Our inventory of used Audi autos in Vero Beach:
| Audi A4 |
Audi A6 |
Audi A8 |
Audi TT |
| Audi Allroad |
Audi S4 |
Audi S6 |
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| A4 |
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| A6 |
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| A8 |
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| TT |
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| Allroad |
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| S4 |
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| S6 |
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About Audi:
The company traces its origins back to 1899 and August Horch. The first Horch
automobile was produced in 1901 in Zwickau. In 1909, Horch was forced out of the
company he had founded. He then started a new company in Zwickau and continued
using the Horch brand. His former partners sued him for trademark infringement
and a German court determined that the Horch brand belonged to his former
company. August Horch was forced to refrain from using his own family name in
his new car business. Horch immediately called a meeting at the apartment of
Franz Fikentscher to come up with a new name for his company. During this
meeting Franz's son was quietly studying Latin in a corner of the room. Several
times he looked like he was on the verge of saying something but would just
swallow his words and continue working, until he finally blurted out, "Father -
audiatur et altera pars... wouldn't it be a good idea to call it AUDI instead of
HORCH?". "Horch!" in German means "Hark!" or "listen", which is "Audi" in Latin.
The idea was enthusiastically accepted by everyone attending the meeting. It
is also popularly (but incorrectly) believed that Audi is an acronym which
stands for "Auto Union Deutschland Ingolstadt".
The Audi emblem is four overlapping rings that represent the Auto Union. The
Audi emblem symbolizes Audi amalgamation of Audi with DKW, Horch and Wanderer:
the first ring represents Audi, the second represents DKW, third is Horch, and
the fourth and last ring Wanderer.[2]
About Audi autos and technology:
Audi produces 100% galvanized vehicles to prevent corrosion. Along with other
precautionary measures, the thus achieved full-body zinc coating has proved to
be very effective in preventing rust and corrosion perforation. The body's
resulting durability even surpassed Audi's own expectations, causing the
manufacturer to extend its original 10-year warranty against corrosion
perforation to currently 12 years. An all-aluminum car was brought forward by
Audi, and in 1994 the Audi A8 was launched, which introduced aluminum space
frame technology. Audi introduced a new series of vehicles in the mid-nineties
and continues to pursue leading-edge technology and high performance.
The all-aluminum concept was extended to the company's new sub-compact, the Audi
A2 which was launched in 2001, although this model was withdrawn from production
late in 2005 as the costs of producing an all-aluminum small car proved too
high for many buyers looking for a small semi-luxurious car. The aluminum body
has proved better suited to larger executive models such as the large A8 saloon.
In all its post Volkswagen-era models, Audi has firmly refused to adopt the
traditional rear wheel drive layout favored by its two arch rivals
Mercedes-Benz and BMW, favoring either front wheel drive or all wheel drive. To
achieve this, Audi has usually engineered its cars with a longitudinally mounted
engine mounted in an "overhung" position over the front wheels - in front of the
axle line. While this allows for equal length drive shafts (therefore combating
torque steer), and the easy adoption of all-wheel drive, it goes against the
ideal 50/50 weight distribution. For this reason, most still believe that BMW
has the edge over Audi in terms of dynamic prowess, although this will be
addressed with the forthcoming A5 coupe in 2007, which will feature the engine
mounted behind the front wheels.
In the 1970s, two vehicle manufacturers Audi and Subaru designed their own all
wheel drive systems in passenger vehicles. In the 1980s, all-wheel drive systems
in cars became a fad, and other German manufacturers like Porsche, BMW and
Mercedes-Benz offered all-wheel drive systems in their cars to compete in the
marketplace, along with GM, Ford, Toyota and others. Unfortunately, the
all-wheel drive system in the Mercedes-Benz vehicles were riddled with problems
right from the design sheet. The system also was not popular in Porsche vehicles
because owners wanted the traditional performance of the rear wheel drive they
got used to in older Porsches. Although Porsche and Mercedes-Benz offer
all-wheel-drive systems in some cars and trucks today, neither manufacturer is
as well-known for all-wheel-drive technology as is Audi. Today, after over 25
years of class-leading technology and engineering, the name quattro is an
identifiable symbol and trademark that shows would-be competitors the level of
quality they have to achieve in order to attempt to compete with Audi's
all-wheel-drive. Audi has also recently applied the quattro badge to models such
as the A3 and TT which do not actually use the quattro system as in prior years,
with a mechanical center differential, but with the Swedish Haldex
electromechanical clutch AWD system.
In the 1980s, Audi was the champion of the inline 5 cylinder, 2.1/2.2 L engine
as a longer lasting alternative to more traditional 6 cylinder engines. This
engine was used not only in production cars but also in their race cars. The
2.1L inline 5 cylinder engine was used as a base for the rally cars in the
1980s, providing well over 400 horsepower (298kW) after modification. Before
1990, there were engines produced with a displacement between 2.0L and 2.3L.
This range of engine capacity was a good combination of good fuel economy (which
was on the mind of every motorist in the 1980s) and, of course, a good amount of
power.
Through the early 1990s, Audi began to move more towards the position of being a
real competitor in its target market against global luxury leaders Mercedes-Benz
and BMW. This began with the release of the Audi V8 in 1990. It was essentially
a new engine fitted to the Audi 100/200, but with noticeable bodywork
differences. Most obvious was the new grille that was now incorporated in the
bonnet.
By 1991, Audi had the 4 cylinder Audi 80, the 5 cylinder Audi 90 and Audi 100,
the turbocharged Audi 200 and the Audi V8. There was also a coupe version of the
80/90 with both 4 and 5 cylinder engines.
Although the five cylinder engine was a successful and very robust power plant,
it was still a little too different for the target market. With the introduction
of an all-new Audi 100 in 1992, Audi introduced a 2.8L V6 engine. This engine
was also fitted to a face-lifted Audi 80 (all 80 and 90 models were now badged
80 except for the USA), giving this model a choice of 4, 5 and 6 cylinder
engines, in sedan, coupe and cabriolet body styles.
The 5 cylinder was soon dropped as a major engine choice; however, a
turbocharged 230hp (169kW) version remained. The engine, initially fitted to the
200 quattro 20V of 1991, was a derivative of the engine fitted to the Sport
Quattro. It was fitted to the Audi Coupe and named the S2 and also to the Audi
100 body, and named the S4. These two models were the beginning of the
mass-produced S series of performance cars.
The Audi A8 replaced the V8 in 1994, with a revolutionary Aluminum Space Frame
(ASF) to save weight. The weight reduction was offset by the quattro all-wheel
drive system. It meant the car had similar performance to its rivals, but
superior roadholding.
The next major model change was in 1995 when the Audi A4 replaced the Audi 80.
The new nomenclature scheme was applied to the Audi 100 to become the Audi A6 (with
a minor facelift). This also meant the S4 became the S6 and a new S4 was
introduced in the A4 body. The S2 was discontinued. The Audi Cabriolet continued
on (based on the Audi 80 platform) until 1999, gaining the engine upgrades along
the way. A new A3 hatchback model (sharing the Volkswagen Golf Mk.4's platform)
was introduced to the range in 1996, and the radical TT coupe and roadster were
debuted in 1998 based on the same underpinnings. Another interesting model
introduced was the Mercedes-Benz A-Class competitor, the Audi A2. The model sold
relatively well in Europe, however, the A2 was discontinued in 2005 and Audi
decided not to develop an immediate replacement.
The engines available throughout the range were now a 1.4L, 1.6L and 1.8L 4
cylinder, 1.8L 4-cylinder turbo, 2.6L and 2.8L V6, 2.2L turbo-charged 5 cylinder
and the 4.2L V8. The V6s were replaced by new 2.4L and 2.8L 30V V6s in 1998,
with marked improvement in power, torque and smoothness. Further engines were
added along the way, including a 3.7L V8 and 6.0L W12 for the A8.
At the turn of the century, Audi introduced the direct-shift gearbox, or DSG, a
manual transmission drivable like an automatic transmission. The system includes
dual electrohydraulically controlled clutches instead of a torque converter.
This is implemented in some Volkswagen Golf, Audi A3 and TT models. The engine
range was continually upgraded, with a 2.7L twin turbo V6 being offered in the
Audi S4, A6 and allroad, while the 2.8L V6 was replaced by a 3.0L unit.
In 2001, Audi released a high performance version of the A8, dubbed S8. It
featured a 360-horsepower 4.2L V8 with 317 torque.
New models of the A3, A4, A6 and A8 have been introduced, with the aging 1.8
liter engine now having been replaced by new FSI (Fuel Stratified Injection)
engines. Nearly every petrol model in the range now incorporates this
fuel-saving technology, including the following:
1.6 liter 4 cylinder 115bhp, 2.0 liter 4 cylinder 150bhp (Slowly being phased
out in order to make way for TSI engines - see section below), 2.0 liter 4
cylinder 200bhp, 2.0 liter 4 cylinder 220bhp, 3.2 liter V6 250-260bhp, 4.2 liter
V8 350bhp, 4.2 liter V8 414bhp, & 5.2 liter V10 450bhp.
Other engines on sale and featuring in products of the Audi brand include:
1.6 liter 4 cylinder 102bhp, 1.9 liter TDi 105bhp, 2.0 liter TDi 140bhp, 2.0
liter TDi 170bhp, 2.7 liter TDi 180bhp, 3.0 liter TDi 233bhp, & 4.2 liter TDi
326bhp. All TDi models are diesels.
As a premium member of the VW Group, technologies are frequently first
introduced to the mass market in Audi vehicles before being 'trickled down' to
more value oriented brands such as VW, SEAT and Škoda. Recent examples of this
include a number of the FSI engines mentioned above, as well as the
quick-shifting DSG automatic gearbox option.
TSI technology was introduced to the Volkswagen Golf early in 2006. These
engines use, initially at least, a capacity of 1.4 liters combined with both a
turbo- and super-charger to produce a high power output, with lower levels of
harmful carbon dioxide emissions and improved fuel economy when compared with a
non-turbo or super-charged engine of a high capacity, such as 2.0 liters. The
1.4 liter TSI engine currently on sale in VW's Golf produces outputs of 140 and
170bhp. These engines have proved popular amongst the motoring press in Britain
and could soon be filtered into the Audi range, with a possibility of featuring
in the A3 and A4 models, as well as maybe featuring in SEAT and Skoda's model
ranges sometime soon.
Audi has publicly set a goal to surpass BMW and the luxury and safety leaders
Mercedes-Benz in global sales by 2015 and have made giant strides to the
achievement of this goal since.
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