The A3 has long held promise for the Indian enthusiast market but Audi India has held back wanting for something just a little bit more before storming the Indian market. Say hello to the Audi A3 in its sedan form. The slapped on boot might just be that something more that could set the cash registers ringing at Audi India. The Audi A3 sedan was unveiled at the New York Motor Show with powertrain options including the 2.0 L TDI, 1.4 TFSI, 1.8 TFSI while the performance oriented S3 sedan, to be launched in a few months will be powered by the 2.0 TFSI making 300 hp!

Short overhangs and a sharp shoulder line set the A3 Sedan apart. Audi calls the shoulder line “tornado line”! The toranado line rises more sharply on the sedan than on the hatch and the sportback. Air intakes,the singleframe grille, the hood and the bumpers have all been slightly tweaked. There’s also a lip spoiler on the boot of the A3 Sedan. LED lights are optional.

The use of aluminium for the engine hood and ‘hot-shaped’ steel parts in the passenger compartment enable the A3 sedan to shed any unwanted pounds.

The engine options available are

1. The 2.0 TDI making 150 hp with a peak torque of 320 Nm
2. The 1.4 TFSI makes 140 hp and develops peak torque of 250 Nm. COD (cylinder on demand) system deactivates two cylinders when load is less for improved fuel efficiency.
3. The 1.8 TFSI makes 180 hp with peak torque of 250 Nm. Dual injection into the combustion chambers and the induction manifold enable sporty performance with Audi reporting figures of 0-100kph time of 7.3 seconds and top speed of 235 kph.

Handling on the Audi should be exceptional considering the engineering gone into it. Audi has taken effort to ensure balance weight distribution. All engines are tilted 12° to the rear and the front wheel suspensions are placed far ahead to result in a 60:40 weight distribution.

The Audi A3 Sedan has 16- to 18-inch-wheels; quattro GmbH can also deliver wheels up to 19 inches in diameter.

Audi’s new modular infotainment system (MIB) takes its place inside. The top end variants are equipped with MMI Navigation plus with an SSD hard drive offering 64 GB of storage, a DVD drive and whole-word voice control. A high-resolution 7-inch-screen shows the map image in detailed 3D graphics. The MMI Navigation plus system can interface with phones via bluetooth. The touchwheel is the input medium and its top surface is a touch-sensitive pad for inputting letters, symbols and numbers.

Audi S3 Sedan

A 2 litre engine employing Audi’s most advanced engine technology like dual fuel injection, exhaust manifold integrated in the cylinder head, the Audi valvelift system and a rotary valve module for thermal management makes 300 hp and 380 Nm!

0-100 km/h times shoot to 4.9 seconds compared when paired with the S tronic transmission and top speed is electronically limited to 250 km/h.

The suspension lowers the body 25 mm. Braking duties are taken care of by the 340mm front discs hidden behind 18 inch wheels. The electrically assisted progressive steering varies the steering gear ratio depending on the driving situation. At the middle it is less sensitive while towards the ends the sensitivity increases. The Audi drive select vehicle dynamics system is standard, and the Audi magnetic ride damper control system is available as an option.

The S3 sedan has slight changes to the bumpers, the singleframe grille, air intakes, exterior mirror housings, side sills and rear spoiler. The other distinguishing feature would be the four oval tailpipes of the exhaust system. The S3 Sedan offers sport seats, instruments with gray dials and trim strips in black 3D look.

The Audi A3 Sedan goes on sale in the European markets this summer with the S3 sedan to follow a couple of months later. India is expected to get the A3 sedan in 2014, but the US markets will be able to lay their hands on one only in 2015.

The base price for the A3 Sedan with the 1.4 TFSI engine is around 25,000 Euros.

The 2014 Range Rover is here. Unveiled in New Yor key Daniel Craig, Land Rover’s new SUV boasts transformational on-road dynamics with world’s best all-terrain performance. The new Range Sport is also available with the new TDV6 engine that saves upto 420 kg while delivering excellent fuel efficiency. The interiors as you would expect from a Range Rover, are luxurious and in this model, more flexible with new 5+2 seating option. The new Range Rover is one of the beneficiaries of Land Rover’s new lightweight aluminium architecture. For the first time, Land Rover’s ‘connected car’ suite of technologies will make be available.

At launch, all-new Range Rover Sport customers will have a choice of four engines.

The supercharged 5.0-litre 510PS V8, the new supercharged 3.0-litre 340PS V6 and two diesel engines including the 3.0-litre 258PS TDV6 and 292PS SDV6. Land Rover says the powertrain line-up will be expanded later in this year by the addition of a high performance 4.4-litre 339PS SDV8 diesel version. It is also confirmed that a high-efficiency diesel Hybrid model will be available to order later this year for delivery in 2014.

Land Rover’s aggressive weight reduction measures, the company says, opens up the possibility of a smaller, lighter power plant, such as a FOUR cylinder engine. A model which could have an overall weight of less than 2000kg, a reduction of over 500kg from the previous lightest model.

Developing story..

We’ve seen the XKR-S, the most powerful and fastest production Jaguar ever built. Jaguar ups the ante with the XKR-S GT. A mouthful name for what will be one of the most rarest Jaguar ‘R’ cars as production will be limited to 30 units. The XKR-S GT, was developed by Jaguar’s ETO division and Jaguar says, is the ultimate road-going but track-ready version of the XK coupe. The XKR-S GT reaches 60mph in 3.9 seconds with an electronically limited top speed of 186mph.

To start with the XKR-S GT is an evolution of the XKR-S. Most of the development time has gone into optimizing the car’s aerodynamics. A carbon-fibre front splitter, dive planes, extended wheelarch spats, an elevated rear wing, rear diffuser and an aluminium valance enable the XKR-S GT to achieve maximum downforce of 145kg.

The XKR-S GT also gets a carbon ceramic brake system, for the first time in a production Jaguar. 398mm discs up front and and 380mm discs at the rear work with six- and four-piston monoblock calipers respectively to bring this lithe monster to a halt.

A wider front track, increased camber, revised bushings, a new steering system and faster steering ratio all improve handling. Height-adjustable and bespoke adaptive dampers feature a race-derived twin spring system.

The powerplant is the 550PS, 680Nm supercharged 5.0-litre V8 engine and power is transmitted to the wheels through a six-speed transmission and active electronic differential.

New, wider, 20-inch forged and lightweight alloy wheels are designed to optimise brake cooling and are shod with Pirelli Corsa 255/35 front and 305/30 rear tyres to maximise grip.

What sets the XKR-S GT apart from the XKR-S ?

Carbon ceramic brake systems as mentioned above.

Electronic Pre-Fill system pressurises braking system and maximises braking performance.

The aerodynamic aids mentioned ealier help the XKR-S GT achieve a maximum downforce figure of 145kg (320lb) at the XKR-S GT’s electronically limited top speed of 300 kph.

The addition of race-derived, height-adjustable and retuned adaptive dampers with twin-spring system. Spring rates have increased by 68% at the front and 25% at the rear.

New development of front and rear suspension with experience drawn from the development of the F-TYPE sports car

The fitment of an F-TYPE steering rack for enhanced agility

New, wider 20-inch forged alloy wheels shod with Pirelli Corsa 255/35 front and 305/30 rear tyres for maximised grip

As in other Jaguar supercharged cars, the bonnet louvres aid engine cooling and reduce under-bonnet air pressure