Darker Style, Higher Price for UK Market New Audi A6 and A7 Black Editions

For Audi, a Black Edition version means applying dark shades to the details of a car along with a higher price tag, which is the case for the new UK market-only A6 Sedan, A6 Avant and A7 Sportback specials.
The three new Black Edition vehicles match their darker styling cues with the most extensive equipment list in each model's range, and are priced from £35,010 OTR to £56,785 OTR.
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Audi

German sport luxury brand Audi has played a strong role in helping to shape consumer tastes and influence the entire European touring market. For nearly 100 years, the Audi brand has been synonymous with producing high quality, reliable, and well engineered vehicles. An odd start almost scuttled the company's plans, yet today Audi has risen above adversity and is producing cars that are world renowned in quality and engineering.

August Horch founded Horch Automotive in Cologne, Germany in 1899, and began manufacturing cars in 1901 which featured a horizontal engine producing upwards of 5 horsepower. Demand for these models propelled Horch to expand production and move to a larger manufacturing facility where a newer, more powerful model cranking out a then-amazing 10 horsepower was released.

By 1910, Horch himself was booted out of the company that sported his name so he set up shop elsewhere and began to sell cars under the Audi moniker. Originally, Horch tried to use his family name, but German courts ruled against him thus the Audi name was selected instead. In German, Horch means "hark" and the word "audi" is the Latin translation of horch/hark. So, although he could legally no longer use his family name, the Latinized version of the same won out. Guess which name is known today?

In between a pair of devastating world wars, the modern Audi company began to take shape. Indeed, the "four rings" logo of the company represents the union of four distinct German automotive manufacturers under the auspices of Audi. Yes, you guessed it: the Horch company that originally booted Mr. Horch was absorbed by Audi and makes up one of the four rings. August Horch lived to see that big day, but he also witnessed the dismantling of the company following the end of the second world war.

Reparations was the rallying cry when World War II ended, thus the Soviet Union who was occupying the eastern portion of Germany during the postwar era, appropriated the company, took all of its assets, and by August 1948 the company no longer existed. One year later thanks to state loans and Marshall plan assistance, a resurrected Audi was back on the scene producing a delivery van and a motorcycle. Continuous growth throughout the 1950s highlighted by Daimler's acquisition of the company in 1958 fueled further expansion. In 1964, the Volkswagen group purchased Audi from Daimler and to this day Audi remains a significant part of the Volkswagen establishment.

By the late 1960s, Audi began what many consider to be its historic run to the top of automotive excellence. New models were developed several of which were also marketed as Volkswagen models for that era. In 1980, Audi shook the automotive world to its foundation when it released its Quattro sports car, a vehicle with full time all wheel drive and a turbocharged engine. Instantly, the Quattro propelled the Audi name to the top of the race car world when the vehicle began to win race upon race. Undeniably, the Quattro was such a runaway hit that the model was banned from some races for having an "unfair" technological advantage.

Throughout the 1980s and the 1990s, Audi began to produce additional models including its first premium model, the Audi V8 in 1988. Sporting a 3.6L 32-valve V8 engine, the Audi V8 featured full time all wheel drive and a four speed electronically controlled automatic transmission. This particular model was a huge departure from earlier Audis and set the brand on a collision course with Mercedes and BMW, Germany's two other luxury brands in a bid for automotive supremacy.

Today, Audi continues to expand and compete against all of the top luxury brands in the world. New technology including its Audi Space Frame all-aluminum body - known for its rigidity and improved crashworthiness - are among the highlights of a brand that doesn't settle for second best. From sedans to sport coupes to an all new SUV, Audi has a model that competes against the likes of Lexus, Mercedes, Cadillac, Infiniti, and BMW its chief competitors.

That "hark" sound you hear is both the name of a company and the attention the brand deserves in a sea of capable premium models produced by Germany's esteemed Volkswagen Group. Yes, Audi has weathered several storms and the company appears poised to continue its thrust forward thanks to its many innovations and continued high quality.

Audi’s Q3 Small SUV and A7 Sportback Reportedly Get RS Variants Next Year

Having already announced record sales and surpassing 2011’s results one month before the end of the year, Audi is gearing up for 2013. Sports car fans will be more than pleased to learn that the VW Group premium carmaker will reportedly launch not one, but two RS models next year/

Quattro GmbH is Audi’s performance division responsible for S and RS models. During the press launch of the RS5 Cabriolet last week, CAR magazine test editor Ben Pulman noticed an image proclaiming 2013 was going to be “The year of Quattro GmbH” that would launch “four new RS models”.

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Audi Introduces New 240HP 3.0-liter V6 Diesel for A6, A7, A8 and Q5 SUV in the U.S.

While extremely popular in Europe, for a long time, diesel-powered passenger cars were a non-entity in the U.S. automotive business. Furthermore, it was more likely to see pink flamingos parading in Times Square than a premium brand automobile with a diesel engine under its hood.

Today, things are quite different. Diesel engines are nothing like they used to be, nor are gasoline prices, so manufacturers are not afraid to add diesel variants to their U.S. line-up.

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Audi to Introduce New Diesel Versions of A8, A7, A6 and Q5 at LA Auto Show

Audi's push into the U.S. diesel market will continue with the presentation of four-new models at next week's Los Angeles Auto Show. Joining the already available Q7 3.0 TDI that went on sale in America this past September, Audi will soon offer the same updated 3.0-liter V6 TDI 'clean diesel' on the A8, A7, A6 and Q5 models.

With the exception of the A8 TDI that will go on sale first in spring of 2013, the other three TDI models will arrive in U.S. dealerships in the fall of the same year.

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Audi S7 Sportback Tweaked by ABT Sportsline, gets at Least 513-Horses

German tuning house ABT Sportsline believes that the new Audi S7 Sportback can do with some polishing up on both the styling and performance departments.

The most capable model of the A7 series, which was revealed last fall, is powered by a new 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged TFSI V8 engine that generates 414hp (420PS) and 550 Nm (405.7 lb-ft).

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Audi Announces New Models and Pricing for 2013MY, Including RS5, A4 Allroad and Q5 3.0 TSI

Following in the footsteps of Volkswagen, Audi also came out with an announcement detailing new models and pricing for its 2013 Model Year range in the United States.

The brand with the four rings is introducing six new models and multiple freshened products including the A4 Allroad estate priced from $39,600, the 444hp (450PS) RS5 Coupe that starts at $68,900 and the S6, S7 and S8 saloons with a new 4.0-liter turbocharged V8 delivering from 414hp to 513hp (420PS-520PS).

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Ward's Automotive Names the 10 Best Car Interiors in the 2012 Class

It's that time of the year again when Ward's Automotive announces its annual 10 Best Interiors list. For 2012, the magazine's editorial staff evaluated 40 vehicles with new or significantly improved interiors for the 2012 or 2013 model years and came up with 10 winners regardless of price (see last year's winners here).

"We saw a tremendously diverse group of interiors this year, and it's obvious to us that auto makers are pushing their design staffs harder than ever for interiors that are beautifully appointed, well equipped and extremely comfortable," commented WardsAuto World Editor-in-Chief Drew Winter.

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R&T Pits 2013 Lexus GS 350 F Sport Against Audi A7 Sportback

Lexus has high hopes for its brand new 2013 GS sedan in the highly competitive executive segment, or at least it does in the North American market because Europe is a different story.

While one would consider the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, the BMW 5-Series or the Audi A6 more direct opponents for the GS, Road & Track magazine chose a different adversary in the form of the Audi A7 Sportback.

Audi's A7 may split the difference between a traditional saloon and a hatchback offering an in-between body style, but it in essence, it remains an executive model, so R&T's test is not too far off.

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Audi Presents New Bi-Turbocharged V6 Diesel with 313PS for the A7 and A6 Models in Britain

The already available in Germany new 3.0-liter BiTDI V6 engine from Audi has arrived in the UK market heading the diesel lineup in the A6 Saloon, Avant, Allroad Quattro and A7 Sportback.

Audi's most potent V6 diesel lump comes equipped with a two-stage turbocharger group as well as a start-stop and recuperation system delivering 309HP (313PS) from 3,900-4,500rpm and a generous peak torque of 650Nm (479.4 lb-ft) from 1,450 to 2,800rpm.

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