Tested: Audi Shooting Brake

I think the VW IROC Scirocco is absolutely stunning. This appears to be similar...platform sharing? Either way, I think Audiwagen is headed in the right direction.

This came out last year at the Tokyo Show, well before the IROC. Very different cars.

Great body style. But with that same V6 engine...? Hmmm.

Surely Audi is going to increase the horsepower to keep up in the game with BMW. Get rid of that old 3.2 and drop in the 3.6 already. We all win when car companies try to up the ante. I would love to see the shooting brake in RWD setup, a lower, less chunky front end...

Agreed. The 3.6 would be a game changer for Audi.

"Surely Audi is going to increase the horsepower to keep up in the game with BMW. Get rid of that old 3.2 and drop in the 3.6 already."

YES! Exactly! The 3.2L is such a boring engine- this is coming from an Audi fan. They NEED the Q7's engine in the A4 and A6! And up it to 300+hp (right now it has 280 in the Q7 and 290 in the new Cayenne).

S4... agreed. Audi keeps popping this V6 into new great looking models... old baggage into new cars. Why are they so slow and conservative? BMW has already swapped out its 3-series motor in the past 12 months, while upping its 325 motor to 328. What has Audi been doing at the entry level of the market? (I know about RS4 V8.)

Actually, the SEAT Leon Cup (is that right? or is it a different one? Brits help me here) has a 240hp 2.0T engine--- and I would be infuriated if Audi didn't develop the engine to at least 230hp (as in the VW GTI Edition 30) for the new A4!

The 2.0T engine has tremendous potential. It's already the most fun in its class with relatively low power- imagine it with 30-40hp more.

I completely forgot about the S3! Thank you for reminding me.

I'm not implying that they should drop V6s entirely- they just need a new one. The 3.6L could work in the new modular platforms, I hope. The 3.2L is so boring.

...or throw in the R36 variant...yeah... THEN I would be compeled to give this car a serious look.

Actually this car reminds me more of the new Volvo C30 hatchbook, which I got to see at the L.A. Auto Show. I think Volvo might have a winner on its hands.

This is such a badass car. It basically has no competition--very unique, beautiful design. Wait until the performance variant arrives.

i like it, it reminds me of the new Volvo C30, the BMW Z3 coupe, also the old american AMC Pacer.

Audi engines will get Valvelift fairly soon for more power.

How about the GTI 30th Anniversary (or Edition 30 or whatever), or that SEAT I mentioned before? The GTI has 230hp and the SEAT model in question has 240hp. Audi needs to do this- 240hp sounds about right. Raise the price only $1,000 on the A4 2.0T, and they've got a winner. Who needs a V6?

The 2.0 T FSI will get an hp bump on the next A4. But the next A4/A5 most likely won't use the Q7's engine as it is meant to be placed left to right and not top to bottom. But I am sure Audi will have a 300 hp V6.

In Europe you can get the DTM edition with 220HP TFSI.
But i think they are waiting till the new A4 with the increase of power.

The Shooting Brake is a work of art from any angle.

Sporty.

BTW, the grill looks great, keep it for production.

Can someone explain to me the name "Shooting Brake"?

Sorry guys, I don't see the beauty in this car. The TT looked pretty good as it were.

But this thing... It's has Mazda zoom-zoom fenders, RX-8 hips, a Dodge Magnum chopped roofline, A volvo SUV rear taillight profile, From the side, the rear hatch hangs over the rear axle and protrudes upward like it melted, and the veritcal chrome dividers in the oversized girll are, well... something from that "Pimp my ride" show.

I guess this car looks like squishing body parts from Audi TT, Mazda-3 Hatch and Dodge Magnum.

nice fugly grille. jesus.. have they lost their minds?.. its still a largely irrelevant car from a largely irrelevant car manufacturer using poor mechanicals and dated technology. Nice grille though.. YEESSH

A largely irrelevant post...