Hold Me Closer, Tiny Audi

admin — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:57:40 +0000

Annual White Tie and Tiara Ball to auction unique work of art this week. This year’s White Tie and Tiara Ball, which takes place on Thursday 24 June and will be held – as always – at the home of Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish, will feature an extraordinarily special auction item. Audi, which has been one of the Ball’s key supporters over many years, is donating an A1 car that has been made into a work of art by Britain’s foremost contemporary artist, Damien Hirst.

The unique Audi A1 has been spin painted by the artist in his studio in Gloucestershire, and is fully driveable and road legal.

“This is one of the most exciting auction items we have ever had for White Tie,” said Elton John, pictured with partner David Furnish in front of the Hirst Audi. David adds: “Audi has been a wonderful partner with us, and this year they have really produced something fantastic.

I am sure it will be a huge hit with our guests.” As part of the same Lot, the car will be auctioned with a 6ft diameter canvas spin painting, which Hirst completed at the same time.

The A1 is so new it will not be seen on UK roads until November 2010, and this special artwork has been created even in advance of the car’s mainland European launch dates. The uniquely finished example of the premium compact hatchback was produced in close collaboration with Audi AG in Germany, which has been engineering the production for more than six months.

2010 is the eighth year Audi has supported EJAF with special auction lots. The A1 art car is the most remarkable and exclusive donation Audi has ever made. Bidders on the night will have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to own this piece of Hirst’s exceptional work.

“We are enormously proud to support Sir Elton John’s remarkable fundraising ball for the eighth year in succession with the donation of a priceless and unrepeatable work of art for auction,” commented Audi UK Director Jeremy Hicks.

The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) was established in 1993. It is amongst the 10 largest AIDS grant making organisations in the world, currently managing over £14 million in programmes across 15 countries supporting thousands of men, women and children with life saving medication, as well as information, nutrition, education, shelter and support.

via gaycarfans

Audi Q5 Hybrid May Come By 2011

admin — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:01:57 +0000

Reports that Audi wants to take on the mighty BMW when it comes to German hybrid cars may not be so blown out of proportion. Plans to construct a Q5 Hybrid crossover, similar to BMW’s X5, may hit Audi dealership lots by the end of 2010 – making the 2011 Audi Q5 hybrid one hot commodity. This would be one of the 8 new models Audi plans on shelling out by 2015.

As the company’s first gas-electric vehicle, Q5 brings Audi into the crossover realm – a place once populated by SUV’s or station wagons. Volkswagen is pumping 7.3bill Euros into Audi over the course of three years in order to make this hybrid dream come true. Also being introduced next year, according to sources, is the Audi A1, A7, A8, and R8 Spyder. The all-electric Audi e-tron sportscar is due by the end of 2012. Full details in Audi’s press release below.

Audi continues to invest strongly in the future

* 7.3 billion euros total investment from 2009 through 2012
* Around 5.9 billion euros for new products and future technologies
* Number of models to increase from 34 now to 42 in 2015

Audi will continue to invest heavily in new products and forward-looking technologies in the future: plans for 2009 through 2012 envisage total investments of 7.3 billion euros for fixed assets.

In coming years the Audi Group will continue to invest strongly in its future. Approximately 5.9 billion euros, in other words about 80 percent of its total investment in fixed assets, will be devoted to new product development, further optimization of conventional drivelines and the development of electric and hybrid models. By 2015, the Audi brand will have enlarged its product portfolio from currently 34 to 42 models. “With our planned investments in new products and mobility concepts, for example electric propulsion, we are creating a basis for our company’s future growth,” says Axel Strotbek, Member of the Board of Management for Finance and Organization at AUDI AG.

Next year Audi will launch a series of new cars. The A1, A7, A8 and R8 Spyder will be added to the product portfolio during 2010. At the end of 2010 Audi will unveil the Audi Q5 Hybrid, which will reach the market at the start of 2011 as the brand’s first full hybrid model. As Strotbek points out: “We will be in a position to finance all our planned investments from our operative cash flow.”

At the German locations and elsewhere, future policy is now being implemented: from 2009 through 2012 approximately 3.8 billion euros will be invested at the Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm plants. “This is a firm commitment to our German facilities. Audi is facing the technological upheaval in the automobile world in a farsighted way. The will to work and high qualifications of employees at our German plants are a firm foundation for the necessary changes,” states Peter Mosch, Chairman of the Audi General Works Council.

About 2.5 billion euros will be invested at Ingolstadt and about 1.3 billion euros at Neckarsulm. A new transmission and emissions center will be opened at the Ingolstadt plant, and other investment priorities will be stamping tools for the new Audi A1 and the manufacturing structures for the A3 and A4 models. The investment focus in Neckarsulm will be on the A6, A7 und A8 models and new engine-function test rigs.

The Source: WCF

Audipedia.org » press release

Hold Me Closer, Tiny Audi

Audi Q5 Hybrid May Come By 2011