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A number of Audi Sport customer racing customers are on top form at the halfway point of the year: For the first time this year, a driver duo is leading the International GT Open in GT3 racing, while another team is extending its lead in GT4 racing across Europe. The situation in TCR Europe is characterized by a change of leadership between two brothers who both rely on Audi. Finally, at the Spa 24 Hours, Audi Sport was honored with an induction into the Hall of Fame.

A new era began in Ingolstadt 60 years ago: the first post-Second World War Audi rolled off the assembly line on August 13, 1965. And on that occasion, after a quarter of a century, Auto Union GmbH once again adopted the traditional Audi brand name. The name itself was intended to demonstrate the model’s status as a technical pioneer. It was, after all, Audi’s first automobile with a four-cylinder, four-stroke engine. The Audi, known internally as the F 103, was a resounding success and spawned an entire model series that – with further developments in design and technology – remained in production until 1972.

Audi brings interactive gaming fun directly into the car with the AirConsole gaming platform specially developed for vehicles. Passengers can now play together on the central MMI touch display or on the MMI passenger display in models with that feature. Smartphones are easily connected to the vehicle using a QR code and then serve as controllers. This makes every ride an entertaining experience for the whole family – both during everyday drives or when traveling.

The International Motorsport customer team celebrated a strong winning streak in New Zealand with a well-deserved title win for its Audi R8 LMS. The brand’s customers also remain the benchmark in touring car racing, as the halfway point of the TCR Italy season proves. A film premiere with the Audi RS Q e-tron drew a lot of applause in the city center of Paris.

The Audi Q3 has been a well-established bestseller in the premium compact segment for more than ten years. Now the third generation is setting new standards in several respects. The modern SUV’s exterior exudes self-confidence and emotion. Numerous innovative features turn the Audi Q3 into a digital companion. They provide a first-class user experience and also ensure greater comfort and safety for the driver and other road users thanks to many assistance systems. In addition to the well-balanced suspension, the digitalization of light also enhances customer benefits. A high degree of personalization and adaptive, high-resolution light functions are made possible with the new micro-LED technology in the digital Matrix LED headlights. Another feature of the new Audi Q3 is an efficient, partially electrified combustion engine with mild-hybrid technology and a plug-in hybrid model with an electric range of up to 119 kilometers (preliminary figures).

Audi is expanding the new Q5 family: in addition to the combustion models with MHEV plus technology, the SUV and Sportback will also be launched as plug-in hybrid models (PHEV). Both the Q5 SUV e-hybrid quattro and Q5 Sportback e-hybrid quattro can be ordered in two power levels: with 220 kW or 270 kW system output. The new generation of high-voltage batteries in the Audi Q5 e-hybrid models has around 45 percent more capacity. As a result, 25.9 kWh (net 20.7 kWh) of power is available for electric driving.

Customer teams can look back on the best race weekends of the season so far with the Audi R8 LMS in Australia and Asia. A total of three victories at two GT World Challenge events show the GT3 sports car’s good form curve, while the Audi RS 3 LMS touring car contributed further valuable results for Audi Sport customer racing.

The Audi Q3 has been a fixture in the premium compact segment for more than a decade. Audi will present the third generation on June 16 – and is already sharing a first glimpse of the new model.

One year ago, Audi set a lap record on the Nürburgring Nordschleife with the RS 3, making it the fastest compact car on the 20.832-kilometer racetrack in the Eifel to date. With an optimized chassis setup, semi-slick tires, and 400 PS from the legendary five-cylinder engine, the updated RS 3 was more than seven seconds faster than the pre-facelift version.

As a real-world laboratory, low-volume production at Böllinger Höfe plays a key role in advancing digitalization in production and logistics in line with Audi's 360factory. Audi Sport is collaborating with partners from the Fraunhofer Heilbronn Research and Innovation Centers HNFIZ to explore the future of the picking process in automotive manufacturing using a new approach. First, a needs analysis identified the areas and activities with the greatest potential to optimize processes and reduce employees' workload. In the next step, the research partners will now trial a wide range of technologies from the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics in a designated area in production until the end of the year.