Audi to Exhibit Q3 Concepts and an e-Bike Prototype at the 2012 Wörthersee Tour

It is hard to believe, but somehow another year has rolled around since the last Wörthersee Tour.

The VW Group meeting of all meetings that brings together fans of the Audi, VW, Seat and Skoda brands will be held for the 31st time at lake Wörthersee in the southern Austrian state of Carinthia from May 16 to 19.

At this year's event, Audi plans to display three conceptual versions of the Q3 compact crossover along with its e-bike Wörthersee prototype.

Beginning with Audi's two-wheel proposal, the e-bike is a futuristic looking study sporting 26-inch wheels made from carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) that weigh only 600 grams (1.32 lbs) and an ultra-light carbon-fiber frame that tips the scales at an impressively low 1.600 grams (3.53 lbs).

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Audi to Exhibit Q3 Concepts and an e-Bike Prototype at the 2012 Wörthersee Tour

It is hard to believe, but somehow another year has rolled around since the last Wörthersee Tour.

The VW Group meeting of all meetings that brings together fans of the Audi, VW, Seat and Skoda brands will be held for the 31st time at lake Wörthersee in the southern Austrian state of Carinthia from May 16 to 19.

At this year's event, Audi plans to display three conceptual versions of the Q3 compact crossover along with its e-bike Wörthersee prototype.

Beginning with Audi's two-wheel proposal, the e-bike is a futuristic looking study sporting 26-inch wheels made from carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) that weigh only 600 grams (1.32 lbs) and an ultra-light carbon-fiber frame that tips the scales at an impressively low 1.600 grams (3.53 lbs).

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Audi's Q3 Vail Concept Arrives in Beijing as the Jinlong Yufeng Study

What we came to know as the Audi Q3 Vail Concept at this year's Detroit Motor Show was presented in a different shade and with a new name at this week's Auto China 2012 in Beijing.

The Chinese version of the Q3 Vail is named the Jinlong Yufeng, which is Chinese for “Golden Dragon in the Wind”. The only other difference over the Detroit concept is the luminous monochrome Liuli Yellow color for the exterior with matching interior trim accents.

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Audi's Q3 Vail Concept Arrives in Beijing as the Jinlong Yufeng Study

What we came to know as the Audi Q3 Vail Concept at this year's Detroit Motor Show was presented in a different shade and with a new name at this week's Auto China 2012 in Beijing.

The Chinese version of the Q3 Vail is named the Jinlong Yufeng, which is Chinese for “Golden Dragon in the Wind”. The only other difference over the Detroit concept is the luminous monochrome Liuli Yellow color for the exterior with matching interior trim accents.

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Audi will Present Three World Premieres at the Beijing Auto Show

Earlier this week, Audi dropped the curtains on its sporty RS Q3 Concept, but it won't be the only world premiere the brand with the four rings has in store for us at next week's Auto China 2012 in Beijing.

The German automaker today announced that it would also debut a technology study based on the locally manufactured A6 L (long-wheelbase version of the sedan) and a second show car based on the Q3 compact crossover.

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New Audi RS Q3 Concept Study with 355HP Breaks Cover Ahead of its Beijing Motor Show Premiere

Audi has been toying around with the idea of a high-performance version of its Q3 compact crossover powered by the RS3 Sportback's (and the TT RS') turbocharged inline-five for quite a while now.

Some of you may remember that the Ingolstadt-based automaker offered the media a surprise test drive of an unmarked prototype back in the summer of 2011 while the four-ring brand also presented the 314hp Q3 Vail Concept at this year's Detroit motor show.

At the Auto China 2012 in Beijing, Audi is going to quit swinging the bat and start hitting the ball with the world premiere of the RS Q3 Concept, which could lead to a production model in the very near future.

Like the previous prototypes, the new RS Q3 study utilizes Audi's 2.5-liter straight-five turbocharged gasoline engine, only this time, it has been tweaked to produce 355-horses (360PS) allowing the compact SUV to pass the 100km/h (62mph) yardstick in just 5.2 seconds after take-off, en route to a top speed of 265km/h (165mph).

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ABT Launches New Tuning Program for Audi Q3

After last year's preview, ABT has now launched its new QS3 program for Audi's smallest crossover model onto the market in Europe.

Currently, ABT offers upgrade kits for the Q3 equipped with the 2.0-liter TDI diesel, in which case, output is lifted from 174hp (177PS) to 203hp (205PS), and the 2.0-liter TFSI petrol that lays down 267hp (270PS), up from 208hp (211PS).

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MTM's Colorful Geneva Motor Show Debuts Include 306hp Audi Q3 and $215k, 466hp VW T5

German-based tuning company MTM has shared photos and details of the vehicles it plans to debut at the 82nd Geneva International Auto Salon in a just a few days' time.

We'll start with the Audi Q3 crossover with the 2.0-liter TFSI engine. MTM's tune includes a power kit that lifts output from 170PS (168hp) to 310PS (307hp) allowing for the improvement of its 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint time by two seconds to 6.1 seconds, its top speed from 212km/h (132mph) to 250km/h (155mph).

The tuning house also adds a custom exhaust kit, a rear diffuser, a sports suspension kit, 20-inch Bimoto lightweight alloy wheels shod in 255/35 ZR20 tires and the optional black-red-gold foil wrap seen on this car.

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ABT Sportsline to Debut New VW Up!, Beetle and Audi Tunes in Geneva

The Geneva Salon may not be the prime place for tuners, but it is one of the two most important motor shows in Europe together with the Frankfurt and Paris events that alternate each year, and as such, big players in the industry like ABT Sportsline always have something new to show.

At this year's event, ABT will debut several new tuned models including the Volkswagen Up! and Beetle, and the Audi AS6 Avant and QS3 crossover.

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Audi Displays Winter Sports-Themed Q3 Vail Concept with the RS3's 2.5L Turbo in Detroit

As it turns out, the Audi Q3 Vail Concept wasn't a three-door crossover study as some sketches falsely suggested but a specially themed edition of the Q3 crossover, the regular versions of which are sold in other parts of the world including Europe but not in the States.

What makes this concept that is named after the famous winter sports venue in the U.S. a little more interesting is not so much the cosmetic enhancements as its mechanical hardware.

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Audi Boss Confirms Q3 Vail Concept for Detroit Show, Says More Models are Coming

The first and second place in the U.S. premium segment may belong to the Germans for 2011, but while BMW and Mercedes-Benz are at the top, Audi couldn’t manage anything better than seventh place, with less than half deliveries of its rivals.

Clearly, this is far from ideal for the Ingolstadt-based carmaker since the U.S. remains the number one market for premium brands. Furthermore, Audi, which is the segment leader both in Western Europe and China, wants to overtake BMW as the number one premium brand worldwide by 2015.

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Euro NCAP Announces the Results of the Latest Round of Crash Tests

The Ford Ranger's five-star rating in the Euro NCAP crash test was a surprise in the sense that it was the first time a pickup truck ever achieved such a high score not only for passenger but also for pedestrian protection as well.

The independent European safety organization also released the results for 11 more new models that were tested along with the Ranger. With the emphasis given these days on safety, the five-star rating awarded in all but one of the models was to be expected.

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SPY SHOTS: Hotted Up Audi Q3 S/RS with 2.5-liter Turbo Takes to the 'Ring

A new flagship version of the Audi Q3 series is starting to take shape as the German company has begun testing prototype models of what may end up carrying the 'S', 'RS' or even perhaps a different moniker altogether on the famous Nürburgring racetrack.

We first received concrete proof that Audi is contemplating the development of a high-performance version of its Q3 compact crossover during a press event in Switzerland when the Ingolstadt-based automaker gave journalists the opportunity to drive a test model equipped with the force-fed five-pot found in the TT RS and RS3 models.

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ABT Plays Around with the New Audi Q3 Crossover

ABT Sportsline, the German tuning company that has long specialized in modifying anything produced by the Volkswagen Group, has released details on its upcoming program for the new Audi Q3 small crossover.

Cosmetically, the tuning house has developed a bespoke front grille, a new front bumper with larger air inlets on both corners, rocker panels, a rear apron that makes space for the quad tail pipes, a roof spoiler and carbon fiber trim splats.

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Video: Audi Q3 RS Prototype Fitted with RS3’s 2.5-liter Turbocharged Inline-Five

What more proof that Audi is seriously considering the introduction of a high-performance S or RS version of its newly launched Q3 compact SUV than the creation of a prototype model shown at a media event?

According to the folks over at Sweden’s Sportbilen, the prototype was uncovered during the European press launch of the new Audi Q3 in Zurich, Switzerland. And mind you, this wasn’t a static presentation as the media had the chance to drive the pre-production model on the road.

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Audi Q3 RS Rumors give Birth to Rendering

The latest news from Audi is that the Ingolstadt automaker is working on a high-performance version of its new Q3 compact SUV. According to inside sources quoted by Auto Motor und Sport magazine in its most recent issue, the brand with the four rings has even decided on the powertrain, which is none other than the 340HP 2.5-liter turbocharged inline-five found under the hood of the TT RS and RS3 hot hatch. Read more »

Audi Rumored to be Working on New Q4 SUV to battle Range Evoque

Audi will double the number of SUVs in its range, which currently includes the recently announced Q3 (pictured in the above sketch), plus the Q5 and Q7, with the addition of three new models by 2016, according to a company insider cited by Autocar magazine. The new models will be named Q2, Q4 and Q6, and according to the magazine’s source, will enable the Ingolstadt-based carmaker to cover every niche of the popular SUV segment.

The first addition to Audi’s SUV line-up is said to be the Q4, which will be a sportier version of the existing Q5 designed to compete against Range Rover’s Evoque and to a lesser degree, sister company Porsche’s upcoming Cajun. It is expected to launch sometime in 2014 or 2015.

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Audi Begins Production of New Q3 SUV in Spain

The first series production version of Audi’s new Q3 small SUV rolled off the assembly line today at the SEAT factory in Martorell, located in Spain’s Catalonia region. Built in 1993, the Martorell plant currently employs more than 10,000 workers. This is the first time that the Ingolstadt-based automaker makes use of the SEAT factory. To build the Q3, the VW Group invested around €330 million in infrastructure and upgrades to the production facilities. Audi said around 100,000 Q3s are slated to leave the three-shift assembly line each year. Read more »

Audi UK Puts a Price Tag on its New Q3 ‘baby’ SUV

The third crossover model of Audi’s Q-series, the new Q3, will carry a base price tag of £24,560 OTR (about US$39,800 / €28,200) when order books open in Britain this June, with first deliveries set to take place in November. Buyers will have a choice of four powerplants, all combining direct fuel injection with turbo charging and all backed up by start-stop and energy recuperation systems, while Audi will also offer a front wheel drive only version. Read more »

Seat Rumored to Start Production of Audi Q3-based SUV in 2012

It seems that the VW Group’s Martorell plant in Spain will not only build the new Audi Q3, but a similar version of the compact SUV for Seat as well, according to a report from British car magazine, What Car. Industry sources told the publication that the Seat IBX crossover study shown at Geneva this year will be built in the same plant with the Audi Q3, with both models to share the same platform. The production version of the IBX is expected to be introduced next year. Read more »