Race version

While enthusiasts the world over await the arrival of a new production version of the elite R8 for 2015, AUDI AG continues to sell an even more sublime type of R8: racing models.

In fact, the company’s quattro GmbH subsidiary just handed over the 100th R8-based race car from Heilbronn-Biberach, a facility at the Audi Neckarsulm location, to a newcomer to Audi Sport customer racing. Team MS Racing is switching to Audi and will be fielding two new R8 LMS ultra cars in the 2013 ADAC GT Masters.

The transaction was a symbolic milestone because Audi achieved the 100th customer race-car sale just four years after the program was launched. The Audi R8 LMS ultra is the third generation of the GT model.

Got TDI?

American consumers are boosting their interest in — and loyalty to — clean-diesel engines produced by Audi and other brands at the same time they’re demonstrating more and more indifference to hybrids, Forbes.com reports.

“Repurchase loyalty” for diesel powertrains increased by nearly 10 percentage points last year compared with 2008 while consumer repurchase rates for hybrid technology remained about flat at 35 percent, according to new data compiled by R.L. Polk. Diesel’s jump in repurchase loyalty as measured by Polk hasn’t been reported, while news about hybrid-repurchase trends was widespread yesterday.

Forbes.com reported that diesel-repurchase loyalty was up by about 9 percentage points over the three years, to 28 percent last year from 19 percent in 2008, reported the Southfield, Mich.-based auto-research firm. Meantime, the repurchase rate for diesels, as previously reported on Forbes.com, fell to 35 percent last year, back to about where it was in 2008 after a two-year rise that peaked at nearly 40 percent in 2009.