Audi

Audi has thrown a bone to "young, urban types" with the elevated and ever so slightly off-roady citycarver (yes, it's all lower case). Based on the A1 Sportback, it gives you two inches' (4 cm) worth of extra visibility around town, and a slight appearance of ruggedness.

AddArmor has wrapped an Audi RS7 with its special in-house paneling and ballistic glass to produce what it says is the fastest armored car in the world, with plenty of other tricks up its sleeve to stave off attacks.​​

There's no such thing as a GT2 championship, but Audi doesn't think that situation will last, and it's bringing out its most extreme customer race car yet in anticipation. The R8 LMS GT2 is a track-only, race-ready V10 beast making 640 hp and over 550 Nm (406 lb-ft) of torque.

Plug-in hybrids are supposed to be the perfect bridge between today and tomorrow - cheap, green, electric commuting with petrol-powered long-range touring. Audi's first plug-in hybrid has been announced, but it looks like a swing and a miss, since its electric range won't cover the average commute.

Auto Shanghai is a different from other international auto shows. Staple brands that dominate the rest of the circuit get diluted in a pool of names you don't see much of — SAIC, JAC, BYD, etc. Suddenly, you're a young kid at his very first auto show, where everything is new and wondrous.

The latest electric hydrofoil board comes from a rather unexpected source: Audi. The company's e-tron program makes a move off land, spawning a vehicle that floats riders through air as it zips across water at speeds up to 27 mph (43 km/h).

​We've previously seen VR (virtual reality) platforms that move in response to what's happening onscreen, making for a more immersive experience. Audi, however, is taking the opposite approach. Its new in-car VR setup determines onscreen movements based on what the vehicle is doing in real life.

​Audi has dropped a fun, fast, "vegan" and sexy grand touring concept at the LA Auto Show. The e-tron GT will move to production by 2020, and the concept shows off a 590-horsepower AWD electric powertrain, a 250-mile (400 km) range, and fast charging ability to the tune of 200 miles in 20 minutes.

Part-drone, part-self-driving electric car, ​​Audi’s Pop.Up Next is an ambitious concept dreamt up in collaboration with subsidiary Italdesign and Airbus. The automaker is this week carrying out the first public demonstrations, albeit at just a quarter of the size the finished product. ​

Audi has presented a newly-upgraded R8, which will arrive in early 2019. The new 2019 R8 will feature an updated exterior design, more powerful V10 engines, and modified suspension and handling. The unveiling of the 2019 Audi R8 comes after the premier of the R8 LMS GT3 in Paris earlier this year.

The sports concepts and cars are a part of the Paris Motor Show story, perhaps even the best part. But it's 2018, which means an even bigger part of that story reads electric vehicles, SUVs and crossovers, classic cars and autonomous concepts.

Audi has launched its first all-electric car at a San Francisco launch event. The e-tron 55 quattro is a mildly sporty SUV with a 250-mile range, 5.5-second 0-60 mph time, highly efficient energy recuperation systems and optional electronic mirrors. It'll hit dealers in Q2 2019.