Team rallies to see checkered flag in 50th edition of Florida endurance classic


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2012 (Daytona Beach, Fla.) - It would be fair to say that things didn't go quite to plan for the no. 51 APR Motorsports Audi R8 Grand-Am in its first race - the 50th Rolex 24 at Daytona. Despite two multi-hour stints in the garage to make repairs, the team was determined to see the checkered flag in its first Rolex Series race.





Trouble first hit the Audi R8 just past the two-hour mark when Emanuele Pirro brought the car behind the wall during a full course caution, and the team had to replace the clutch - a big job on the mid-engined Audi R8 Grand-Am. The APR Motorsports team drew a large crowd of spectators in its garage area, which let out a loud cheer when the car was finally lowered back to the ground and sent back into the fray after a two-hour repair.


Worse news would come at 2:15 in the morning, when Nelson Canache was nudged off the track by a... [Read More]

It appears that people will be willing to turn any vehicle into a stretched limo these days. We already thought the Fiat 500 Limo was a little bit silly, but these stretched exotics really raise some eyebrows.

Carbonyte UK will be collaborating with Limo Broker out in the UK to create the world's first, super-stretched Audi R8 V10. Limo Broker is already known for their stretched Ferrari 360 Modena limousine, that has produced its fair share of controversy on the Internet. We can't even imagine what enthusiasts will think of the R8 V10 creation.

Limo Broker stated that work on the Audi R8 conversion has already started and they estimate that it'll be completed by the summer of 2012. The limo will seat up to eight people in clearly race-inspired bucket seats and will still be powered by the stock 5.2L V10 engine with 528-hp.

Check out the videos from Limo Broker on their two stretched, exotic limos below.

More: Audi R8 Limo Will Offend Your Exotic Car Sensibilities [Videos] on Autoguide.com

Audi knows a thing or two about thumbing their nose at the world. The question is if people generally take it in stride or take offense.

Their latest advertising escapade (shown above) is probably one of the more unabashed examples of their ****sure style. A Chicago area Audi dealership sold an R8 GT and decided that moving a single unit was justification to rent a billboard warning other motorists of the possible predator in their rear view mirrors.

Car ads in general have a tendency to play up stereotypes and pander to particular crowds, but what does it say about Audi customers if that rule holds true? Consider this: Volkswagen, their parent company, recently had to pull a TV ad in Canada for their Passat because of complaints that the spot portrayed women in a bad light. Decide for yourself, but realize at the same time that the company, and in some senses the message may be similar.

Truth is, nobody gets hurt when a smug billboard goes up, and Audi does this a lot. Another R8 billboard sported the slogan "stay in school." Another, perhaps more clever example was an Audi A4 ad in California that read "your move, BMW." To the right of the Audi poster, BMW ran a response, saying "checkmate."

One way or another, we're happy to sit back and watch car companies one-up... [Read More]