| Audi R8 And TT Coupe Make Their Chinese Debuts
The Audi R8 and the TT Coupe are taking centre stage in the Audi brand's line-up at the Beijing Motor Show (19/11/2006 to 27/11/2006). The dragon is the theme of the Audi stand, which also showcases the Audi A6L with two new engines, the V8 4.2 FSI and the 3.2 FSI. Another highlight of the appearances of Audi in the Chinese capital was the colorful unveiling on the eve of the motor show of the TT sculpture, weighing almost ten tons, in the heart of Beijing.
Audi at the Beijing Motor Show
Audi TT and the R8, both making their debuts in Beijing, are Audi's newest models on the market with the fastest growth rates. In the first ten months of this year, Audi recorded an increase of some 60 percent in vehicle sales, making a total of 66,634 units sold. October was also a positive month with an increase of 21 percent to 6,167 vehicles handed over to customers in China.
Worldwide, Audi sold 757,700 vehicles in the first ten months of the year, an increase of 8.7 percent compared with the same period of last year. The company likewise succeeded in posting record sales for October itself, with 73,000 vehicles handed over to customers worldwide, an increase of 11.5 percent compared with the same month of last year. Audi has consequently just achieved its best ever October figures and the best ten-month period in the company's history.
The 309 kW (420 bhp) Audi R8 sports car is a full-blooded descendant of the five-time Le Mans winner of the same name.
Another new arrival on the Chinese market is the Audi TT Coupe. While preserving the genetic make-up that brought its predecessor cult status, the second-generation TT reinterprets the tradition with an outstanding clarity of style.
For the Audi A6L, built in China and especially tailored for the home market, two new engines have been added to the line-up: the 3.2 FSI, a V6 delivering 188 kW (255 bhp) and, as the top-of-the-range unit, the V8 4.2 FSI engine (257 kW/ 350 bhp). The muscular eight-cylinder version of the Audi A6L with quattro permanent four-wheel drive can be recognized by its V8 badges on the high-gloss black single-frame radiator grille and on the front wings.
The dragon reigns supreme
The dragon is the ever-present theme of Audi's display at the Beijing Motor Show in China. The Audi stand in Hall 8 is dominated by 48 light panels, each four by two meters in size, symbolizing a dragon. The panels are arranged to give the impression of a dragon elegantly winding its way around and over the vehicles on show. At the dragon's head stands an Audi A6L 4.2 FSI quattro, followed by the new Audi R8 sports car, Audi TT Coupe and a Horch 850 Pullman Cabrio Bauer from 1936, representing the tradition of the Audi brand.
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