Germany's "other luxury car" wants to finally muscle its way into the top tier.

"other"?

umm.... this is supposed to be a super car?
and only 4.6 second 0-60.
its beautiful, but after seeing it a couple weeks ago, i thought it would be a bit more expensive and a lil faster...

i hope the v10 is more impressive.

Audi ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS, severely underestimates their cars' 0-60 times.

They quoted the S4 sedan at 5.6; numerous magazines got 5.0 seconds flat, and I'm sure 4.0-4.2 will be pretty easily attainable with the new R8 4.2

People,people. The BMW states the M5o-60 in 4.5 seconds, 4.1 has been achieved, same with Mercedes with E55/63. Audi staes 0-62 for the RS4 @ 4.8 seconds, 4.3 seconds has been achieved. The American RS4 (with same power) is at least 400 pounds heavier than the R8. Like othes have said, a time of around 4 seconds is likely by an American magazine. Also, it will most likely start at under 100,000 dollars (I think right around 95,000) Those "financial whiz kids" don't know much about German vs. American prices (in Germany there is a 19% tax on cars built in, most German companies sell their cars here with this equation: German price-19% taxes, that is in Euros, they sell the same car here in dollars (70,000 Euro German car (with 19% VAT [value added tax] subtracted of course) usually sells here for 70,000 dollars and not (88,000 based on echange rates, with the VAT the numbers by simple conversion goes up to 104,000) When will they learn???

The American RS4 is about 800 POUNDS heavier than the R8- and Audi only quoted a 0.2 second difference!

i don't think it's meant to be a "supercar" more a porsche 911 rival, otherwise it would tread on lambo's toes too much.

Yeah, that rear is the ugliest I've ever seen on a BMW.

Quite some style.

I have to admit 4.6 seconds is a little slow..Doesnt the CLS 55 AMG hit 4.5??And thats a heavy four-door?

agree.

theman.

the M5 kicked the CLS55's ass. So the the M6 can also kick its ass. CLS is 100% korean

clarify how the M5 "kicks CLS ass" and how its "korean"..I have seen countless of videos, where the CLS which has less horsepower than the M5 still beats it or at least draws on a drag..And did you forget about the CLS63??
http://videos.streetfire.net/search/CLS/0/a5f314d8-b388-4443-aec5-983201284c28.htm

4.6 seconds for $130,000? Doesn't 911 Turbo hit it in 3.8 seconds?

Geeeze, for 4.6 seconds and $130,000, I'd rather buy the Aston Martin V8

4.6 seconds 0-60. Go with the Porsche instead.

1. To everyone here, it's NOT going to be $130K!!! It's going to be $100K flat, most likely. Makes a slightly optioned Carrera S (which can easily reach $100K) look pretty bad. But a Porsche is always a Porsche!

2. READ MY POST. IT WILL BE MUCH FASTER THAN 4.6 SECONDS TO 60.

Again, Audi ALWAYS underestimates their 0-60 times. It gave this car bad press. If the mags can do it, why can't Audi get it to do 0-60 in 4.2? It really should be able to do it in faster than 4.2, because the 600lbs heavier RS4 (with the same engine) was recorded with 0-60 in 4.3 seconds at the fastest.

Although this is a bit lofty, I'm sure 3.9 will be attainable by a magazine or two.

probably under 100 k and Audi is always .2 to .4 slow in their numbers

the RS4 is faster then 4.6 and that car is much heaver then the R8

130 k will be the V10 and that will be a +500 hp

Agreed with S4 and Homer...not to mention, it is hard to drive off the lot with a 911 that is anywhere near MSRP, considering everything is an option on porsches.

My father in law just got a new 911 cab (retails at $82,600), add leather power seats, cobalt blue metallic paint, 19" wheels, sport exhaust, and a couple other interior upgrades and the car came in at a shy over $94,000 (for a car that goes 0-60 in 5 flat)

Point being, IMO I think the R8 will come close to factory loaded for $100,000, while 911's almost come without steering wheels...not to mention you'll need to fork over $106,000 at least for a if you want to keep up with the new R8.

I highly doubt the V8 is $130,000. Perhaps the V10. Was official pricing announced?

why the "other luxury car" in quotations. Probably because when you sell cars above the $120,000 range you are technically in the same price realm as BMW who is considered the "main" luxury car.

Therefore the need to put quotations because the price obviously isn't indicative of the "other" brand.

From the article: "Still, said Barker, Audi, seen by most Americans as Volkswagen's ‘Lexus,’ is down there with Acura, Infiniti and General Motors' Cadillac as a car that says you've almost arrived. But it's no BMW."

Ouch. (Actually, I would bet "most Americans" don’t even realize Audi and VW are the same company.) Mr. Barker may be way off in some regard, but in the past(think 90’s), that perception is largely correct and the reputation was probably deserved. However, I think Audi will clean house with its upcoming redesigns, and the "almost there" perception will evaporate. Give me the sport and attitude of a BMW by someone a little more in touch with the providing a quality luxury feel and I have my perfect car.

The R8 is merely to make some noise for the brand. If Audi continues on their warpath, and pulls off the A5 and A4 redesign as well as the hype suggests, BMW will have to whip out the proverbial drawing board.

well in pricing Audi is no Infiniti, Lexus, Acura or Cadillac.

With the RS4 starting at $66,000, S6 starting at $74,000 S8 starting at $92,000, the A8L 6.0W12 starting at $119,350 and the R8 supposedly at a whopping $130,000 in terms of price Audi can play with all the BMW and Mercedes cars.

I could care less about the "perceived" image. To me, Audi stands for exactly what it is and that would be not a BMW.

Those who follow cars know that Audi is on the same ground as BMW for the price of their cars.

I see plenty of Audis, and know a few owners in LA. The cars are as respected as any BMW here by anyone in the market for luxury vehicles. If some kid in Kansas with a BMW or Corvette picture on his wall doesnt know what an Audi is, that makes it all the more special. Elliot's mom drove an Audi 5000, and they've been desirable ever since.

Is that some typo up above V8 420hp $130,000 give me a break that car then must be made out of some precious metal or something. The R8 is nice and all but for that kind of performance and 130,000 no thanks.

I don't remember the last time I saw an Audi commercial. Wait, I have seen one. It was for the Q7 just last week. Other than that? Nope.

Audi really doesn't use VW platforms "extensively" as you said. A big differentiator between Toyota/Lexus and VW/Audi is that Lexus leaves most Toyota platforms it uses unchanged.

The ES350 has the same hardware as a Camry, the GX470 is the same as a 4Runner V8, and the RX330/RX350 is also a crossover'd Camry, for example.

While Audi massages VW platforms to give their cars a sportier, more premium feel- they lose the bulk. The TT is made out of 69% aluminum, 31% steel, so it's pretty much a completely different platform than the Golf. The Q7 was stretched six inches and given a much better suspension setup than Touareg to attain SUV perfection, and so, it's pretty different from the Touareg and Cayenne, too.

And the saddest Toy/Lex re-badge was obviously the LX470. While the LX was hugely competent and had an ultra-luxury interior at the time it came out (it's gracefully aging now), the LC did, too. They're exactly the same cars, except the Lexus interior has wood and more chrome on the outside.

I feel that they differentiated the LX from the LC LESS than what GM did with the Tahoe/Yukon, which is a little depressing. And the Escalade was pretty much redesigned from the other two.

will if you hear it 1000 times i would think you would remember it

the A3 is on the same platform and the most like a VW
the q7 shares about 17%

becides that where is the platform sharing ?

does anyone notice that the CNN article states that Audi is seen as VW Lexus a tier 2 luxury brand according to CNN market research. Just what I have saying.

Except, CNN is wrong.

Audi is internationally recognized as a Tier 1 brand.

Tier 1: Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz

Tier 2: Acura, Infiniti, Saab, Volvo

cnn is wrong in the OPPOSITE direction.

lexus is tier 1A (it offers NO 4-cyl downmarket cars; no commercial vehicles)

jaguar tier 1B

others listed are tier 2


NO "luxury brand" is very exclusive when it offers 4 and 5-cyl cars under the same nameplate as V6 and v8 models.

130 damn .

with a $130K price tag, I don't care what "tier" Audi falls under. The price is going to be cross-shopped with the true luxury marques.

GermanNut-

Get this through your head! No matter what the BMW fans say, higher price is NOT GOOD!!! And the R8 V8 will not cost $130K!

It will cost $110K, at the most! I can positively guarantee it.

CNN is wrong, no i don't think CNN is wrong, audi is what wrong.

i don't think is top tier either, but the reason is Mercedes has been making generations of great cars, BMW generations of great cars. I am not talking about pre WW II audi, I am talking about post WWII 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, and now. Even if people say audi makes great cars today, fine but it wasn't that long ago when audi was damn near bankrupt, and about to close down in the U.S. market.

keep living in the past i am looking forward my friend

MB was helping Hitler 50 years ago but i don't see anyone helping him today but I will forgive MB anyway

Audis is the car of the late 2000's and will keep kicking but even if you don't like them Lary and Logical and will

It's not debatable, Larry.

It is pure fact that Audi is a Tier 1 luxury brand.

Why wouldn't it be? It's the third largest luxury automaker in the world, for christ sake!

It may not look like that in the US, but it only sells about 100K less cars than Mercedes and about 150K less than BMW. The rest are far, far behind.

Sure. I read your comment.

And the past connects to Audi's infinitely better cars (today), how?

The newer Audis have consistently won awards for being the best at this and that, having the best new technology, being the most satisfying to own, etc, etc.

The only Audi I know of that didn't win at least 10 awards in the last six years was... oh, right, they all did.

CNN is wrong, and "Ignorance is bliss" as clearly demonstrated by the writer.. Most Americans are still learning about Audi..currently only the "real car" guys know what Audi stands for, and its actually Audi's fault for very poor marketing in the US (although they appear to be turning things around with the marketing support for the Q7: the first properly marketed Audi, and so far the R8 seems to be on track). In Europe no marketing is needed as the competition is clearly Benz vs. Audi vs. BMW..In Germany where Audi is consistently rated the no 1 luxury brand (with BMW no. 2 and MBenz no. 3), its a different ball game. There's nothing worse than wallowing in ignorance and then writing about it. Some writers are just plain journalists who regurgitate garbage while others actually have a clue what they're writing about. Some months back, I recall a "reporter" at the release of the S8 saying that Audi could "only" get 450hp out of the engine when the M5 had 500hp, and I could only laugh for obvious reasons:
1) S8 and M5 are not in the same class so no point comparing
2) the S line was not designed to compete with the M (even though in some cases the S line cars blow away the M as in the S4/M3), the RS line is really what compares to the M.
3) The same engine (albeit 0.2 litres smaller) in the Gallardo gets 520hp so the detuning was clearly deliberate..
But here's a guy reporting on a car without doing basic research. what a shame.. There are a shitload of these clueless guys around so no one should be surprised when they read dumb articles..
Anyway, I'm yet to see an Audi car whose official 0-60 numbers were not conservatively estimated..(most German manufacturers do this but Audi takes the cake..

S8 5.1 tested at 4.7
RS4 4.8 tested at 4.3
R8 4.6 .. I think the reality will be 4.1 +-1
Wanner wager?

theman

Ive seen a vedio in japanese i think and it shows a M5 and CLS in a drag, the M5 beats the CLS55 (not the CLS63). When i say that the CLS is korean, im talking about the design. From the back, the car looks like its gonna flip backwards. The tail lights r small and ugly. The front is too high above the ground , even the AMG. The headlights look original korean. The only thing good in the car is its interior.

I've seen the same video in Japanese and they we re equal..The funny thing is that the CLS is heavier and has less horsepower than the M5, and I have honestly never heard anyone say the CLS is UGLY, it is the best lookin four-door in the market..I guess its personal taste in the end..

nice to see audi is getting some balls and making a car which isn't so conservative. not criticising but that's what audi does, follow bmw-bmw was conservative in its design a decade or two ago and now is seems that audi is following. good for them

S4cabriofox -

"It may not look like that in the US, but it only sells about 100K less cars than Mercedes and about 150K less than BMW. The rest are far, far behind."

And this is without having an SUV (until very recently) or a cross-over. The Q7, Q5 and Q3 alone will make up the 100-150k in sales. Add the A5, A7 and other models and Audi will be on top.