During the last Audi AG investors meeting, Rupert Stadler, the automaker’s chairman, confirmed what’s been assumed for some time: the RS5 will be available in both coupe and cabrio forms, the A5 Sportback is due out later this year and the redesigned A8 will debut in late 2009. And there’s more… after the jump.

On the RS5 front, the UK’s CAR magazine has confirmed that the 4.2-liter V8 found in the RS4 and R8 will be fitted to the new high-po coupe, with output pegged at around 450 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque and delivering a 0-60 time in the mid-four-second range. A series of weight reduction measures will be employed in addition to the beefed-up brakes and suspension, and a topless variant will arrive soon after the RS5 hits dealers later this year.

The A5 Sportback, originally shown in concept form at the Detroit Auto Show, will be available sometime this year, likely packing the 211-hp, 2.0-liter TFSI, the company’s new supercharged 3.0-liter V6 and a revised diesel V6 putting out around 240 hp and a boatload of torque. Stadler is convinced the A5 Sportback is a model that will be embraced by consumers looking for something that offers, “the ideal blend of functionality and aesthetics.”

Stadler went on to say the next-generation A8 will be the sportiest model in its segment “and set new standards with regard to interiors.” The 2010 A8 will debut sometime in November, so we expect Audi’s flagship to appear at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Stadler also discussed the new A1 minicar, which will go on sale in 2010, along with a hybrid Q5 CUV and the smaller Q3 crossover arriving in 2011. Audi’s detailed product outline also included an announcement that start-stop technology is in the works and will join kinetic energy recovery systems as early as late 2009. At first, the new tech will be fitted to the A3 1.4 TFSI and A4/A5 with the 2.0-liter four fitted with a manual transmission. Audi’s goal is to reduce fuel consumption in its range by 20% by 2012, compared to 2007 levels, so it’s expected that all of this new tech will filter through to the rest of the Audi line-up in the next three years.

Audi has confirmed that it will put the Q3 SUV into production in 2011. The new car will be built at a Seat site in Spain, and Audi expects to invest €300m in the car and produce 80,000 units annually.

Audi is producing the Q3? That’s a bold move in the midst of a recession

Yes, but Ingolstadt is hoping that the world will be a better and brighter place by the time the new 4×4 rolls out of Seat’s Martorell plant in 2011 – it’s also the same year we will see the A1.

‘Following in-depth consideration of all relevant factors and an extensive international comparison of various sites, we selected Martorell,’ explained Audi chairman Rupert Stadler. ‘We are counting on this Spanish site’s efficiency, the excellent quality of the production department, and its highly trained staff. We will use the Group’s synergies to sharpen our competitive edge and help protect around 1200 jobs. The decision furthermore safeguards workplaces at other Audi locations.’

But while Audi has confirmed European production, it has postponed a decision over whether to produce the Q3 in the USA.

Just what is the Q3?

Audi describes the car as ‘a coupe-like five-door SUV with seat positions, wheel size, and ground clearance characteristic of a typical SUV’. To you and me it’s a funky 4×4 to sit below the Q5 and take on BMW’s X1.

The Q3 was first previewed to the world in 2007, by the Cross Coupe concept shown at the Shanghai motor show. The production car uses the basic floorpan architecture of the VW Tiguan, and Audi’s Quattro four-wheel drive system will (of course) be available, though an eco-friendly front-wheel drive version is also thought to be on the cars.

Under the bonnet there will be a pair 2.0-litre TFSI engines, producing 168 and 207bhp, but taking the majority of sales will be the 2.0-litre diesel, available in 138 and 168bhp guises.

The mildly refreshed Audi Q7 had its world premiere today at the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show in China. For the 2010MY, Audi’s full-size SUV has received a few minor styling tweaks that include a redesigned front grille, bumpers with new underbody protection and new LED daytime running lamps and taillights while the interior has been updated with a restyled instrument cluster and a new, third generation MMI navigation system. Mechanical changes include the introduction of a new energy recovery system that helps reduce fuel consumption. For more details and a high-resolution image gallery of the Q7 facelift, click here.

Three years after its initial launch, Audi is releasing a facelifted version of its full-size SUV that benefits from mild styling tweaks and more fuel efficient powertrains. Starting from exterior, it will take a trained eye to spot the differences that concern the updated large single frame grille sporting vertical chrome bars, the revised front headlights, the LED front blinkers and rear tail lights, the chunkier door moldings and the newly integrated underbody protection plates in the center section of the front and rear bumper.

Same goes for the Q7′s interior that gains a new selection of colors and materials, a chrome surrounding for the instrument cluster and most importantly, a new, third generation MMI navigation system.

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While Audi has always stated its intention to replace the outgoing RS 4 with a new version based on its much improved new-for-2009 A4, Audi still won’t officially confirm anything about the upcoming hot-rod RS 5 version of its sexy A5/S5 coupe. But we have an unofficial confirmation right here, in the form of one sinister-looking, matte-black and blue RS 5 prototype snapped while testing at Germany’s famed Nϋrburgring racetrack.

Certainly, the color scheme caught our spy’s attention, but the “RS” signature styling elements, such as large angry-looking lower air intakes in front and huge oval exhaust pipes in back, give this particular car’s true identity away. This car also wears the same serious 20-inch wheels that can be found on the RS 6 sedan, while the snug-fitting matte black body wrap conceals its slightly flared fenders, wider track, as well as the actual rear bumper (which likely integrates some sort of a diffuser). Closer inspection of the shots also reveals larger drilled brake rotors and a pair of high-backed Recaro racing seats inside. It is uncertain if we’ll even see the RS 5 on our shores, but if so, U.S.-bound versions would likely come equipped with the S5’s more conventional seats that already meet U.S. safety regs. Read more »