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The finish ceremony of the Rally d’Italia Sardegna this afternoon alongside Porto Cervo’s Marina Vechia saw Sébastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and their C4 WRC claim top prize in the sixth round of the 2008 World Championship. The second Citroën Total car finished fifth in the hands of Dani Sordo and Marc Martí. Today’s result takes the reigning champions’ total to a record 40 world class wins and sees them move to within three points of the provisional championship lead, while the gap at the sharp end of the Manufacturers’ standings remains unchanged.

Continue reading ‘WRC - 5th Rally d’Italia Sardegna’ »

The German premium manufacturer is presenting it’s latest concept, The A3 TDI Clubsport Quattro, which will once again display awesome diesel power, but this model will be at a realistic price for most people.

This model will run on a 2.0-litre, common rail fuel injected TDI unit, which provides the power with a maximum output of 224hp and 450Nm of torque. It will have a six-speed transmission and it will drive on 20 inch wheels with the quattro all-wheel drive system. The model will have six-piston brake calipers and ceramic discs on the front wheels. The new car will achieve 0-62 in just 6.6 seconds and top speed will lie around 149mph.

Audi have installed a number of technologically advanced systems, one of which will change the driving dynamics of the car. The new driving dynamic system will allow the driver to vary the throttle response characteristics of the exhaust sound. Another feature is the level of power assistance for the steering and cut-in thresholds for the ESP stabilization system. The car will also feature magnetic dampers which will allow the system to react to changes in lightning speed.

The new model gets an extremely aggressive body kit, with an Audi signature grille.

Specifications

Engine

* Four-cylinder TDI with common-rail injection system
* Displacement of 1968 cc, output of 165 kW (224 hp) and torque of 450 Nm (331.90 lb-ft)
* Optimized exhaust system
* 0 – 62mph in 6.6 seconds, top speed 149mph

Power transmission

* High-efficiency six-speed manual transmission with a lightweight casing, open gear lever gate made of aluminium
* quattro all-wheel drive with extremely fast-action multi-plate clutch

Chassis

* Four-link rear suspension for dynamic handling and good comfort
* Power steering with highly efficient electric drive
* Wheels measuring 9 J x 20, tyre size 265/30
* Six-piston brake calipers and ceramic discs at the front wheels
* Audi drive select driving dynamics system with Audi magnetic ride adaptive damper control

Body and interior

* Length 4,254 millimeters (167.48 inches), width 1,825 millimetres (71.85 inches), height 1,385 millimetres (54.53 inches)
* Motorsport-look design, large rear spoiler
* Racing bucket seats and extra aluminium components in interior

Yesterday we gave you a run-down on the details and rumors we’d recently heard on the 2009 Acura TL. Today we’ve got confirmation on some of those rumors. Well, at least the part about what to expect from the new TL’s design. Our Honda-loving buddies at the Temple of VTec have snagged themselves some spy photos of the new TL. While still very much Glad-bagged and Hefty Cinch-sacked on the front end, the rear’s exhibiting only a bit of body-color-matching tape. The two shots tell us our source was spot on on everything from the dip in the rear trunk lid to…

…the strong centerline on the front of the hood. Ooh, and this shot-by-spies car’s got what appears to be a dual-pipe exhaust — rather than the quad-pipe we’d seen in earlier shots. Can someone say 2009 Acura TL Type-S? We hope we can. We’re hoping one of you industrious readers out there feels like making the trek out to Colorado and catching some shots of the new TL before we see it un-wrapped later this summer.

Photo by Marcin Wichary. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

Live mileage updates are probably best known from the Prius dashboard, but the world’s best-selling hybrid is not the only vehicle with a real-time MPG display. Whether its a detailed display like on the Prius, an “eco light” like on the Malibu hybrid, or the very cool Ford Escape PHEV prototype screen, telling the driver how efficient their driving is at any given moment is the new black.

Ecomodder recently spoke with some GM engineers about HCCI technology when the discussion turned to MPG displays. The engineers realize that these displays can make driving into a bit of a game and that the knowledge pretty much automatically makes people greener drivers. Even with that assumption, the engineers acknowledge that whether or not these displays are installed in every GM vehicle is “a marketing decision.” It seems like a no-brainer to me (but I’m not an engineer or in marketing) because if the automakers are going to spend untold millions on designing more fuel efficient cars, why not tack on the few extra dollars to “design” more fuel efficient drivers?