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    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    Quote:
    temm said:
    Quote:
    MKSGR said:

    An important business decision at Audi would be to give the R8 and the Gallardo the same engine power: Lambo lovers would still buy Lambo - and those who would never buy a Lambo (like me ) would buy the R8 knowing that it is at least as fast (fatser...) than the competing Lambo car


    It might even pay off to sell the Lamborghini brand and to do all future sports car business under the Audi brand. This would clearly maximize Audi group's aggregate sales figures in the sports car segment.



    Let's just hope they don't suffer from any "brand snobbery" as I mentioned earlier. I mean, just look at what happened to the VW Phaeton - VWs attempt at entering the luxury car segment.

    But Audi has a better vantage point than VW had because of their success at Le Mans and in the Le Mans series. So I think that the R8 will be a success.
    But I'm looking forward to seeing what happens on this board next year when the first owners get their R8s and start singing it praises.
    How will the Porsche (and Ferrari) owners react
    (with the Cayman vs 911 debate fresh in mind)



    I don't know about you, but 95.000 Euros for a proper sports car sounds mighty tempting. I'll be sure to ask Kreso for a ride when he gets one .

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    cant speak for worldwide; but as far as brand snobbery, success @ LM I dont think has much impact here in the US, rather its more name cachet....

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    Quote:
    temm said:
    Quote:
    MKSGR said:

    An important business decision at Audi would be to give the R8 and the Gallardo the same engine power: Lambo lovers would still buy Lambo - and those who would never buy a Lambo (like me ) would buy the R8 knowing that it is at least as fast (fatser...) than the competing Lambo car


    It might even pay off to sell the Lamborghini brand and to do all future sports car business under the Audi brand. This would clearly maximize Audi group's aggregate sales figures in the sports car segment.



    Let's just hope they don't suffer from any "brand snobbery" as I mentioned earlier. I mean, just look at what happened to the VW Phaeton - VWs attempt at entering the luxury car segment.

    But Audi has a better vantage point than VW had because of their success at Le Mans and in the Le Mans series. So I think that the R8 will be a success.
    But I'm looking forward to seeing what happens on this board next year when the first owners get their R8s and start singing it praises.
    How will the Porsche (and Ferrari) owners react
    (with the Cayman vs 911 debate fresh in mind)


    Remember, we are the ones that all our friends come to when they want to know about a car. We create the image, we are the knowledgeable ones, that image is being created with all of our opinions right now. I can see that there is excitement about the car, its price and its racing heritage. Audi has worked hard to create this image thru racing and I personally think they have acheived it. Mercedes and BMW has won the sales wars here in the US over the last 20 years, but at what price? When my friend ask me about buying either of the cars right now I tell them to go look at an Audi because of reliability. Since MB and BMW has spent all their time building new cars their reliability has gone downhill. I am one of the first on the list for an R8 and 2 of my friends are also on the list including one that owns a Carrera GT. He recently bought a A3 S version to run around town in and loves it. He had the first Cayenne Turbo and had many problems with it. This should be a wake up call to Porsche that they need to get off their high horse and make more things standard and quite charging us for so many options, plus put more hp standard. They could lose many of us to another sports car brand.

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    Quote:
    dan996 said:
    Quote:
    temm said:
    Quote:
    MKSGR said:

    An important business decision at Audi would be to give the R8 and the Gallardo the same engine power: Lambo lovers would still buy Lambo - and those who would never buy a Lambo (like me ) would buy the R8 knowing that it is at least as fast (fatser...) than the competing Lambo car


    It might even pay off to sell the Lamborghini brand and to do all future sports car business under the Audi brand. This would clearly maximize Audi group's aggregate sales figures in the sports car segment.



    Let's just hope they don't suffer from any "brand snobbery" as I mentioned earlier. I mean, just look at what happened to the VW Phaeton - VWs attempt at entering the luxury car segment.

    But Audi has a better vantage point than VW had because of their success at Le Mans and in the Le Mans series. So I think that the R8 will be a success.
    But I'm looking forward to seeing what happens on this board next year when the first owners get their R8s and start singing it praises.
    How will the Porsche (and Ferrari) owners react
    (with the Cayman vs 911 debate fresh in mind)


    Remember, we are the ones that all our friends come to when they want to know about a car. We create the image, we are the knowledgeable ones, that image is being created with all of our opinions right now. I can see that there is excitement about the car, its price and its racing heritage. Audi has worked hard to create this image thru racing and I personally think they have acheived it. Mercedes and BMW has won the sales wars here in the US over the last 20 years, but at what price? When my friend ask me about buying either of the cars right now I tell them to go look at an Audi because of reliability. Since MB and BMW has spent all their time building new cars their reliability has gone downhill. I am one of the first on the list for an R8 and 2 of my friends are also on the list including one that owns a Carrera GT. He recently bought a A3 S version to run around town in and loves it. He had the first Cayenne Turbo and had many problems with it. This should be a wake up call to Porsche that they need to get off their high horse and make more things standard and quite charging us for so many options, plus put more hp standard. They could lose many of us to another sports car brand.



    Honestly, if Audi send out a 600+ horsepower twin turbo version of the R8, there is going to be no end to buyers, if the car is priced in the $150.000 bracket.

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    Andrej, I will invite you for a ride in 997 Turbo first!
    Regarding R8 same thing because you are so close to me...
    I expect a lot from 997 Turbo but, even more from R8! Somehow my inner feeling(and some info that I got! ) is telling me that R8 will be truly great car.
    You already know that performance of RS4 with 4.2L V8 is great. Now, loose around 200kg, lower gravity point, far better aerodynamics, ceramic brakes(380mm front, 355mm rear!) and you have a car with almost same acceleration as 997 GT3! Track times will be at Gallardo level and you can expect around 3.5-3.6kg/hp, sounds promissing...

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    Quote:
    KresoF1 said:
    Andrej, I will invite you for a ride in 997 Turbo first!
    Regarding R8 same thing because you are so close to me...
    I expect a lot from 997 Turbo but, even more from R8! Somehow my inner feeling(and some info that I got! ) is telling me that R8 will be truly great car.
    You already know that performance of RS4 with 4.2L V8 is great. Now, loose around 200kg, lower gravity point, far better aerodynamics, ceramic brakes(380mm front, 355mm rear!) and you have a car with almost same acceleration as 997 GT3! Track times will be at Gallardo level and you can expect around 3.5-3.6kg/hp, sounds promissing...




    Can't wait for more info keep us in mind my friend .

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    Quote:
    KresoF1 said:
    Andrej, I will invite you for a ride in 997 Turbo first!
    Regarding R8 same thing because you are so close to me...
    I expect a lot from 997 Turbo but, even more from R8! Somehow my inner feeling(and some info that I got! ) is telling me that R8 will be truly great car.
    You already know that performance of RS4 with 4.2L V8 is great. Now, loose around 200kg, lower gravity point, far better aerodynamics, ceramic brakes(380mm front, 355mm rear!) and you have a car with almost same acceleration as 997 GT3! Track times will be at Gallardo level and you can expect around 3.5-3.6kg/hp, sounds promissing...





    This is going to be hot!

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    From 117th Audi Annual General Meeting Speeches
    Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management, AUDI AG

    Part 1: Review of 2005

    Ladies and Gentlemen,
    A warm welcome to our 2006 Annual General Meeting.

    I wish to start today by saying something about the most important figures and events in 2005. I will then hand over to our Board Member for Finance, Mr Rupert Stadler, who will explain the key company figures to you. In the second part of my report, I will then focus on the current situation at Audi and take a look forward to the future.

    2005 was a very good year for Audi.The total revenue generated by the Audi Group in 2005 rose by 8.5 percent to the highest level to date, around EUR 26.6 billion. Our profit before tax also improved further on the previous year - by 14.6 percent - and amounted to more than EUR 1.3 billion. We sold more than 829,000 vehicles in 2005 - more than ever before. This is equivalent to an increase of 6.4 percent on the year before - and also means 50,000 new customers!

    Audi sales have continued to rise steadily over the last ten years - even in difficult economic periods. 2005 was the tenth record year in succession.

    We achieved record sales figures in 39 markets in 2005. We made further significant gains in the major European markets in particular.

    Europe remains the most important mainstay of our success. Despite extremely varied underlying economic conditions and market situations, we increased sales in this region by 7.4 percent. The Western European market excluding Germany recorded a rise of 8.4 percent to over 351,400 vehicles. The positive development in Eastern Europe continued in 2005, with a sales increase of 19.9 percent to almost 21,000 vehicles.

    Audi is the undisputed number one among manufacturers offering premium cars in China.We sold almost 59,000 vehicles there in 2005 (including Hong Kong). The A4 is selling particularly well, with the long-wheelbase version of the A6 specially developed for the Chinese market also proving to be a fast-seller.

    The largest individual export market is the USA with more than 83,000 units. This represents a year-on-year sales increase of 6.6 percent.

    Audi sold over 247,000 vehicles in Germany, 5.1 percent more than in 2004.

    Let us now take a short trip to Italy - to Lamborghini. 1,600 of our super sports cars were delivered to customers in 2005, the majority of these in Germany, the USA and Western Europe.

    Let us move on now to other key figures for the Audi Group: the vehicle production volume at Audi and Lamborghini expanded by 3.4 percent to just under 812,000 units. So as well as achieving the best-ever sales figures for the tenth year in succession, we also set a new production record.

    Engine production at our Hungarian plant in Györ rose by 14.1 percent to 1.7 million units. In summer 2005 we built the 10 millionth engine in Györ.

    The number of employees in the Audi Group at the end of December was approximately on a par with the previous year, at around 52,400. Audi provides around 45,000 secure jobs in Germany alone.

    Our company agreement entitled "Audi's Future" from April 2005 rules out redundancies for operational reasons up to the year 2011.

    Ladies and Gentlemen,
    A key factor behind Audi's success is the design of its vehicles.

    2005 saw all Audi models finally get their "new face" - the single-frame radiator grille. This even sportier look has been received positively without exception by customers and experts alike.

    Besides design, sportiness, quality and reliability are what make our vehicles so fascinating. And it goes without saying that this fascination is exuded by new models in particular.

    The Audi Q7 celebrated its world premiere at the IAA Motor Show in Frankfurt.

    We also presented our new A4 Cabriolet at the IAA.

    We presented our luxury-class sports car, the S8, at the Tokyo Motor Show, Asia's most important car exhibition, in October.

    The Shooting Brake study, a combination of sports coupé and Avant, was another highlight in Tokyo.

    Ladies and Gentlemen,
    The many awards that we received for our cars in 2005 are gratifying confirmation of the international success of the Audi brand. I'm afraid it would take far too long now to list all the prizes that we have received.

    But just one example: the new Audi Q7 picked up two important awards although it wasn't even in dealers' showrooms at the time - the "Golden Steering Wheel" from the "Bild am Sonntag" and the "Auto Trophy" from the readers of "Autozeitung".

    Allow me to say something briefly about motor racing in 2005: the Le Mans 24 Hours was both extremely exciting and successful. Together with JJ Lehto and Marco Werner, Tom Kristensen clinched Audi's fifth Le Mans win in the Audi R8.

    This once again confirms our decision to participate in motorsport. I'll be saying more about this in the second half of my speech.

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management, AUDI AG

    Part 2: Current situation and outlook

    Ladies and Gentlemen,
    International competition in the car industry is tough and we car manufacturers have to live according to the principle of "Push them out before you get pushed out yourself."

    Japanese manufacturers, for example, have announced that they are to expand significantly in the European market.

    The fact that Audi is so well positioned is the result of a product and brand strategy geared to the long term. Our core competence is to build sporty, high-quality cars. This applies in equal measure to our high-volume saloon segments and our exclusive niche products.

    We are supplementing our A3, A4, A6 and A8 model lines with fascinating new models. Examples include our S and RS models, Cabriolets and the new Audi Q7. Part of our strategy is to achieve higher volumes and expand significantly with the help of additional new models and model versions.

    We are continually increasing the efficiency and productivity of our locations - in the areas of development and production as well as in indirect areas. Nonetheless, our plants are operating at full capacity - thanks to our increasing sales volume.

    We are aiming to break through the magic sales barrier of one million vehicles as early as the end of 2008. And this will just be an intermediate goal! By the year 2015 we plan to be selling at least 1.4 million vehicles a year.

    In order to achieve this, we are looking to exhaust the potential of existing markets. We have already made progress in this respect: last year we succeeded in boosting sales in Spain, France and Italy, for example, by at least 10 percent.

    We likewise have a sound foundation in the difficult domestic market of Germany: last year we managed to boost our market share by 0.2 percentage points, to 7.4 percent.

    The latest economic forecasts for the German economy are cautiously optimistic. The increase in VAT planned for 2007 is expected to prompt people to buy a new car this year instead. The question remains, though, as to what the state of the economy will be like in 2007.

    Whatever happens, Audi will stand firmly by Germany as a production location.

    45,000 highly qualified and motivated employees make our success possible. It goes without saying that we have to continue increasing productivity in order to survive in the face of fiercer competition. Our new, intelligent vehicle architecture, the "modular longitudinal platform" as we refer to it internally, is already producing clear synergy effects. And our growth strategy will enable us to maintain the size of our workforce at the current level - the ideal basis, in other words, for further increasing revenue and sales.

    In its latest car index, the market research institute "Puls" even comes to the conclusion that "no other car brand will grow as strongly as Audi over the next few years."

    In its course of expansion, AUDI AG is becomingly increasingly less dependent on German domestic demand. This is because we are developing more and more into a globally active company: in 1995 we still sold almost 46 percent of our vehicles in Germany. This figure was below 30 percent in 2005.

    Our sales in the USA and Asia alone have increased from 13 to over 22 percent in the last ten years.

    In China, Audi has been the leader in the premium segment for some time. And we are currently in the process of extending our lead further: from January to April we enjoyed an extremely high rate of growth and succeeded in more than doubling the previous year's figure by selling just under 27,000 vehicles.

    Our standing in terms of reliability and customer satisfaction also confirms our strong position: Audi came out on top yet again in the J.D. Power rankings for China.

    And thanks to what now amounts to around 120 exclusive Audi Centres in China, we will continue to increase our volume in this important growth market.

    There is still considerable potential in the USA. The new Audi Q7, which is being launched in the USA in the next few days, will of course have an important role to play here.

    Between January and April we sold just under 26,000 vehicles in the USA, which is equivalent to an increase of 5.2 percent. We are looking to sell around 90,000 vehicles in the whole of 2006. In the USA, we will therefore be strengthening our profile as a premium manufacturer and investing in the dealer network together with our sales partners. We will be focusing on 25 major cities in particular.

    It is important to exhaust the potential of existing markets.

    But it is equally important to open up new markets.

    One good example is Russia, where we achieved an enormous growth rate last year of almost 50 percent, to more than 6,100 vehicles.

    And things are continuing at this pace: we already sold more than 2,500 vehicles in Russia in the first four months of this year.
    We will continue to push on with our strategy of tapping new markets this year - in Eastern Europe, India, Korea, Australia and the Golf States, for example.

    But growth and high volume are not everything: we will increase the value added per vehicle in order to increase our profits. We are already on the right path here, too: to start with, we are reducing our unit labour costs by means of optimised production processes and flexible working hours. At the same time, we are offering our customers numerous attractive optional extras.
    For Audi, the trend towards vehicle customisation is an important means of increasing the profit generated per vehicle. More and more often we are selling exclusively equipped cars that cost more than 200,000 euros.

    The increasing proportion of optional equipment is closely related to our brand's high prestige. Not only that, but numerous surveys provide confirmation of Audi's outstanding image.

    For example, Audi performed extremely well again in the readers' poll to find "The best cars", which was published in the German magazine "auto motor und sport" in February.

    And once again it was the most successful brand - just like last year. More than 100,000 readers took part in the German poll alone.

    As well as the A3 and the A6, the A8 was also awarded the title of "best car" again. The A8 has now topped the luxury class four times in a row.

    But these awards were by no means the only ones that we collected in the first few months of this year.

    The readers' poll of the trade journal "AUTO BILD alles allrad", for example, saw two Audi models winning through against the competition to claim the title "four-wheel drive car of the year 2006". These were the Audi Q7 in the "luxury-class off-roader and SUV" and the Audi A8 quattro in the "luxury-class four-wheel-drive passenger car" category. The quattro versions of the A3, A4 and A6 also made it on to the podium in their respective classes.

    Audi achieved a quadruple success in the 2006 fleet awards presented by the German magazine "Autoflotte". The models Audi A3, Audi A4, Audi A6 and Audi A8 all finished top of their respective categories.

    Allow me to single out just two other prizes: AUDI AG was presented with the "Best of European Business Award" as one of the nine most competitive companies in Europe. This renowned prize is awarded jointly by the management consultancy firm Roland Berger and the Financial Times.

    And our Toolmaking Division in Ingolstadt also received the recognition it deserves in the form of the "Bavarian Quality Award". The Bavarian Economics Minister Erwin Huber handed over the prize in the category "Corporate Quality in Industry", for outstanding quality management in toolmaking.

    The high quality of our vehicles is an important basis for Audi's success. We are therefore working intensively on further increasing our quality.

    The latest ADAC breakdown statistics, for example, in which we performed extremely well again, confirm that we are on the right track.
    As in previous years, the A2 and A6 both came first in their categories, and the A3 and A4 likewise finished in the first few places.

    Ladies and Gentlemen,
    Our long-term goal is to become the world's most successful premium brand.

    The latest figures speak in favour of the fact that we are getting ever closer to achieving this goal.

    Vehicle sales in the period from January through April 2006 were up 12.1 percent on the year before to almost 304,000 units. This means that we have just had the best four months in our company history.

    Sales of the Audi A8, for example, were up by 19.1 percent in the first four months of this year!

    And in the same period, our A6 even became the world market leader in the premium C-segment. Sales of the A6 between January and April were up by 42 percent to around 80,000 vehicles.

    What's even more gratifying to note is that the rise in revenue is disproportionately high compared with sales. We therefore expect the key financial performance indicators including profit to be at least as good this year as last year. We are optimistic that we will achieve a return on investment of at least 10 percent this year. Our goal is to achieve a rate of return of six percent by 2008, and, once again, we are extremely confident of reaching this target.

    So the year has got off to a very good start for Audi. We will continue to keep up this pace and expect to achieve new record figures again in 2006. Our goal is to sell around six percent or up to 50,000 more cars this year than in 2005.

    The sportiest member of the Audi brand group, Lamborghini, is really taking off again. It is already apparent that we will clearly surpass last year's sales record this year, with sales of more than 1,800 cars expected.

    The annual production of the Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder for 2006, for example, is already sold old.

    The 2,000th Murciélago was built in the first quarter of 2006, while the 3,000th Gallardo left the production line in Sant'Agata back in November 2005.

    The new Murciélago LP 640 super sports car was presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2006, with plans to produce 1,600 of this model by 2010.

    The number of dealers has risen from 65 to 85. New dealerships in growth markets such as Russia, China and Singapore deserve a special mention.

    Ladies and Gentlemen,
    There's also news of success at SEAT, a brand that is undoubtedly enjoying an upward trend again! On the one hand, an extensive reorganisation programme is providing the necessary stability. At the same time, the company's sales figures are developing at an outstanding rate. With an increase of around 20 percent in the first quarter of 2006 compared with the previous year, the brand expanded in Germany at a much sharper rate than the overall market (6.4 percent). Over 6,000 new SEAT cars were registered in Germany in March 2006, 23 percent more than in the same month last year. The Ibiza and Leon model lines are selling particularly well. And one thing is certain: we will be adding further attractive models to this product range. Lower entry-level engine versions will also attract new customers to the brand.

    But let's get back to the Audi brand.
    In order to achieve our ambitious growth targets, we launched a model drive last year which is set to continue for quite some time.

    One of the highlights at the Detroit Motor Show was the new S6 with V10 FSI engine which delivers 435 horsepower. We presented this luxury sports car to the press in Neckarsulm at the end of March - and received an extremely positive response. Its market launch is scheduled for June.

    Another highlight in Detroit was the Roadjet Concept study. This interesting vehicle offers its occupants a clear bonus in terms of space and comfort. And it presents another electronic innovation: Audi drive select allows the driver to pre-select various vehicle characteristics - from comfortable to sporty. This not only changes the suspension and damping, but also engine characteristic, transmission and steering.

    The Audi Q7 also features a number of innovations - in the field of driver assistance systems, for example: adaptive cruise control is a radar-assisted cruise control system with automatic distance control and obstacle warning.

    Audi side assist is specially designed for lane-changing and helps the driver by monitoring the blind spot.

    Incidentally, we have just been awarded the "Innovation of the Future" award for this new concept by Germany's biggest consumer magazine "Guter Rat".

    And finally, the Audi parking system advanced uses a rearview camera to make sure the driver can manoeuvre safely into any parking space.

    The Audi Q7 has been in European dealers' showrooms since March 10. The response from our customers has been overwhelming. Up to yesterday we had received over 30,000 definite orders - an outstanding figure! We have increased production from 200 to 300 units a day to make sure that we are able to deliver all orders as soon as possible. We plan to produce more than 60,000 of the Audi Q7 in 2006 and to deliver around 50,000 of this model to customers.

    The proportion of diesel models ordered has been very dominant so far. But this about to change because orders have also been coming in from the USA and Asian markets since May.

    So what other models will help to make sure that Audi achieves new record figures again this year?

    The Avant and Cabriolet versions of the RS 4 saloon presented last year celebrated their world premiere at this year's Geneva Motor Show.

    We will be presenting these power packs, with their 420 bhp high-revving engine, to the press in Rome in the next few days. The market launch will follow in the next few weeks.

    We also presented the successor to the allroad quattro in Geneva. The new Audi A6 allroad quattro with quattro drive as standard puts up an even more dynamic performance - both on the motorway and across open terrain. The driving event for the press took place recently in Merano. This model will be launched in early June.

    The world premiere of the new Audi TT Coupé at the start of April was particularly spectacular.

    As part of the initiative "Germany - Land of Ideas", we started by unveiling a giant car sculpture in front of the Brandenburg Gate, watched by numerous prominent guests. Directly afterwards, the new version of our design icon drove through the Brandenburg Gate. We now wish to show you a short film to give you a sense of what the atmosphere was like at this event.

    As you will have seen for yourselves, the politicians Franz Müntefering, Edmund Stoiber and Klaus Wowereit, the footballers Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and Bastian Schweinsteiger, the legendary racing driver Jacky Ickx and many other celebrities had the honour of attending our TT presentation. And the response was extremely positive. The new model will continue the great success of the TT. The new TT will be powered by sporty engines, combined throughout with DSG. It will be launched in September.

    I am particularly looking forward to our R8 sports car, which you can see pictured here as a study. This will be launched with a 420 bhp 4.2-litre engine, with other attractive engine versions to follow at a later date. The start of production will be in Neckarsulm at the end of 2006; the market launch will follow in 2007.
    I'm afraid I'm unable to show you any pictures yet of the following models that we will be launching slightly later on:

    The S3 will be a three-door model with a sporty engine. It will be in dealers' showrooms in the second half of 2006.

    The A5 Coupé will mark the start of a new technical generation.

    Like the R8, the A5 will open up a new segment for Audi. We will be building the A5 Coupé here in Ingolstadt and launching it in the first half of 2007.

    To conclude, I would like to say a word about motor racing.

    The new Audi R10 racing car has already attracted considerable interest. This car is fitted with a high-performance 12-cylinder diesel engine and is designed to underline our expertise in the field of diesel technology, especially in the USA. It came through its baptism of fire at the 12 Hours of Sebring on March 18 with flying colours to take the chequered flag first.

    We are, of course, hoping that this revolutionary vehicle concept will also take us to victory at Le Mans next month.

    With Audi and Mercedes, two of the leading premium manufacturers are competing against each other in this season's DTM competition.

    This is a repeat of the duel between the legendary Silver Arrow models of Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz that captivated spectators 70 years ago.

    Around 100,000 spectators were treated to exciting races and a strong performance by the Audi team at Hockenheim and the Lausitzring. The next race is at Oschersleben on Sunday.

    Ladies and Gentlemen,
    Allow me to summarise:

    - In 2005 we posted record figures for vehicle sales, production, revenue and profit.
    - With our renewed and expanded product range, we are laying the foundations for even greater successes in existing and new markets.
    - We are systematically continuing our model drive and expect 2006 to be another record year for Audi.
    -
    Our success wouldn't be possible without the enthusiasm of our employees. On behalf of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, I would therefore like to thank all our employees worldwide for their hard work. In our company agreement "Audi's Future" we have decided to introduce an additional performance-related bonus for employees when the operating result reaches a certain level. If we look at the past financial year, we see that the requirement for this extended profit share for employees has been fulfilled. This means that we will be giving our employees a greater share in our company's profits than was previously the case.

    We would also like to thank our customers most sincerely for their loyalty. And I would like to thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen, for your attention.

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    BTW, Audi is currently testing R8 with 5.2L V10 Bi-turbo engine. Power around 615hp, torque 750Nm, car reached 344km/h at second day of testing...

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    Im not falling for it.

    It looks... not so good.

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    I do not like the two tone paint in these pictures, but when I saw the video with the R8 in black I did like the looks. It will sell, if it is priced right. The Ferrari and Lambo is better looking but costs $160-180 here in the US. It can not have the same price as GT3 for same performance. It would have to have many options standard to compete. I could get other cars in the $110-120k price range that have brand appeal, Maseratti, Aston, Porsche...Pricing value and HP are the key to success.

    Re: More Audi R8 news...



    at least in this picture we can see where the car will split in 2 parts, after a horrible crash, as we saw on enzos ang cgts.
    But this car is getting very very interesting.
    Audi is going the right way!
    The first one who will feel it in the very next future will be BMW.

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    The car looks too short and tall IMHO, not a fan.

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    Just for your info R8 is around 5cm lower in hight then 997 Turbo and about 8cm shorter, also 5cm wider. Wheel base is around 2560mm...
    Well, I like it more then 997 Turbo that I have also on order. That's IMHO...

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    Quote:
    KresoF1 said:
    Just for your info R8 is around 5cm lower in hight then 997 Turbo and about 8cm shorter, also 5cm wider. Wheel base is around 2560mm...




    The car's beautiful proportions are very well visible in the above video

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    Quote:
    KresoF1 said:
    Just for your info R8 is around 5cm lower in hight then 997 Turbo and about 8cm shorter, also 5cm wider. Wheel base is around 2560mm...
    Well, I like it more then 997 Turbo that I have also on order. That's IMHO...


    I realize it may be lower than the 997 turbo, but the way Porsches are designed, this height does not look out of place, on a mid engined car however it appears strange. The cabin looks way too big IMHO.

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    I'm gonna wait till we see the final version at paris before i make my decision about looks but i'm really excited about this car, i'm getting some people i know to look into it, btw, how long will it take for the v10 to come out? you know kreso?

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    Quote:
    trip said:
    I realize it may be lower than the 997 turbo, but the way Porsches are designed, this height does not look out of place, on a mid engined car however it appears strange. The cabin looks way too big IMHO.



    Yes, plenty of cabin space is a bitch! Give me a Lotus Elise anytime

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    Gallardo rims??

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    The F430 has plenty of cabin space and still looks gorgeous. The 997tt is the same way. The R8 looks like its wearing a storm trooper helmet.

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    Quote:
    martinv said:
    Gallardo rims??


    I think they are just testing it with gallardo parts and wheels for cost effective ness.

    What you guys think of this compared to upcoming Esprit, check out www.autocarmagazine.co.uk there is an artcile bout esprit there.


    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    More R8 test mule pics:
    001.

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    002.

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    003.

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    ...and some PS work. BTW, one of these two versions is final front look design!

    Re: More Audi R8 news...



    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    Quote:
    KresoF1 said:




    VQ400, here comes Kreso !

    Re: More Audi R8 news...

    Kreso that first front end picture looks pretty cool. Very sinister in black. I still can't get over the side view however.

     
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