I have had the service loaner from McGill (Houston) for almost a month (No, I really don't mind) as my 2.8QM is in for service. The loaner is a Tip Avant which I am almost hooked on! The noise is a little excesive past 4k @ WOT but the manual mode and 2-4 k rpm range performance is difficult to distinguish from the 2.8 (might be remedied with the service).

If Audi bumps the 1.8 to 225 Hp, what are they doing for the 2.8? Surely it is good for at least 240 HP without the need for a compresor.

everyone is speculating that that next 1.8T will have the same 180hp as the TT. The A4 1.8T has the same engine + turbo (K03). The 225hp version of the TT has a different turbo - the K04. The only difference between a 1.8T and a 180hp TT is that they both contain different ECUs. The TT is drive-by-wire while the 1.8T is not, but this has probably changed since the 1.8Ts in Europe have 180hp. This 180 version of the 1.8T engine will supposedly be made available when the next generation A4 is released, supposedly end of '00/01

VW also has a new 4-motion V6 engine that produces around 205 hp, most probably a version of it will be use for the 2.8 by 00/01.