Monday, September 29th, 2008
Making its Paris Show debut next month will be a new Audi S4 that gives equally high priority to thrills and thrift thanks to a new six cylinder TFSI engine that not only decisively outperforms its V8 predecessor but does so with a 30 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions and 29mpg-plus fuel economy. The new S4 and S4 Avant will open for order in November priced from approximately £36,000 and will reach their first UK customers in April 2009.
The completely new 3.0-litre V6 shares its ‘TFSI’ designation with the six engines in the Audi range that combine single turbo charging with FSI direct injection, but the newcomer actually bucks the trend by using the alternative method of forced induction - a compact supercharger chosen because it delivers keener response than even two turbo chargers could achieve.
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Thursday, September 25th, 2008
It will be introduced at the 2008 International Paris Motor Show, a Lancia Ypsilon VERSUS show car produced with the Versace Group brand that will also dress the models on the stand with garments chosen to suit the expressive motifs of the exhibition space. All this confirms the strong bond between Lancia and the world of Fashion. Together with Design and Cinema, Fashion is one of the brand’s languages of reference, as is borne out by the choice of Lancia cars as official vehicles for the Milan fashion week.
The Lancia Ypsilon continues to cause a stir, confirming its place as a true icon of Italian design. This time, it is the turn of the ‘Ypsilon VERSUS’, an original version created as a result of collaboration between Lancia and Versus, a Versace Group brand that has always been a byword for exquisite styling innovation. With its pronounced tendency for a young, dynamic style, Versus reflects the taste of an audience that is very aware of fashion trends and full of vitality. Attention to detail, care over proportions and top-quality workmanship and materials are the strengths of the brand collections. So it seemed quite natural to combine the VERSUS brand with Ypsilon, the Lancia model directed at the same young and sophisticated audience.
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Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008
Frustrating, fuel-sapping stops at red traffic lights could soon be the exception rather than the rule thanks to a new initiative being championed by Audi aimed at streamlining urban traffic flow and reducing CO2 emissions.
The experimental ‘Travolution’ system, developed with Audi support by traffic management experts in the brand’s German home town of Ingolstadt, will not only improve synchronisation and phasing of traffic light networks to reduce stopping times, but could also dramatically reduce the number of actual stops needed by creating a communications link between cars and the traffic light network.
Communications modules built into each traffic light are able to send messages to cars in the vicinity, alerting them to the time remaining until their next green phase. The car’s onboard system is then able to calculate the speed which the driver must maintain in order to pass through the light during this green phase, and displays this via the Multi Media Interface display.
A network of 46 of the ‘intelligent’ traffic lights has been installed in the centre of Ingolstadt, the software to which they are all linked optimising their phasing to bring stopping times down to a minimum, reducing fuel consumption and pollution in the process.
Of the 46 light gantries, three have been upgraded to enable communication with the specially modified A5 and A6 Avant models provided by Audi as part of the 1.2-million Euro pilot project. A further 20 cars and 50 light installations are to be incorporated as the project evolves.
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