Would You Be Willing To Pay This Much For A New 2016 Audi TT?

Welcome to the world of German-built coupes and roadsters.

An all-new Audi TT is about to arrive in dealerships and the automaker is anxious to get buyers behind the wheel. Thing is, there’s been something of a price increase over the previous generation. Audi has just released official pricing details for its 2016 TT, with the base model coupe starting off at $42,900. That’s a $2,550 price boost over the 2015 TT coupe. Want a new TT roadster? That’ll cost you at least $46,400, a $3,050 increase from last year.

But for a few thousand more, starting at $51,900 ($3,200 more than 2015), you can go for the TTS coupe and its turbocharged 2.0-liter four banger with 292 hp, an increase from last year’s 265 hp. Pricing for the 2016 TTS Roadsters, oddly enough, hasn’t been revealed just yet, but we figure it’ll base at around $55,000. Now, taking those pricing details into account here, would you take a new TT or TTS over, say, a Porsche Boxster/Cayman? The starting price for those is $52,100 and $52,600, respectively. No one ever said German-built coupes and roadsters would ever come cheap. Let us know in the comments.

What Would A Bugatti Van Look Like?

Or would you rather have a Porsche or Alfa Romeo van?

What if, instead of building the new Chiron, Bugatti decided to reprise its world's fastest Veyron supercar with the world's fastest van? Those of us who bash the keys here at CarBuzz can easily say this isn't a scenario that's ever come to our minds, but we're glad it did for Russian automotive manipulator Nikita Aksyonov. The talented artist—who previously gave us an Aston Martin Vantage reimagined as a shooting brake, a drop-top Polestar 1, and numerous McLaren Senna possibilities—has been at it again applying Bugatti, Porsche, and Alfa Romeo DNA to large vans.

Renders of the vans, which come to us via CarScoops, used typical large vans as their bases before Aksyonov went to work grafting on front fascias from some of the most recognized automotive models in recent history. First up is a Bugatti van sporting the Chiron's face. Surprisingly, the resulting effect doesn't look all that out of place on the people hauler, though its oversized, stuck-out wheels and low-profile tires certainly give it a cartoonish, fantastical stance.The speculative renders of Porsche and Subaru commercial vans don't seem unrealistic, either, at least when it comes to their headlamps and basic sheet metal.

But when Aksyonov arrived at Alfa Romeo, BMW, and Lexus, the idea produced nightmare fuel worthy of the crusher. In particular, the Lexus render has proved a bigger grille is not always better. In addition to the vans, Aksyonov has also rendered up a few city vehicles as trucks for your viewing pleasure. While we would appreciate a Bugatti van simply to deliver our packages on time, don't expect any of these imaginary vehicles to ever come to fruition. That's probably for the best.

Would You Rock This Widebody 2018 Audi SQ5?

Audi tuner Abt has built an SQ5 for extroverts.

Audi’s reputation for building conservatively styled cars that fly under the radar is well earned. Even its S models tend not to garner a second glance when set amidst a backdrop flamboyantly designed BMWs, Benzes, Jaguars, and Alfa Romeos. For those who want to hold the visual attention of passersby just that little bit longer, Abt Sportsline has you covered. It’s latest creation is this (via CarScoops): a wide-body 2018 Audi SQ5 that's the perfect German SUV for extroverts.

For nearly three decades, the German-based tuner has been cranking Audis up to eleven with its unique brand of mechanical upgrades and visual enhancements, which it has applied to this SQ5. In all, Abt has fitted a new front skirt, wider fenders, door strips, and a new rear skirt, a kit it will sell to you for $6,890 (or $5,690 without the fender flares). The company will also throw in an optional rear wing if have an extra $590 to spend. The modified SQ5 sits lower on its 22-inch Abt alloy wheels thanks to the tuner’s coilover suspension springs, which—for $890—drop the SUV by between 35 mm (1.4 inches) to 60 mm (2.4 inches).

The look is finished with visible exhaust openings, finished in black chrome for Q5 models and carbon fiber for the SQ5 seen here, included as part of the body-kit package. Best of all, all these parts come with a 4 year, 100,000-mile warranty. For those who live in North America, this is unfortunately where Abt’s SQ5 modification catalog ends. European customers, however, can crank the SUV’s 3.0-liter turbocharged engine up to 425 horsepower and 405 lb-ft of torque by way of an Abt engine control unit. Slim and wide versions of the body kit are available now.

Would You Be Willing To Pay This Much For A New 2016 Audi TT?

Welcome to the world of German-built coupes and roadsters.

An all-new Audi TT is about to arrive in dealerships and the automaker is anxious to get buyers behind the wheel. Thing is, there’s been something of a price increase over the previous generation. Audi has just released official pricing details for its 2016 TT, with the base model coupe starting off at $42,900. That’s a $2,550 price boost over the 2015 TT coupe. Want a new TT roadster? That’ll cost you at least $46,400, a $3,050 increase from last year.

But for a few thousand more, starting at $51,900 ($3,200 more than 2015), you can go for the TTS coupe and its turbocharged 2.0-liter four banger with 292 hp, an increase from last year’s 265 hp. Pricing for the 2016 TTS Roadsters, oddly enough, hasn’t been revealed just yet, but we figure it’ll base at around $55,000. Now, taking those pricing details into account here, would you take a new TT or TTS over, say, a Porsche Boxster/Cayman? The starting price for those is $52,100 and $52,600, respectively. No one ever said German-built coupes and roadsters would ever come cheap. Let us know in the comments.

How Would You Design Your Perfect Lamborghini Urus?

With the live configurator, you can sample how the one-percenters lives.

Any time a new supercar gets revealed, the car community goes nuts over which YouTuber is going to order the nicest "spec." Unfortunately, since most of us will never have the means to buy one of these cars, we just have to grin and tell people that their horrible taste is good and move on with our day. Luckily, supercar manufacturers like to include us regular folks in the fun, and have been releasing online configurators for new models like the McLaren 720S and even the Bugatti Chiron. The latest configurator is for the Lamborghini Urus, and it is now live.

The Lamborghini Urus configurator may not be the most extensive, but it does let you choose from a nice selection of customizable options. Unlike some configurators, this one doesn't give you a price for your final creation, which is probably for the best. We know that it's easy to go nuts with the options sheet and fill a car with options that cost more than the car itself. The Urus configurator starts by giving you seven base configurations on which to start designing your dream SUV. Each is a bit different, but basically act as a starting point that can be completely changed if desired.

We started off by building a nice red Urus with Rosso Anteros paint. We decided to pair the red paint with a Bianco Polar interior for a classic '80s look that a Lamborghini Countach would be proud of. Even though the Urus will be the brand's most practical model ever, we went for the four-seat configuration because this is still a Lamborghini after all. We also went for some options such as Bang and Olufsen sound, a head-up display, night vision, hands free tailgate and front and rear heated seats. We decided to leave off things like the Urban Road and Highway Assistant packages. The configuration code for our red Urus is AABX06 if you'd like to build one like ours.

Even though Lamborghini models are supposed to be mad and attract attention, this is still an SUV. In addition to our red Urus, we wanted to make one that was more discrete. For our sleeper SUV, we decided to go for the Grigio Lynx paint with a slightly flamboyant green brake caliper. On the interior we stuck with conventional black leather, but gave it a touch of excitement with green stitching. The configuration code for this Urus was AABX8G. Have fun building your dream Urus, and let us know how you configured your car in the comments.

5 Cars That Would Be Better As Fully Electric Models

Not all cars should be EV, but these would be seriously great with some electrification.

Automakers seem to be on a mission to turn every car in their lineups into a hybrid or EV. Sometimes enthusiasts like to complain that certain cars should never include electrification. For example, we think that the Lamborghini Aventador would be worse if it was an EV. Part of what makes that car great is the sound and savage gear changes. This isn't the case with all cars though. There are certain models that we think would be much better if they had an EV drivetrain instead of a gas engine. Here are our top five cars that would be better off as EVs.

Rolls-Royce recently revealed its all-new Phantom VIII. This amazing flagship luxury car will pick up right where the previous Phantom left off by offering a buttery smooth 6.75-liter twin-turbo V12. Even though this engine produces 563 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque while barely making any noise, we think that the Phantom would be even better as an EV. This way, the car would be perfectly silent instead of just very silent. An EV drivetrain would also eliminate gear changes all together and give the car the smoothest acceleration possible. Rolls-Royce may build the most luxurious car, but it could still learn a few things from Tesla.

On a very similar note of luxury, we think that the new Audi A8 could benefit from an EV model. We could have easily included rival German sedans like the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes S-Class on this list as well. These cars are all at the top of the technology pyramid in the auto industry. It would make sense that one of these cars should go electric and have incredible smoothness and performance that would match the high-class character of this segment. We chose the A8 simply because it is the newest of the three and features the most autonomous driving technology that would pair well with an EV drivetrain.

The Lexus LS is the last luxury flagship on the list that we think should become an EV. We could also make a similar argument with the smaller Lexus ES sedan. Lexus has been trying to catch up with the German automakers by offering sporty, RWD cars with very good handling. This effort has been good, but we think that Toyota needs to go back to what has helped it succeed: electrification. Toyota and Lexus hybrid models were once at the forefront of technology, but have since turned into an afterthought compared to Tesla. We think that Lexus could reinvigorate the market with an EV model that would help it leapfrog its German rivals.

The Range Rover Evoque is a bit of an oddball on this list. We chose the Evoque because we have always thought that this model never lived up to its full potential. The Evoque is extremely beautiful, but offers a very average 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder that seems out of place in such a futuristic-looking car. We think that the Evoque would be perfect as the first EV model from Land Rover. Not many people actually use the Evoque off-road anyway, but we have seen in the past that EVs can succeed off-road. Turning the Evoque into an EV would give more people more of a reason to gravitate to it, instead of just loving the Range Rover badge.

The Q60 is a very important car for Infiniti. The old G37 was a very popular car, but the 3.7-liter VQ V6 was getting a bit long in the tooth. Enter the new Q60 with its available 400 hp twin-turbo V6. We thought that this new engine would be what Infiniti needed to get back in the spotlight. However, it turns out that this new engine doesn't have a whole lot of character and neither does the Q60. We think that Infiniti needs to do something different in order to stand out. There is currently no sporty, affordable EV coupe on the market today. If Infiniti could turn the Q60 into a fast EV coupe, it could have a huge market advantage over cars like the BMW 4 Series, Mercedes C-Class coupe and Audi A5.