Want to drive a luxury brand automobile but can't afford it? You might be surprised to find that many luxury brands (like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Lincoln) offer vehicles that start in the low 30s. Just by foregoing a few extras like a bigger engine and built-in GPS you could be driving a new luxury car for about the same as you'd expect to pay for a nice Toyota or Honda. It really comes down to deciding if the term "fully loaded" is really that important to you -- do you have to have that gas-guzzling V8? If the answer is 'no' then you suddenly have a lot more options.
Luxe British outerwear company Belstaff, founded in 1924 and known for their distinctive motorcycle jackets, is teaming up with Audi to produce a one-off SUV to benefit the charity founded by Ocean's Eleven co-stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt. The stars' charity, Not On Our Watch (NOOW), which my colleague Laura Malesich reported on earlier this year, raises awareness about humanitarian crises around the world. Belstaff and Audi are co-designing a special edition Q7 luxury SUV which will be sold to benefit NOOW's efforts in Darfur, Vogue UK reports. Earlier this week, Clooney and Pitt hosted a fundraiser for NOOW at the Venice Film Festival.
Whether you own one of these luxury vehicles, or wish you could, the key pendants from Imperial Craftwork should be on your wish list. Choose the auto logo you desire from ten options, select sterling silver, sterling with white gold plating, or pure platinum, and add some panache to your keys for $130 and up. The only unfortunate thing is your gift may be on hold for a bit -- the only style in stock was the Audi pendant. Guess there is always Valentine's Day or St. Paddy's! (Any occasion is good for a gift).
The first mid-engine sports car by Audi featured in the Bergdorf Goodman 2007 Holiday Gift Book will be in a sealed-bid auction from November 16th, 9am EST to December 14th, 5pm EST. With a starting bid price of $160,000 the Audi R8 will be customized with the assistance of Tony Chi to the winner's specifications. All proceeds will be donated to charity which gives this fancy purchase some philanthropic appeal as well. The Audi R8 has a 420 hp V8 4.2L FSI engine and a rear-based quattro® all wheel drive system.
At the Frankfurt Motor Show these past few days, the folks at the Audi stand have quite the uniform. The dress is tasteful black suits covering pressed white shirts or blouses -- but these are anything but your run-of-the-mill duds.
Audi has signed Michael Michalsky on to design its own Corporate Fashion Line for employees working auto shows, the Audi Forum and in dealerships. In the forefront of the fashion design world, Michalsky will also serve as an Audi brand ambassador.
The effort marks Audi's foray into the world of fashion, a role played by sibling brand Volkswagen several months ago when it launched high-end garments such as cashmere scarves to accompany the launch of its Jetta-based Eos convertible.
Check out Audi's full press release after the jump.
Sure, you can hit Toys 'R Us for a traditional pedal car, or maybe even one of those electric mini Jeeps, but what well-to-do automobile enthusiast wants a toy that's so pedestrian?
Audi has you covered with what is possibly the most expensive toy car, a racing replica that follows the construction of the original down to the aluminum space frame and leather seat and trim. A removable steering wheel, aluminum body and hydraulic dual-disc brake system complete the package, which is a 1:2 scale model of which only 999 will be built and distributed through your respective Audi importer.
The Sun out of Britain pegs the car's price at £7,000, though no official price has been announced by Audi for the U.S.
One of the biggest challenges when it comes to combining technology and luxury vehicles is doing it in a way that is user-friendly, because it's about convenience, fun, and safety -- not frustration. These luxury cars can do everything from play your mp3s and DVDs to adjust automatically to treacherous driving conditions and off-road terrain. And perhaps best of all, they look good doing it.
Audi AG has plucked Seal, singer of 1994 hit song "Kiss From a Rose," to serve as a brand ambassador as he tours the world. It's quite the natural fit, in fact -- Heidi Klum's British-born beau and self-proclaimed technophile already hosts the Audi Q7 and R8 sedan in his personal garage.
Seal has already begun his work as an Audi brand ambassador, first early last January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit to sing his hit "Crazy" while the company launched its Q7 V12 TDI, then later in January in Las Vegas when Audi launched the new R8.
This week, Seal will hit Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Berlin and Hamburg as Audi launches the A5 in Germany through events themed "Talk of the Town."
Click through to the jump for Audi's full release.
Posted Jun 11th 2007 3:02PM by Erin Mays Filed under: Wheels
Four-door convertibles are on their way back, and fast. The "Ocean Drive" concept launched at the North American International Auto Show last January has found some traction with the powers that be at Mercedes-Benz, according to Motor Trend, which reported that the vehicle will be available in the 2011 model year. It will be the first four-door convertible in over forty years to go into production, though concepts such as ASC's take on the Chrysler 300 went over well.
The big 'vert, to be based on the luxurious S600, will most likely share the S600's beastly 510-horsepower 5.5L V12, though the extra weight from engineering the convertible could mean an even more powerful engine to haul all that extra weight. At any rate, the vehicle is expected to fetch easily over $100,000.
Motor Trend also reports that the Audi A7 four-door convertible, based on the A7 sedan planned for 2009, is in the works as well, though with a "coupe-sedan" and less expensive price tag.
Posted May 28th 2007 9:04AM by Erin Mays Filed under: Wheels
Despite assumptions to the contrary, it appears that Porsche will not be building its own version of the upcoming Audi Q5, the Q7's smaller sibling. Porsche fans and journalists alike have been predicting a comparable Porsche version of the Q5 since news of the BMW X3-fighter hit the papers, based on the success of the Cayenne, which largely comes from the same parts bin as the Q7 minus the sheet metal.
The news from Porsche came in response to an article in the Enquirer-like AutoBild, which often takes dramatic artistic license with the news it publishes. Who could blame them, though? Porsche has been rebadging Volkswagen and Audis for a while now, and to much success, particularly with the much-anticipated Panamera (Audi A8!!) coming to dealerships in the near future. A Q5-ish Porsche seems like a logical next step.
Posted May 22nd 2007 9:03AM by Erin Mays Filed under: Wheels
Sure, if it feels like it should cost $200,000. The always-funny Ezra Dyer got to take a spin through Beverly Hills in the 2008 Audi R8 for the New York Times, where he bemoans the car's sideblades (or "sideburns," as Dyer calls them) but not much else.
Despite the price tag of $110,000 and up, the DNA shared between the street-bound R8 and Audi's lauded race car R8 -- midengine layout with most of the torque going to the rear wheels, dry-sump lubrication, etc. -- makes the 2008 Audi R8 one of the few cars allowed on municipal pavement that truly feels like a race car. In effect, the R8 is more like its Lamborghini cousins (also owned by VW) than like its other Audi siblings.
Unlike most Audis, which Dyer says are criticized for lacking any soul, the R8 offers up plenty of meat to get us grunting like cave men -- yes, even the women -- from an exhaust note that gets your blood rushing to optional LED lights that appropriately light up the engine under its transparent cover when the parking lights are on (should you be showing things off under the hood after dusk).
Click through for the full review, and watch this space in the coming months for more news about the R8, including rumors that it will soon be packing an optional V10 courtesy of Lamborghini.
Posted May 19th 2007 6:30PM by Erin Mays Filed under: Wheels
Audi has debuted the TT Clubsport Quattro study for Wörthersee 2007, an auto enthusiast event in Austria. The speedster is stripped down to to those parts that make it most racetrack-worthy, with the 300-horsepower TFSI four-cylinder engine mated to Audi's S-tronic direct-shift gearbox, ceramic brakes, light aluminum components and four-point seatbelts taking the lead.
The wraparound windscreen (notice the lack of an A-pillar), barely-there windows and short rollbars seem to have a "minimalist" feel, yet the prominent grille, LED-encrusted headlights and HUGE intakes and fat fender flares are so much larger than life that they make the vehicle almost a caricature.
Like any self-respecting German automaker, the gadgets abound. A B&O MP3 player BeoSound 2, designed especially for this vehicle in order to fit into the round spaces set aside for the entertainment area on the dash, while a remote control is the only way to get the doors to open from the outside.
Check out the automaker's full press release after the jump.
The Porsche Cayenene might just be one of Porsche's most brilliant ideas in the last decade. Launched in 2003 at a time when Americans were desperately in love with sport utility vehicles, the Cayenne was largely responsible for helping Porsche keep sales up in America, even after September 11 when only the hardiest of automakers reported improved sales figures in the U.S.
That's why the 2008 Porsche Cayenne is such an important redesign for Porsche. On the performance side, direct fuel injection increases power while improving efficiency (a must on Porsche's monster, which now gets 14 mpg in the city, 20 highway vs. the 2003 versions 13/18), and optional chassis control and air suspension systems make the Cayenne the preferred weekend grocery/kid/dog hauler of sports car owners. These systems don't come cheap ($3,000 for the chassis control and $3,500 for the air suspension), but finding a vehicle that is as at home on the racetrack as it is off-road is a tough charge indeed. Both systems allow for better performance in almost any driving condition.
The styling changes are minimal, but then again, that has been Porsche's secret to success with other vehicles such as the Porsche 911. If it ain't broke, as they say... For 2008, Porsche designers stretched the headlights to give the impression of a wider hood, and also to exaggerate the lines of the fender flares, which give the vehicle a beastlier stance and better emulate the sports car bretheren of the Cayenne. Besides that, though, Porsche seems to have taken the winner they introduced back in 2003 and put their engineering budget toward what matters most for Porsche owners: performance.
Rimowa cases --the Cristal of luggage -- have more than 100 years of experience under their belts. Now that they've figured out that if you make high-dollar luggage, you should do it for high-dollar customers and their high-dollar cars.
To this end, Rimowa is now pimping made-to-measure car luggage sets. The cars they're targeting? BMW (5 series and 7 series), Audi (A6 and A8), and Mercedes (E and S class).
The company claims that "each of the exclusive sets is perfectly tailored to the standard empty car boot of these models" ("boot" here clearly being an expensive way to say "trunk").
Audi's
concept car, the Roadjet, is getting another
state-of-the-art optional accessory: an espresso
machine. The espresso machine will sit on the central arm rest, between the front driver and passenger seats. It is
made by WMF,
which stated that the machine is completely automatic and fully functional, ready to deliver coffee at the touch
of a button. It does not appear to have a milk frother, though steaming milk is probably a bit dangerous to do in a
car, anyway. No pricing yet, but I can imagine that drivers with long commutes would jump at the chance to have this by
their side in the early morning.
At the Frankfurt Motor Show these past few days, the folks at the Audi stand have quite the uniform. The dress is tasteful black suits covering pressed white shirts or blouses -- but these are anything but your run-of-the-mill duds.
Audi AG has plucked Seal, singer of 1994 hit song "Kiss From a Rose," to serve as a brand ambassador as he tours the world. It's quite the natural fit, in fact -- Heidi Klum's British-born beau and self-proclaimed technophile already hosts the Audi Q7 and R8 sedan in his personal garage.
