On January 25^th, Audi will officially kick off the marketing activities surrounding the 2012 Super Bowl advertising campaign.  This will be the fifth consecutive year that Audi has had a commercial in the big game and an opportunity to continue the positive brand momentum from 2011 by building additional awareness and brand desire for Audi.

In this year’s commercial Audi be highlighting the all new Audi S7 and LED technology.  Audi LED headlights have become one of the most recognizable features on the road, but they are more than just a design feature.  LED technology provides performance and efficiency benefits for drivers.

We know this year’s highly anticipated rematch between the Giants and the Patriots will set the stage for yet another win for the Audi brand! Be sure to check out the teaser for this years campaign at the top of the page!

If you’re looking for a gift for your favorite Audi lover, check out the ideas below:

Audi 3G and 3G+ navigation upgrade.

Many Audi owners are tech-heads; they love using the latest technology while dashing across town in their new or used Audi. If you’d like to really wow this kind of Audi owner, consider purchasing a navigation system upgrade for them as a gift. To upgrade older navigation systems, certified technicians download and install updates. This is also a wonderful present for those navigationally challenged Audi drivers who need a little extra help finding their way around.

Audi car covers.

When you drive an Audi convertible, the idea of using a tarp to tuck your car in for the winter is laughable. A high-performance vehicle deserves a high-end, custom-tailored car cover. This is a utilitarian gift your recipient will likely use for the rest of his or her life.

Audi dog collar and leash.

Oftentimes, pooches enjoy jetting around town in Audi convertibles even more than their owners! For the dog-loving Audi owner in your life, an Audi-branded dog collar and leash is the perfect gift.

Audi hats and scarves.

When you’re speeding down the highway in your Audi convertible, it can get a little chilly. And ladies hate having their hair mussed during jaunts in Audi convertibles. To create a thoughtful gift for drivers of Audi convertibles, purchase headwear to keep drivers and passengers warm. For women, Audi produces a branded cashmere scarf as well as a stunningly soft angora beanie. And male Audi drivers will appreciate the gift of an Audi baseball cap or beanie. For those with kids, Audi has created a toddler bucket cap, complete with chinstrap to keep the hat secure regardless of conditions.

Audi model cars.

For the kid at heart, a scale model of his or her new or used Audi makes an excellent present. Regardless of which Audi your loved one drives, chances are there’s a scale model to match. For instance, for your friend who drives a 2008 TT Roadster Audi convertible, you can easily find a 1:43 scale model for sale online. With its intricate detailing, this gift would make an excellent desk accessory. (And those long hours at the office might go a little faster with the visual motivation of driving home in an Audi convertible!)

Audi Duo bicycle.

Did you know Audi now manufactures bikes in addition to Audi convertibles? It’s true, and no surprise – the car manufacturer has designed a high-performance, gorgeous bike. The unique hardwood frame of each duo is hand-made in Portland, Ore. Audi manufactures three different models for different types of riders: the Duo Sport, Duo City and Duo Road. If the $7,350 price tag is out of your price range, consider purchasing your Audi-driving friend a branded bicycle jersey or water bottle.

Audi bags and briefcases.

The Audi brand represents elegance, high-performance and superior design – all characteristics that come in handy at work or school. For the student or career ladder ascendant, and Audi bag makes an excellent present. The sports car manufacturer offers everything from a wheeled laptop briefcase to a stylish jute tote.

Audi gadget cases.

Technology is so ubiquitous these days that it often seems our tablets, phones and laptops are simply an extension of ourselves. Gift an improved digital experience by presenting your friend with an Audi-branded case for his or her favorite gadget. Audi vends neoprene laptop cases, iPad portfolios and more.

In addition to the gifts listed above, you’ll find a cornucopia of gift ideas at the Audi website. From golf accessories to cigarette lighters to leather driving gloves, you’re sure to find the right gift for the Audi enthusiast in your life.

Italy’s Gianluca Roda is again the winner of the Porsche Cup. With a large point advantage, the 52-year-old defended his achievement from last year. The Porsche Cup has been awarded by Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, since 1970. As the brainchild of Ferry Porsche, the company honours the best private Porsche race driver each year with this trophy.

Again in 2011, Gianluca Roda celebrated a large part of his success with the Autorlando Sport team, which has its headquarters in Pedrengo near Bergamo (northern Italy). The entrepreneur from Como earned most of his points towards the Porsche Cup in the International GT Open, which runs two races per weekend. Already at the season-opener, everything went smoothly with Roda and his team mate Fabio Babini (Italy) yielding a win and a third place in their Porsche 911 GT3 R. Over the course of the season, Roda achieved five victories in the GTS class as well as four other podium results. The highlight of the year: double victory on the high-speed circuit in the Royal Park of Monza. At the season final in Barcelona (Spain) a retirement put a spoke in the wheel of his campaign. In a repeat of the previous season, Roda, Babini and the team concluded the year with vice-championship honours in the fiercely-contested GT Open Championship.

In the Blancpain Endurance Series, Gianluca Roda launched into the season with a victory at the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by Autorlando Sport – in Monza of course. Joining forces with his Italian teammates Paolo Ruberti and Raffaele Giammaria they secured podium results in Navarra (Spain) and Magny-Cours (France) as well as fourth in Silverstone (Great Britain). Only at the 24 hour race of Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), which also counted towards the Blancpain series, did he come home empty-handed in twelfth.

The ambitious Porsche driver also competed for the German Proton Competition squad in the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – with top results. At the Sebring 12 Hours in Florida, one of the world’s great endurance classics, Roda underscored his reliability and skill. Teaming up with Christian Ried (Germany) and Porsche works driver Richard Lietz (Austria), the Italian climbed the podium after twelve hours in second place. The Sebring race also counted as the season-opening round of the American Le Mans Series. Team owner Ried also signed up the experienced Roda for the races of the Le Mans Series in Imola and Silverstone. And again he finished both races second in the GTE Am class; in Italy with Porsche factory pilot Patrick Long (USA) providing back up and supported in Great Britain by works driver Patrick Pilet (France).

By again clinching the Porsche Cup, Gianluca Roda has secured a very special place in the long list of Cup winners. The only other drivers to manage the feat of taking the coveted trophy home two consecutive times was the current Porsche team boss Franz Konrad (Austria) and Frenchman Bob Wollek who died in 2001.

Second place in this year’s Cup goes to Paolo Ruberti, making it a one-two for the Italians. The 36-year-old from Legnano in the Veneto region predominantly earned his points with excellent results from the Italian GT Championship, where he yielded three wins and four second places. Alongside Gianluca Roda in the Blancpain Endurance Series, he harvested a stack of points for his excellent results.

After an extremely successful season in the American Le Mans Series, Bryan Sellers clinched third place in the 2011 Porsche Cup. The 29-year-old American was supported by Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler (Germany) competing for the Falken Tire team. The highlights of the year for the privateer and professional with the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR came in Mid Ohio and Baltimore. Both times the Falken-911 saw the flag in first against high calibre competition in the GT class.

On 17th December at the Night of Champions in the Research and Development Centre in Weissach, Gianluca Roda received the Porsche Cup from Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Porsche AG. In addition to the valuable challenge cup, the best Porsche private driver of the year takes home a Porsche 911 Carrera S. The Porsche Cup carries a total value of over 250,000 Euro, with positions two to ten receiving prize money. Drivers earned points towards this year’s traditional competition in 18 Grand Touring and prototype race series worldwide as well as at selected long distance races.

Original content from Porsche.

The Audi Carbon Ski is a base material with revolutionary properties. Know-how drawn from skiing and motorsport has been used to develop the perfect ski. The Audi Carbon Ski concept is an eye-catching piece of sports equipment with a minimalist design that focuses fully on one premium material: carbon. The concept study was designed and developed at Audi Concept Design Munich – but like a racing car, it can only be mastered by a top professional. For this reason, the team surrounding chief designer Wolfgang Egger began working on the development of a serial-production ski with the ski specialists from Head. The Audi Carbon Ski may become available already in winter 2011/2012.

The technology transfer from the concept study to the serial-production Audi Carbon Ski was crucial throughout all of the developmental phases. A cab of high-strength carbon fiber encloses layers of aluminum and titanium, as well as a wood core. At 1,550 grams (with a ski length of 170 cm), the ski will be about 200 grams lighter than comparable models. This allows it to be incredibly maneuverable and agile.

The carbon allows the engineers to achieve optimal stiffness while also minimizing torsion, which is the twisting of the ski along its longitudinal axis. Outstanding strength, good dampening and low weight make the Audi Carbon Ski a carving ski that fully lives up to the Audi philosophy of “Vorsprung durch Technik.”

“As a long-time partner and sponsor of the German Ski Association, a ski produced by Audi is a logical consequence of this partnership. This is how the Audi Carbon Ski concept came about. And the ski’s brilliant handling characteristics have been confirmed by professionals from the sport,” said Wolfgang Egger, Head of Design for the Audi Group. “The serial-production ski was able to borrow from the concept study, and it features outstanding technical properties. At the same time, its minimalist design underscores the technical nature of the carbon.”

In January 2011, as part of the most famous downhill race in the world – the Hahnenkamm race in Kitzbühel – customers were able to test the first prototypes of the Audi Carbon Ski. In addition to extensive tests by specialists from Head and the German Ski Association, these results will contribute to the ability to offer a perfected ski.

During development of the Audi Carbon Ski concept (2008/2009), Audi profited from over 20 years of partnership with the German Ski Association and its own considerable experience in motorsport. Parameters that have proven reliable over many decades of ski sports were analyzed with the use of complex calculation methods drawn from motorsport. The result: construction specifications for a full-carbon ski that guarantees perfect handling properties. After extensive tests, scientific experts from the German Ski Association confirmed the high quality of the Audi Carbon Ski concept.

A ski is a technically sophisticated piece of sports equipment, but it is also a highly aesthetic object that is optimized for top performance. The project at Audi Concept Design Munich – in the heart of the urban district Schwabing – was based on these considerations. The team of young, international designers was able to transfer the Audi design gene from the brand’s cars to the ski. “Carbon and aluminum are central elements in Audi design – these exclusive materials underscore the outstanding quality of our cars,” Egger said. “The design of the ski also intentionally dispenses with unnecessary lines and concentrates fully on the material.”

“Thanks to its ideal combination of strength and light weight, carbon is used in motorsport for especially sensitive components that need to withstand the highest stress loads yet must at the same time be light in weight,” says Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport. In the racing cars for the German Touring Car Masters (DTM) and the Le Mans sports cars, for example the new R18, the driver’s cockpit – the so-called monocoque – is made from high-strength carbon fiber. “When creating this possibly lifesaving carbon component, we use the same calculation methods as those that were used for the concept development of the Audi Carbon Ski concept,” Ullrich said.

The calculations for the ski define precisely how many layers of carbon must be used – in doing so, the carbon fibers are placed at a specific angle to each other. This allows the engineers to achieve optimal stiffness with minimal torsion. The layers are hardened under pressure in an artificial vacuum.

The influence on the handling properties of the ski is revolutionary: the ski flexes on the mogul slopes to achieve optimal grip on uneven surfaces. On icy patches, on the other hand, the ski must not twist, so that the steel edges can maintain their grip on the snow along their entire length. Thus, the ski never loses contact with the ground. The light weight of the carbon also plays a critical role for skiing curves. The weight per ski is a mere 960 grams.

Original content from Audi.

Porsche engineers put the new 2012 911 through its paces by oversee hot weather testing in South Africa and extreme cold weather in the Arctic Circle. An inside look at what goes into a new Porsche.

Overall 2011 Winner — Executive Sedan: Audi A7

So you can’t imagine how you got along without your do- everything smart phone. This is the automotive equivalent. The A7’s blend of technology, material luxury and highway-conquering drivability is almost eerie. This thing has so many gadgets that it can act as its own on-the-go Wi-Fi hotspot, yet the cockpit still feels warm and inviting. Styling is almost militantly modern — a Teutonic beauty — while being handily practical. The trunk is actually a hatchback. Fold down the rear seats and it will fit a full-size bicycle. Its stablemate, the new A6, feels staid next to the A7, and the bigger A8 is a bit too mature. The A7 has just the right amount of style and substance. You could drive your company president around all day, and then pick up a supermodel date at night. It has a silky eight-speed automatic transmission and a 3.0-liter supercharged V-6, with 310 horsepower and 325 pound- feet of torque. The gas mileage isn’t superlative, but it isn’t embarrassing (18; 28). Pricing starts around $60,000. As tested, mine came to $68,630. For that, you get a car which will do a bit of everything.
(Jason H. Harper writes about autos for Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this column: Jason H. Harper at Jason@JasonHharper.com or follow on Twitter @JasonHarperSpin.

To contact the editor responsible for this column: Manuela Hoelterhoff in New York at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.

Originaly posted by www.bloomberg.com.
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Looking for that perfect gift for your favorite Porsche enthusiast? A gift certificate to the Porsche Sport Driving School! We have curriculums designed for those wondering what a Porsche feels like at the limits and for people who desire to learn from top professional driving instructors at one of the world’s best racing circuits.

PSDS has been teaching Porsche enthusiasts at state of the art racing facilities since 2000 and prides itself on it’s capability to help sports car enthusiasts significantly enhance their knowledge and skills. We work with a wide range of students from ages 21 and up; some with significant performance driving experience and many with a newly found interest in sport driving. The Porsche Sport Driving School – USA has the ability to tune and tailor the driving activities to match a student’s capabilities and potential. Original content from Porsche Driving School.

To sign up for the Porsche Driving School click here.

They say that behind every great man, there’s a great woman. For Audi Sport, that woman is Leena Gade! She’s the woman behind Audi’s latest victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Enjoy this peak behind the race at Audi’s engineering team and most importantly the first female to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Leena Gade. See what it really takes Audi to win the race. Original content from Audi USA Facebook.

Posted by Ammar Khan, Audi Brand Manager

The rendering above is the design for Porsche’s newly planned West Coast Experience Center. It was announced at the LA Auto show that the canter will be opening in Southern California soon. The facility is designed to be a “center of excellence for vehicle and human performance education, from track experiences and driver training to car culture events,” says Porsche.

The 51 acre Experience Center will include a paved racing circuit for your track ready 911′s, an off-road testing area for the Cayenne, a low-friction skidpad and other areas for dining and meetings. The center will also be used for car clubs, corporate clients, and other special groups. The facility also has its best intentions for the drivers health by hosting the Porsche Human Performance Center. This is a sport science laboratory to maximize personal fitness, wellness, and athletic performance.

It will be located in Los Angeles near the intersection of two major freeways the 405 and 110. Unfortunately Porsche says they won’t be breaking ground untill spring 2012. For now enjoy this tasty video of what’s to come with the new Porsche Experience Center in Silverstone.