Union company, and
this was increased to a 100% holding in 1959. However, small two-stroke cars
were not the focus of Daimler-Benz's interests, and while the early 1960s saw
major investment in new Mercedes models and in a state of the art factory for
Auto Union's, the company's aging model range at this time did not benefit from
the economic boom of the early 1960s to the same extent as competitor
manufacturers such as Volkswagen and Opel. The decision to dispose of the Auto
Union business was based on its lack of profitability. Ironically, by the time
they sold the business, it also included a large new factory and near
production-ready modern four-stroke engine, which would enable the Auto Union
business, under a new owner, to embark on a period of profitable growth, now
producing not Auto Unions or DKWs, but using the "Audi" name,
resurrected in 1965 after a 25 year gap. Under the terms of the sale,
Daimler-Benz retained the old Düsseldorf plant, which survives to the present
day as a centre for Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle assembly.
In 1964,
Volkswagen acquired a 50% holding in the business, which included the new
factory in Ingolstadt
and the trademark rights of the Auto Union. Eighteen months later, Volkswagen
bought complete control of Ingolstadt , and by
1966 were using the spare capacity of the Ingolstadt
plant to assemble an additional 60,000 Volkswagen Beetles per year. Two-stroke
engines became less popular during the 1960s as customers were more attracted
to the smoother four-stroke engines. In September 1965, the DKW F102 was fitted
with a four-stroke engine and a facelift for the car's front and rear.
Volkswagen dumped the DKW brand because of its associations with two-stroke
technology, and having classified the model internally as the F103, sold it
simply as the "Audi." Later developments of the model were named
after their horsepower ratings and sold as the Audi 60, 75, 80, and Super 90,
selling until 1972. Initially, Volkswagen was hostile to the idea of Auto Union
as a standalone entity producing its own models having acquired the company
merely to boost its own production capacity through the Ingolstadt assembly plant. Then VW chief
Heinz Nordhoff explicitly forbade Auto Union from any further product
development. Fearing that the company's heritage would disappear underneath VW
badge engineering, Auto Union engineers under the leadership of Ludwig Kraus
developed the first Audi 100 in secret, without Nordhoff's knowledge. When
presented with a finished prototype, Nordhoff was so impressed he authorised
the car for production, which when launched in 1968, went on to be a huge
success. With this, the resurrection of the Audi brand was now complete, this
being followed by the first generation Audi 80 in 1972, which would in turn
provide a template for VW's new front wheel drive watercooled range which
debuted from the mid-1970s onward.
In 1969, Auto
Union merged with NSU, based in Neckarsulm, near Stuttgart . In the 1950s, NSU had been the
world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles, but had moved on to produce small
cars like the NSU Prinz, the TT and TTS versions of which are still popular as
vintage race cars. NSU then focused on new rotary engines based on the ideas of
Felix Wankel. In 1967, the new NSU Ro 80 was a car well ahead of its time in
technical details such as aerodynamics, light weight, and safety. However,
teething problems with the rotary engines put an end to the independence of
NSU. The Neckarsulm plant is now used to produce the larger Audi models A6 and
A8. The Neckarsulm factory is also home of the quattro GmbH, a subsidiary
responsible for development and production of Audi high-performance models: the
R8 and the "RS" model range.
The mid-sized
car that NSU had been working on, the K70, was intended to slot between the
rear-engined Prinz models and the futuristic NSU Ro 80. However, Volkswagen
took the K70 for its own range, spelling the end of NSU as a separate brand.
Modern era
The new
merged company was known as Audi NSU Auto Union AG, and saw the emergence of
Audi as a separate brand for the first time since the pre-war era. Volkswagen
introduced the Audi brand to the United States for the 1970 model
year.
The first new
car of this regime was the Audi 100 of 1968. This was soon joined by the Audi
80/Fox (which formed the basis for the 1973 Volkswagen Passat) in 1972 and the
Audi 50 (later rebadged as the Volkswagen Polo) in 1974. The Audi 50 was a
seminal design because it was the first incarnation of the Golf/Polo concept, one
that led to a hugely successful world car.
The Audi
image at this time was a conservative one, and so, a proposal from chassis
engineer Jörg Bensinger was accepted to develop the four-wheel drive technology
in Volkswagen's Iltis military vehicle for an Audi performance car and rally
racing car. The performance car, introduced in 1980, was named the "Audi
Quattro", a turbocharged coupé which was also the first German large-scale
production vehicle to feature permanent all-wheel drive through a centre differential.
Commonly referred to as the "Ur-Quattro" (the "Ur-" prefix
is a German augmentative used, in this case, to mean "original" and
is also applied to the first generation of Audi's S4 and S6 Sport Saloons, as
in "UrS4" and "UrS6"), few of these vehicles were produced
(all hand-built by a single team), but the model was a great success in
rallying. Prominent wins proved the viability of all-wheel drive racecars, and
the Audi name became associated with advances in automotive technology.
In 1985, with
the Auto Union and NSU brands effectively dead, the company's official name was
now shortened to simply Audi AG.
In 1986, as
the Passat-based Audi 80 was beginning to develop a kind of "grandfather's
car" image, the type 89 was introduced. This completely new development
sold extremely well. However, its modern and dynamic exterior belied the low
performance of its base engine, and its base package was quite spartan (even
the passenger-side mirror was an option.) In 1987, Audi put forward a new and
very elegant Audi 90, which had a much superior set of standard features. In
the early 1990s, sales began to slump for the Audi 80 series, and some basic
construction problems started to surface.
In the early
part of the 21st century, Audi set forth on a German racetrack to claim and
maintain several world records, such as top speed endurance. This effort was
in-line with the company's heritage from the 1930s racing era Silver Arrows.
Through the
early 1990s, Audi began to shift its target market upscale to compete against
German automakers Mercedes-Benz and BMW. This began with the release of the
Audi V8 in 1990. It was essentially a new engine fitted to the Audi 100/200,
but with noticeable bodywork differences. Most obvious was the new grille that
was now incorporated in the bonnet.
By 1991, Audi
had the four-cylinder Audi 80, the 5-cylinder Audi 90 and Audi 100, the
turbocharged Audi 200 and the Audi V8. There was also a coupe version of the
80/90 with both 4- and 5-cylinder engines.
Although the
five-cylinder engine was a successful and robust powerplant, it was still a
little too different for the target market. With the introduction of an all-new
Audi 100 in 1992, Audi introduced a 2.8L V6 engine. This engine was also fitted
to a face-lifted Audi 80 (all 80 and 90 models were now badged 80 except for
the USA ),
giving this model a choice of four-, five-, and six-cylinder engines, in
Saloon, Coupé and Cabriolet body styles.
The
five-cylinder was soon dropped as a major engine choice; however, a
turbocharged 230 hp (169 kW) version remained. The engine, initially fitted to
the 200 quattro 20V of 1991, was a derivative of the engine fitted to the Sport
Quattro. It was fitted to the Audi Coupé, and named the S2 and also to the Audi
100 body, and named the S4. These two models were the beginning of the
mass-produced S series of performance cars.
Audi 5000 unintended acceleration allegations
Sales in the United States
fell after a series of recalls from 1982 to 1987 of Audi 5000 models associated
with reported incidents of sudden unintended acceleration linked to six deaths
and 700 accidents. At the time, NHTSA was investigating 50 car models from 20
manufacturers for sudden surges of power.
A 60 Minutes
report aired 23 November 1986, featuring interviews with six people who had
sued Audi after reporting unintended acceleration, showing an Audi 5000
ostensibly suffering a problem when the brake pedal was pushed. Subsequent
investigation revealed that 60 Minutes had engineered the failure – fitting a
canister of compressed air on the passenger-side floor, linked via a hose to a
hole drilled into the transmission.
Audi
contended, prior to findings by outside investigators, that the problems were
caused by driver error, specifically pedal misapplication. Subsequently, the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concluded that the
majority of unintended acceleration cases, including all the ones that prompted
the 60 Minutes report, were caused by driver error such as confusion of pedals.
CBS did not acknowledge the test results of involved government agencies, but
did acknowledge the similar results of another study.
In a review
study published in 2012, NHTSA summarized its past findings about the Audi
unintended acceleration problems: "Once an unintended acceleration had
begun, in the Audi 5000, due to a failure in the idle-stabilizer system
(producing an initial acceleration of 0.3g), pedal misapplication resulting
from panic, confusion, or unfamiliarity with the Audi 5000 contributed to the
severity of the incident."
This summary
is consistent with the conclusions of NHTSA's most technical analysis at the
time: "Audi idle-stabilization systems were prone to defects which
resulted in excessive idle speeds and brief unanticipated accelerations of up
to 0.3g [which is similar in magnitude to an emergency stop in a subway car].
These accelerations could not be the sole cause of [(long-duration) sudden
acceleration incidents (SAI)], but might have triggered some SAIs by startling the driver. The defective
idle-stabilization system performed a type of electronic throttle control.
Significantly: multiple "intermittent malfunctions of the electronic
control unit were observed and recorded … and [were also observed and] reported
by Transport Canada ."
With a series
of recall campaigns, Audi made several modifications; the first adjusted the
distance between the brake and accelerator pedal on automatic-transmission
models. Later repairs, of 250,000 cars dating back to 1978, added a device
requiring the driver to press the brake pedal before shifting out of park. A
legacy of the Audi 5000 and other reported cases of sudden unintended acceleration
are intricate gear stick patterns and brake interlock mechanisms to prevent
inadvertent shifting into forward or reverse. It is unclear how the defects in
the idle-stabilization system were addressed.
Audi's U.S. sales,
which had reached 74,061 in 1985, dropped to 12,283 in 1991 and remained level
for three years.– with resale values falling dramatically. Audi subsequently
offered increased warranty protection and renamed the affected models – with
the 5000 becoming the 100 and 200 in 1989 – and only reached the same sales
levels again by model year 2000.
A 2010
BusinessWeek article – outlining possible parallels between Audi's experience
and 2009–2010 Toyota vehicle recalls – noted a class-action lawsuit filed in
1987 by about 7,500 Audi 5000-model owners remains unsettled and is currently
being contested in county court in Chicago after appeals at the Illinois state
and U.S. federal levels.
Model introductions
In the
mid-to-late 1990s, Audi introduced new technologies including the use of
aluminum construction. Produced from 1999 to 2005, the Audi A2 was a futuristic
super mini, born from the Al2 concept, with many features that helped regain
consumer confidence, like the aluminium space frame, which was a first in
production car design. In the A2 Audi further expanded their TDI technology
through the use of frugal three-cylinder engines. The A2 was extremely
aerodynamic and was designed around a wind tunnel. The Audi A2 was criticised
for its high price and was never really a sales success but it planted Audi as
a cutting-edge manufacturer. The model, a Mercedes-Benz A-Class competitor,
sold relatively well in Europe . However, the
A2 was discontinued in 2005 and Audi decided not to develop an immediate replacement.
The next
major model change came in 1995 when the Audi A4 replaced the Audi 80. The new
nomenclature scheme was applied to the Audi 100 to become the Audi A6 (with a
minor facelift). This also meant the S4 became the S6 and a new S4 was
introduced in the A4 body. The S2 was discontinued. The Audi Cabriolet
continued on (based on the Audi 80 platform) until 1999, gaining the engine
upgrades along the way. A new A3 hatchback model (sharing the Volkswagen Golf
Mk4's platform) was introduced to the range in 1996, and the radical Audi TT
coupé and roadster were debuted in 1998 based on the same underpinnings.
The engines
available throughout the range were now a 1.4 L, 1.6 L and 1.8 L four-cylinder,
1.8 L four-cylinder turbo, 2.6 L and 2.8 L V6, 2.2 L turbo-charged
five-cylinder and the 4.2 L V8 engine. The V6s were replaced by new 2.4 L and
2.8 L 30V V6s in 1998, with marked improvement in power, torque and smoothness.
Further engines were added along the way, including a 3.7 L V8 and 6.0 L W12
engine for the A8.
Audi AG today
Audi's sales
grew strongly in the 2000s, with deliveries to customers increasing from
653,000 in 2000 to 1,003,000 in 2008. The largest sales increases came from
Eastern Europe (+19.3%), Africa (+17.2%) and the Middle
East (+58.5%). China
in particular has become a key market, representing 108,000 out of 705,000 cars
delivered in the first three quarters of 2009. One factor for its popularity in
China is that Audis have
become the car of choice for purchase by the Chinese government for officials,
and purchases by the government are responsible for 20% of its sales in China . As of
late 2009, Audi's operating profit of €1.17-billion ($1.85-billion) made it the
biggest contributor to parent Volkswagen Group's nine-month operating profit of
€1.5-billion, while the other marques in Group such as Bentley and SEAT had suffered
considerable losses. May 2011 saw record sales for Audi of America with the new
Audi A7 and Audi A3 TDI Clean Diesel. In May 2012, Audi reported a 10% increase
in its sales—from 408 units to 480 in the last year alone.
Audi
manufactures vehicles in seven plants around the world, some of which are
shared with other VW Group marques although many sub-assemblies such as engines
and transmissions are manufactured within other Volkswagen Group plants.
Audi's two
principal assembly plants are:
Neckarsulm,
Acquired from NSU in 1969 (A4, A6, A7, A8, R8 & all RS variants)
Outside of Germany , Audi
produces vehicles at:
In September
2012, Audi announced the construction of its first North American manufacturing
plant in Puebla , Mexico
From 2002 up
to 2003, Audi headed the Audi Brand Group, a subdivision of the Volkswagen
Group's Automotive Division consisting of Audi, Lamborghini and SEAT, that was
focused on sporty values, with the marques' product vehicles and performance
being under the higher responsibility of the Audi brand.
Bodyshells
Audi produces
100% galvanised cars to prevent corrosion, and was the first mass-market
vehicle to do so, following introduction of the process by Porsche, c.1975.
Along with other precautionary measures, the full-body zinc coating has proved
to be very effective in preventing rust. The body's resulting durability even
surpassed Audi's own expectations, causing the manufacturer to extend its
original 10-year warranty against corrosion perforation to currently 12 years
(except for aluminium bodies which do not rust).
Space frame
Audi
introduced a new series of vehicles in the mid-1990s and continues to pursue
new technology and high performance. An all-aluminium car was brought forward
by Audi, and in 1994 the Audi A8 was launched, which introduced aluminium space
frame technology (called Audi Space Frame or ASF) which saves weight and
improves torsion rigidity compared to a conventional steel frame. Prior to that
effort, Audi used examples of the Type 44 chassis fabricated out of aluminium
as test-beds for the technique. The disadvantage of the aluminium frame is that
it is very expensive to repair and requires a specialized aluminium
bodyshop.[45] The weight reduction is somewhat offset by the quattro four-wheel
drive system which is standard in most markets. Nonetheless, the A8 is usually
the lightest all-wheel drive car in the full-size luxury segment, also having
best-in-class fuel economy.[46] The Audi A2, Audi TT and Audi R8 also use Audi
Space Frame designs.
Layout
For most of
its lineup (excluding the A3, A1, and TT models), Audi has not adopted the
transverse engine layout which is typically found in economy cars (such as
Peugeot and Citroën), since that would limit the type and power of engines that
can be installed. In order to be able to mount powerful engines (such as a V8 engine
in the Audi S4 and Audi RS4, as well as the W12 engine in the Audi A8L W12),
Audi has usually engineered its more expensive cars with a longitudinally
front-mounted engine, in an "overhung" position, over the front
wheels in front of the axle line. While this allows for the easy adoption of
all-wheel drive, it goes against the ideal 50:50 weight distribution.
In all its
post Volkswagen-era models, Audi has firmly refused to adopt the traditional
rear-wheel drive layout favored by its two arch rivals Mercedes-Benz and BMW,
favoring either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. The majority of Audi's
lineup in the United States
features all-wheel drive standard on most of its expensive vehicles (only the
entry-level trims of the A4 and A6 are available with front-wheel drive), in
contrast to Mercedes-Benz and BMW whose lineup treats all-wheel drive as an
option. BMW did not offer all-wheel drive on its V8-powered cars (as opposed to
crossover SUVs) until the 2010 BMW 7 Series and 2011 BMW 5 Series, while the
Audi A8 has had all-wheel drive available/standard since the 1990s. Regarding
high-performance variants, Audi S and RS models have always had all-wheel
drive, unlike their direct rivals from BMW M and Mercedes-AMG whose cars are
rear-wheel drive only (although their performance crossover SUVs are all-wheel
drive).
Audi has
recently applied the quattro badge to models such as the A3 and TT which do not
use the Torsen-based system as in prior years with a mechanical center
differential, but with the Haldex Traction electro-mechanical clutch AWD
system.
Engines
In the 1980s,
Audi, along with Volvo, was the champion of the inline-five cylinder, 2.1/2.2 L
engine as a longer-lasting alternative to more traditional six-cylinder
engines. This engine was used not only in production cars but also in their
race cars. The 2.1 L inline five-cylinder engine was used as a base for the
rally cars in the 1980s, providing well over 400 horsepower (298 kW) after
modification. Before 1990, there were engines produced with a displacement
between 2.0 L and 2.3 L. This range of engine capacity allowed for both fuel
economy and power.
For the
ultra-luxury version of its Audi A8 fullsize luxury flagship sedan, the Audi
A8L W12, Audi uses the Volkswagen Group W12 engine instead of the conventional
V12 engine favored by rivals Mercedes-Benz and BMW. The W12 engine
configuration (also known as a "WR12") is created by forming two
imaginary narrow-angle 15° VR6 engines at an angle of 72°, and the narrow angle
of each set of cylinders allows just two overhead camshafts to drive each pair
of banks, so just four are needed in total. The advantage of the W12 engine is
its compact packaging, allowing Audi to build a 12-cylinder sedan with
all-wheel drive, whereas a conventional V12 engine could only have a rear-wheel
drive configuration as it would have no space in the engine bay for a
differential and other components required to power the front wheels. In fact,
the 6.0 L W12 in the Audi A8L W12 is smaller in overall dimensions than the 4.2
L V8 that powers the Audi A8 4.2 variants.[48] The 2011 Audi A8 debuted a
revised 6.3-litre version of the W12 (WR12) engine with 500 PS (370 kW; 490
hp).
Fuel Stratified Injection
New models of
the A3, A4, A6 and A8 have been introduced, with the ageing 1.8-litre engine
now having been replaced by new Fuel Stratified Injection (FSI) engines. Nearly
every petroleum burning model in the range now incorporates this fuel-saving
technology.
Direct-Shift Gearbox
At the turn
of the century, Volkswagen introduced the Direct-Shift Gearbox (DSG), a type of
dual clutch transmission. It is an automated semi-automatic transmission,
drivable like a conventional automatic transmission. Based on the gearbox found
in the Group B S1, the system includes dual electrohydraulically controlled
clutches instead of a torque converter. This is implemented in some VW Golfs,
Audi A3, Audi A4 and TT models where DSG is called S-tronic.
LED daytime running lights
Beginning in
2006, Audi has implemented white LED technology as daytime running lights (DRL)
in their products. The distinctive shape of the DRLs has become a trademark of
sorts. LEDs were first introduced on the Audi A8 W12, the world's first
production car to have LED DRLs,[citation needed] and have since spread
throughout the entire model range. The LEDs are present on some Audi
billboards.
Since 2010,
Audi has also offered the LED technology in low- and high-beam headlights.
Multi Media Interface
Audi has
recently started offering a computerised control system for its cars, called
Multi Media Interface (MMI). This came amid criticism of BMW's iDrive control.
It is essentially a rotating control knob and 'segment' buttons – designed to
control all in-car entertainment devices (radio, CD changer, iPod, TV tuner),
satellite navigation, heating and ventilation, and other car controls with a
screen. MMI was widely reported to be a considerable improvement on BMW's
iDrive, although BMW has since made their iDrive more user-friendly.
MMI has been
generally well-received, as it requires less menu-surfing with its segment
buttons around a central knob, along with 'main function' direct access buttons
– with shortcuts to the radio or phone functions. The screen, either colour or
monochrome, is mounted on the upright dashboard, and on the A4 (new), A5, A6,
A8, and Q7, the controls are mounted horizontally.
An
"MMI-like" system is also available on the A3, TT, A4 (B7), and R8
models – when equipped with the Audi Navigation System Plus (RNS-E) satellite
navigation system.
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