Audi Q8 Finally Shows Its Face

The Q8 makes an all-too brief appearance in Audi’s five-part mini-series, plus new sketch of front end emerges online.

The much-anticipated Audi Q8 will finally break cover next week, but before then we have to endure a few more episodes of the automaker’s ‘Q8 Unleashed’ web series. Instead of promoting the SUV’s forthcoming reveal with a traditional teaser campaign, Audi is releasing an online five-part mini-series featuring fictional characters in some sort of kidnapping plot, but it’s all just an excuse to showcase the Q8 before its official reveal.

It should be getting us excited about the Q8, but instead we’ve been frustrated with the SUV’s lack of screen time, cringe-worthy one-liners, and poor acting. Bafflingly, the Q8 barely featured in the last two episodes. This could have been Audi’s answer to the action-packed BMW Films starring Clive Owen, but it’s backfiring badly.

The third episode might just be the worst in the series yet but at least we finally get to see the Q8’s face, albeit briefly. In the last episode, lead character Quentin encountered a mysterious female truck driver after being left stranded in a desert. He hitches a ride with her in episode 3 to get back to civilization but just as they're about to get it on, they discover the truck is carrying something. They open the trailer and discover it was transporting the Audi Q8. Predictable, much? At the very end of the episode, we get a very brief glimpse of the SUV’s aggressive front end and LED headlights, but in all honesty the semi-truck has more screen time than the Q8.

So far, we know the Audi Q8 shares the same platform as the Lamborghini Urus, Bentley Bentayga, and Volkswagen Touareg. Like the Q7, engine options will likely include a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine producing 252 hp and a more powerful turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 model with 355 hp. Audi is also expected to offer a plug-in hybrid variant with a turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 engine, an electric motor and lithium-ion battery producing a combined 438 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque. Now that the Audi Q8 has finally made a proper appearance in this bizarre mini-series, maybe, just maybe, we’ll get to see it in action in the final two episodes.

Since the release of the latest episode, Audi has released a more revealing teaser sketch on Facebook, giving us a better look at the new flagship SUV's front end. Previewing the future design language of all upcoming Audi SUVs, the design doesn't deviate from the original Q8 concept too much, retaining its distinctive singleframe grille with vertical slats. Audi says the Q8's bold styling is inspired by the iconic Quattro of the 1980s. The result is an aggressive front end featuring an abundance of creases on the hood, a thick silver frame surrounding the grille and LED headlights.

Volkswagen And Audi Will Finally Fix Remaining 3.0-Liter Diesels

Once these engines are fixed, Dieselgate is "over."

Dieselgate caused a huge stir for Volkswagen, but the German automaker has rebounded exceptionally well. Nearly three years later, VW has come up with fixes for its diesel engines – except for one. The 3.0-liter V6 TDI found in the 2011 and 2012 Touareg and Q7 models was still waiting for approval, but a letter from the California Air Resources Board and the US Environmental Protection Agency confirms that a fix is finally available.

The fix will allow VW and Audi to make Touareg and Q7 models compliant with US emissions standards. Approximately 8,800 vehicles in North America will be repaired, completing the seemingly endless Dieselgate saga. Once the repairs are completed, VW and Audi need to submit their plans to resell the vehicles. VW was forced to buy back the cheating diesel cars and pay out to customers.

Audi has been fixing 3.0-liter TDI engines for a while now, but so far only 62% of vehicles in the US and only 42% of vehicles in Canada have been repaired. The EPA document doesn’t say how this fix will

affect the engine’s performance or fuel economy figures, though we assume both with suffer from the changes

.

The US Will Finally Get Forbidden Fruit In The Form Of The Audi S5 Sportback

Audi finally gives the US what we have been begging for.

The 2018 Audi A5 and S5 Sportback were not new reveals at the LA Auto Show. Audi revealed the new Sportback at the Paris Motor Show, but we were still left on the edge of our seats waiting for it to be confirmed for the US market. Today we finally know that the Sportback will indeed make it to the US market in spring 2017. The Sportback was on our list of cars that we desperately want in the US, so now that list just became a little shorter. Pricing has not been announced, but we expect it to slot between the Coupe and Cabriolet.

Like these models, the A5 Sportback will come with a new version of Audi's 2.0-liter engine, now with 252 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque, mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch helping to get the car to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds. The S5 comes with a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 with 354 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque. In the reverse of the previous generation, the S5 now comes with an eight-speed Tiptronic automatic which gets it to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds. We would honestly be happy with either engine, although we still wish that a manual was available anywhere in the A4/A5 line. Still, we have to be happy that Audi finally listened to our pleas for the Sportback.

We already like the idea of the four-door coupe, but the idea is made so much better when the car is also a hatchback. Audi did this with the A7, which had all of the practicality of a hatchback, but looks that American consumers actually wanted. The A5 and S5 Sportback have double the cargo space of their coupe counterparts, and that is what makes them so great. You get almost all of the great looks of the standard Coupe, and more cargo room than even the A4. More manufacturers need to find a way to build great looking cars that are technically hatchback in disguise. The BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe, which is similar to the Sportback, now has some competition.

Audi Finally Has A Product Planner In The US That Loves Wagons!

Hopefully he can follow through with some cool wagons for the US market.

Audi's lineup is looking a bit dated compared to its rivals, BMW and Mercedes. Which is why a product onslaught (with the help of Porsche) is in process that will give Audi the youngest and freshest lineup of the big three German luxury automakers. Speaking with Automotive News, Audi of America's director of product planning, Barry Hoch, talked about a slew of new models that are coming over the next 18 months and the "white space" that he wants to fill in the Audi range. Hoch seems very in-tune with what customers really want.

For us, obviously, one request from this side of the ocean is to have an even bigger SUV" said Hoch. This SUV would be larger than the Q7 and compete with the Mercedes GLS and upcoming large SUV from BMW. Hoch is already improving the Audi lineup with the refreshed A5 and S5 Sportbacks, which are new to the US. Audi is currently on a roll with 77 consecutive months of record sales since 2010. By the end of next year, we'll have the youngest lineup among our main competitors," Hoch continued. "But we've got to keep the pedal on the floor with the products coming as well. It's the only way we're going to keep our streak alive."

Hoch specifically mentioned the Sportback models as a great product for the customers who aren't ready to jump into an SUV. Models like the A4 Allroad currently offer an alternative to typical SUV models. Hoch says that he recognizes the small segment of customers that are "anti-SUV." Clearly Hoch was referring to us with this comment. "There is a small group of aficionados who could benefit from an additional wagon from Audi," Hoch said. "It's certainly something that we see over in Europe, and I want it." As do we, Hoch, as do we.

Acura May Finally Give ILX Sedan The Engine It's Always Needed

An ILX Type-S with more than 300hp? It's very possible.

This should have been done by now. In fact, the Acura ILX should have been given a proper engine from the get-go. After all, this is the sport sedan (read: re-bodied and pricier Honda Civic) that Acura has been trying so desperately hard to sell to younger buyers. Instead many have been shopping elsewhere. According to a new report from Car and Driver, the ILX, which will also receive a facelift for 2016, could also soon receive a turbocharged version of Honda’s new 2.0-liter "Earth Dreams" four-cylinder engine that’s capable of producing 300-plus hp.

In fact, this very engine is due to arrive in a few Honda models later this year, including a top-of-the-line Civic. A newly improved Civic Si or something even more powerful? Either one is possible. But a company product planner told C&D that "Acura is always going to get the best engines Honda makes," and those cars "will always be more powerful" than their Honda cousins. The Acura rep summed it up like this: "Obviously, a 2.0-liter turbo is more of a must-have in the luxury world than it is in the mainstream world, so..." An ILX Type-S could help bring the tuning world back to the brand. "Tuners were such a big part of our fan base in the old days," the rep also commented. It’s still not too late to return Acura to its enthusiast 90s roots.

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The US Will Finally Get Forbidden Fruit In The Form Of The Audi S5 Sportback

Audi finally gives the US what we have been begging for.

The 2018 Audi A5 and S5 Sportback were not new reveals at the LA Auto Show. Audi revealed the new Sportback at the Paris Motor Show, but we were still left on the edge of our seats waiting for it to be confirmed for the US market. Today we finally know that the Sportback will indeed make it to the US market in spring 2017. The Sportback was on our list of cars that we desperately want in the US, so now that list just became a little shorter. Pricing has not been announced, but we expect it to slot between the Coupe and Cabriolet.

Like these models, the A5 Sportback will come with a new version of Audi's 2.0-liter engine, now with 252 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque, mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch helping to get the car to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds. The S5 comes with a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 with 354 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque. In the reverse of the previous generation, the S5 now comes with an eight-speed Tiptronic automatic which gets it to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds. We would honestly be happy with either engine, although we still wish that a manual was available anywhere in the A4/A5 line. Still, we have to be happy that Audi finally listened to our pleas for the Sportback.

We already like the idea of the four-door coupe, but the idea is made so much better when the car is also a hatchback. Audi did this with the A7, which had all of the practicality of a hatchback, but looks that American consumers actually wanted. The A5 and S5 Sportback have double the cargo space of their coupe counterparts, and that is what makes them so great. You get almost all of the great looks of the standard Coupe, and more cargo room than even the A4. More manufacturers need to find a way to build great looking cars that are technically hatchback in disguise. The BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe, which is similar to the Sportback, now has some competition.