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Archive for the ‘VAG Topics’ Category
Volkswagen has unveiled the revised Phaeton at the Beijing Motor Show.
Featuring a new look and technologies, the updated Phaeton builds on what is already one of the most advanced and thoroughly engineered cars on the road today.
Built in a state of the art transparent factory in Dresden, the new Phaeton features a new face, comprising a pair of bi-xenon headlight units complete with LED running lights and a new grille featuring two pronounced horizontal bars to lend the car a more imposing stance. Elsewhere, new front wings and a reprofiled bonnet are joined by a revised front bumper, complete with chrome strips and a set of LED foglights.
At the rear, a set of light units fitted with intricate lenses sit above a redesigned bumper. Finally, new alloys wheels complete the changes to the outside of the car.
Inside, a new steering wheel and a colour electronic display ahead of the driver are joined by fresh trim finishes and, for the first time on a Volkswagen, the option of Google Maps on the RNS810 satellite navigation system. Feeding power and information between these and other vehicle systems are over 2,000 separate cables measuring 3.2 km connecting to 60 control units.
The air conditioning system on the Phaeton remains one of the most advanced in the world. As well as featuring a humidity monitoring function to avoid the vehicle misting up in all conditions, the Phaeton W12’s 4Zone climate control system is designed to be capable of maintaining a steady interior temperature of 22 degrees Celsius while the vehicle is at a constant speed of 186 mph in an ambient temperature of 50 degrees.
While this situation is unlikely to be encountered by the majority of motorists, the climate control systems, aerodynamics, brakes, suspension, steering system and even wipers have been designed to cope with speeds far exceeding the norm of 0-155 mph.
The new Phaeton retains a very high level of standard equipment including 4MOTION all-wheel drive, Continuous Damping Control (CDC) adjustable air suspension, leather trim, satellite navigation, 18-way adjustable electric seats, a laminated finish to all glass areas and a total of eight airbags.
Two wheelbase options will be offered (120 mm differentiating the two) and a choice of two engines – a 3.0-litre V6 TDI diesel developing 240 PS and a 6.0-litre W12 petrol engine producing 450 PS.
The new Phaeton goes on sale this August with prices and specifications set to be announced nearer this time.
Tags: 3.0 TDI, Diesel Phaeton, Phaeton TDI, VW Phaeton
Posted in Diesel News, TDI Owners, VAG Topics
TDISport are offering the chance to win a custom remap by CCTuning worth up to £399.
The prize will also consist of a before and after Rolling Road run, allowing you to see the power of the car before and after the tuning session.
The winner will be drawn at random at the next TDISport Rolling Road Day, currently planned for the 24th July 2010 at the CCTuning Headquarters.
Two runners up will receive an official TDISport T-Shirt.
Visit the Win A Remap Thread
Tags: CCTuning, cctuning remap, Competition, free remap, remap competition, TDISport, TDISport and CCTuning, Win a remap
Posted in CDTi Owners, dCi Owners, Diesel News, Diesel Owners Club, Ford Owners, HDi Topics, TDCI Topics, TDI Owners, TDISport Club News, VAG Topics, Vauxhall Owners
Škoda tops all manufacturers in the 2010 poll
Škoda Octavia wins Best Family Car category
Škoda’s increasing number of happy drivers has voted the brand Best Manufacturer in the Auto Express Driver Power Survey – for the second year running.
Furthermore, the Škoda Octavia won the hotly-contested Best Family Car category.
Over 23,000 drivers completed the Driver Power poll, scoring all manufacturers on car reliability, build quality, running costs and overall satisfaction. In the independent nationwide survey, Škoda was rated the best, beating Lexus and Jaguar into second and third positions. This comes as no surprise, as Škoda has been ranked within the top two manufacturers for the past six years, demonstrating the brand’s long-standing commitment to quality and customer service.
The full results of the Driver Power Survey are published in a special 32-page report in this week’s Auto Express, out today. In it,Britain’s best selling weekly car magazineremarks that, ‘As if knocking Lexus off top spot last year wasn’t enough of an achievement, Škoda has retained the gold medal in 2010.’
It adds that as brand leader Škoda is ‘now known for quality and reliability, as well as great value.’
As for the Škoda Octavia, Auto Express says that with the car’s ‘combination of quality, fine driving dynamics, value and reliability, the Octavia is the king of the family car market according to Driver Power respondents.’
Škoda UK Brand Director, Robert Hazelwood, said: “Being awarded the Best Manufacturer in the Auto Express Driver Power Survey again is great news for Škoda. We are delighted, as it’s good to hear that customers are telling us that they are pleased with the whole Škoda driving experience.”
Škoda manufacture a range of five models: the supermini Fabia, the family carrier Roomster, mid-size Octavia, the luxurious upper-medium Superb and the Yeti crossover.
Tags: 2010 award, autocar, Skoda best manufacturer, skoda octavia, Skoda win
Posted in VAG Topics
Allan McNish scored a magnificent début victory for Audi with its latest diesel-engined sportscar in the opening round of the Le Mans Series at Paul Ricard in France today (Sunday 11 Apr).
McNish started his new Audi R15 TDI “Plus” from the front row of the 40-car grid after co-driver Dindo Capello had set the second fastest qualifying time the previous day but stormed in to the lead on the third lap.
By mid-distance in the eight-hour race the 40-year-old Scotsman, back behind the wheel after a solid stint by Capello, had extended the lead to a two-lap advantage over the second-placed Aston Martin around the fast, sweeping 3.6-mile track.
Having taken the lead after four minutes, the McNish/Capello “factory” Audi was never headed again at the former French Grand Prix circuit– their 5.5-litre twin-turbo diesel engined Audi eventually finishing five-laps, 18-miles ahead of the second-placed Aston Martin having completed 957-miles at an average speed of 119.49mph in a completely trouble-free run.
Capello set the race’s fastest lap (1m 42.541s, 126.33mph) with 90mins remaining. The pole-position starting factory-assisted Oreca Peugeot lost 18mins in the pits with a problem in the opening hour and finished fourth – eight-laps behind the victorious Audi.
“It’s fantastic to give the new R15 ‘Plus’ its first victory in its first race which follows the Audi tradition of début race wins like we achieved with the R8, R10 TDI and R15 TDI – even if this one is a little unexpected – and not many manufacturers can claim this honour,” commented an elated McNish.
“It’s been a perfect race because we got the victory and also it was a perfect test for the engineers going towards Le Mans.”
Just 37 days after the “roll-out” of the R15 “Plus”, the Paul Ricard race at Le Castellet was a “test” under race conditions marking the next phase of its development programme. After aerodynamic tests at Homestead (Florida), a multi-day endurance test at Sebring (Florida) and tyre tests at Monza (Italy), Audi Sport Team Joest used the Ricard LMS race to begin the detailed race-setup work on the updated LMP1 sports-prototype.
Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “It is impressive that Audi Sport has developed a prototype for a fourth consecutive time which was able to win its début race: after the R8, the R10 and the R15 now the R15 plus. Of course we are very happy that the R15 plus has won the Le Castellet 8 Hours in its test entry.
“But even more important is the fact that the car is already very fast and reliable. We did not have the slightest technical problem here and without the rain shower in the end we would have completed the whole distance without any unscheduled pit-stop. This success is a small milestone on the way to Le Mans and a first reward for the hard work of the previous weeks and months. But we know very well that there is still plenty of work to do until Le Mans.”
Dumfries-born McNish and the Audi team continue its Le Mans 24 Hour race (12-13 Jun) preparations with a full three-car “dress rehearsal” in a 1,000km race at Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), the second round of the LMS on 9 May.
Tom Kristensen partners McNish and Capello at Le Mans. The Dane tore the heel tendon in his left leg in January and decided to concentrate on his forthcoming testing commitments rather than contest the Ricard race.
Tags: Allan McNish, Audi Diesel Racer, Audi R15, Diesel Race, Le Mans
Posted in Diesel Tuning, TDI Owners, VAG Topics
Audi Sport Team Joest wins Le Mans Series opener
Clear victory for Dindo Capello and Allan McNish
Important findings for the 24 Hours of Le Mans
Ingolstadt/Le Castellet, 11 April 2010 – The Audi R15 TDI, model year 2010 (internally labelled “R15 plus”) has won its race début at Le Castellet (France) and in doing so left a strong impression.
The technically further developed diesel racing sports car ran the entire distance without the smallest problem during the test race. On the opening lap of the 8-hour race Allan McNish overtook the Peugeot which had started from pole position in the hands of Frenchman Stéphane Sarrazin and on the third lap the Lola-Aston Martin of Stefan Mücke. From then on Allan McNish and teammate Dindo Capello did not relinquish the lead. At the chequered flag after 266 laps the two Audi drivers held a five-lap lead from the Lola-Aston Martin of defending champion Stefan Mücke, Harold Primat and Adrian Fernandez. The Oreca team Peugeot finished fourth after succumbing to a technical problem during the opening stages of the race.
The only unscheduled pit stop was made just seven minutes before the end of the race, when Audi Sport Team Joest switched to rain tires for safety reasons as rain began to fall.
Audi Sport Team Joest used the Le Mans Series 2010 season opener as preparation for the 24-hour race at Le Mans on 12/13 June. In the practice sessions on Friday and Saturday as well as Sunday morning’s warm-up the team compared different set-up configurations before selecting a version which allowed Dindo Capello and Allan McNish to record constantly fast laps in the relatively low temperatures. The Audi R15 TDI was almost always the fastest car in the field throughout the eight hours and also set the fastest race lap.
Audi Sport Team Joest gained important knowledge for Le Mans during the victorious race at Le Castellet, which will now be evaluated by Audi Sport in Ingolstadt and which go into further fine tuning of the R15 plus.
Next on the agenda is a 30-hour test and the Le Mans dress rehearsal at the 1000-kilomtere race at Spa-Francorchamps on 9 May, which Audi Sport Team Joest will contest, exactly like Le Mans, with three Audi R15 TDI.
Quotes after the race
Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “It is impressive that Audi Sport has developed a prototype for a fourth consecutive time which was able to win its début race: after the R8, the R10 and the R15 now the R15 plus. Of course we are very happy that the R15 plus has won the Le Castellet 8 Hours in its test entry. But even more important is the fact that the car is already very fast and reliable. We did not have the slightest technical problem here and without the rain shower in the end we would have completed the whole distance without any unscheduled pit-stop. This success is a small milestone on the way to Le Mans and a first reward for the hard work of the previous weeks and months. But we know very well that there is still plenty of work to do until Le Mans.”
Dindo Capello (Audi R15 TDI #7): “For sure it is nice to be back on the highest step of the podium – especially at the début of a new car. What makes me happy is that the changes we have done with the car – even the ones after the warm-up – worked quite well. Our next task is to make the R15 plus more consistent.”
Allan McNish (Audi R15 TDI #7): “We have achieved three things: First of all we gave the R15 plus its début victory. This continues a tradition for Audi’s début wins of new LMP1 cars. We won the race, which for the team and the drivers was very important especially after our difficulties last year. And for the engineers and the drivers it was very good experience for Le Mans. I think we ticked all the boxes and achieved our goals for this one.”
Ralf Jüttner (Technical Director Audi Sport Team Joest): “This was a good race for us. After the Oreca-Peugeot had problems so early in the race, the pressure was missing a little bit. But we just tried to continue to go flat out. We did this for eight hours without any problems. But we’ve seen this weekend as well that we still have to learn a lot with the car – and this was the purpose of this test race. We’ve already completed a lot of kilometres with the R15 plus, but these have all been endurance tests. We just started to play with the car here at Le Castellet and this weekend has given us a lot of knowledge and a big step forward. Thanks to the team which has done a great job. This is a superb result we can build on.”
Race results
1 Capello/McNish (Audi R15 TDI) 266 laps in 8h 00m 36.415s
2 Primat/Mücke/Fernandez (Lola-Aston Martin) – 5 laps
3 Belicchi/Boullion/Smith (Lola-Rebellion) – 5 laps
4 Panis/Lapierre/Sarrazin (Peugeot) – 8 laps
5 Ayari/Andre/Duval (Oreca-AIM) – 8 laps
6 Ragues/Mailleux/Ickx (Lola-Aston Martin) – 10 laps
7 Leventis/Watts/Kane (Acura/Honda) – 16 laps
8 Moreau/Gulliaume/Hein (Pescarolo-Judd) – 16 laps
9 Erdos/Newton/Wallace (Lola-Honda) – 17 laps
10 Lahaye/Nicolet (Pescarolo-Judd) – 17 laps
Tags: Audi R15, Diesel Race, R15 Diesel
Posted in Diesel News, TDI Owners, VAG Topics
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