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New Audi TT Roadster Unveiled

Retractable hardtops may be all the rage these days, but one hot new convertible will stick with the traditional ragtop. Late last night — or early this morning, depending on your sleeping habits — Audi released these photos of the new TT roadster. Like the new coupe — coming sometime next year — the roadster will be offered with a choice of a 200-hp turbo four-cylinder or a 3.2-liter V-6 with 250 hp. Both have six-speed manuals standard with Audi’s excellent ~~DSG transmission~~ dual-clutch automatic transmission optional. The soft top will be manual in the base turbo, but a power retractable soft top will be optional. The power top will be standard in V-6 models and open in 12 seconds.

We’re hoping Audi brings the convertible TT to showrooms at the same time as the coupe since both will be on sale in Europe long before they arrive here. There’s simply no reason to stagger the releases. We’ll keep you posted on prices and a more concrete sale date when they are made available. In the meantime, check out more photos below.

Big Three Going With Luxury Alcantara Fabric in 2007

Alcantara

Chrysler, Cadillac and Mercury will start offering suede-like Alcantara leather in certain sports edition models next year. Alcantara is best known for its use in performance cars like the BMW M3 because it holds drivers in their seats better than standard leather. It’s easy for us to guess that Chrysler’s SRT models and Cadillac’s V series will see Alcantara, but we’re mystified at which Mercury interior will get such treatment. Perhaps it will be one of its SUVs, like the Mountaineer. That seems like a bit of a waste to us.

Source: Alcantara

Ford to Offer Diesel F-150

Ford_f150_1

Ford will offer a diesel engine for its light-duty F-150 pickup, likely around 2008, according to a former Ford executive in Automotive News earlier this week. The engine will come from Land Rover's diesel-powered Range Rover in Europe. It's a 3.6-liter turbodiesel V-8 that makes 267 hp and 472 pounds-feet of torque in the Range Rover – and it helps the Rover get around 31 mpg on the highway.

This marks the first U.S. light-duty pickup truck to have a diesel engine, according to Automotive News. Those who tow covet diesels for their prodigious torque and massive pulling power, and most heavy-duty pickups – like the Ford F-250/350 and the Chevy Silverado 2500/3500 – offer them. Light-duty pickups typically have regular gasoline V-8s with less torque and towing capacity. To get a sense of how diesels affect things, compare Ford's F-350 with a regular gasoline V-10 to a diesel V-8:

2007 F-350 6.8L V-10: 362 hp, 457 lbs.-ft. of torque
Max towing capacity (4.1 axle, dual rear wheel): 13,100 – 14,100 lbs., depending on cab style

2007 F-350 6.0L V-8 (diesel): 325 hp, 570 lbs.-ft. of torque
Max towing capacity (4.1 axle, dual rear wheel): 15,000 lbs., all cab styles

The brawniest F-150 uses Ford's 5.4-liter V-8 to make 300 hp and 365 pounds-feet of torque, and it can tow up to 10,500 pounds. Since torque has greater impact on towing than horsepower, it's likely the diesel F-150 will tow considerably more.

[Ford Will Offer Diesel in F-150, Automotive News – registration required]

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