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scoop
January 7th, 2003, 21:54
As I already mentioned on this forum I ordered an RS6 due for delivery in April (and yes, I'm counting the days... 97 to go :) )

That step wasn't at all obvious when they initially launched the RS6.

http://poocs.net/media/rs4/polish/rs4_012_thumb.jpg

My avatar says I'm a passioned RS4 driver, my car (http://poocs.net/media/rs4/polish/) has about 50,000km down now (it's a January 2001 model) and I'm really really happy with it. Straight from the beginning (well, when it was finally run in) I got it chiptuned by Skiba Tuning (http://www.skiba-tuning.de) to 470bhp and 560Nm. Over the time, I got the quattro GmbH braking system and the quattro GmbH suspension for it as well as 19" alloys (yes, those I wanted to sell earlier but noone seemed to be interested :( ) which I got rid of a little later because I do prefer the understatement look of the stock rims.

http://poocs.net/media/rs4/polish/rs4_006_thumb.jpg

I got a set of Pirelli P-Zero Rosso along as well (instead of the Michelins I bought it with) and went to various Audi Driving Experience events at the Sachsenring, Norisring and the Hockenheimring.

It was at the Sachsenring when I first saw the RS6 in all its glory. But that's one thing I didn't recognize back then. It was huge, it only had the automatic gearbox, it was way too expensive and, well, it just didn't turn me on.

A few weeks passed, we headed to Nuremberg and the DTM race (http://poocs.net/media/dtm/). Audi once again pestered us with RS6 material. We were barely able to enter the hotel room because of all those posters, CD-ROMs, postcards, stickers and whatnot. When we went to the ring the next day, they had this amazing safety car parked next to the lounge.

http://poocs.net/media/dtm/dtm-001_thumb.jpg

Well, yeah. I liked it, but hey, I liked the RS4 better. Period. I toyed with the thought of it for a moment, which was immediately gone when I saw the RS6 Avant parked next to the RS4 Avant. It looked even more clunky, even less sporty.

http://poocs.net/media/dtm/dtm-042_thumb.jpghttp://poocs.net/media/dtm/dtm-043_thumb.jpg

Almost half a year passed before we went to the Hockenheim ring (http://poocs.net/media/hockenheim_2002/). I hadn't thought of the RS6 for a loooong time and I really didn't expect this to change that particular weekend.

But it did.

After a tremendous amount of rain decided to come down that Saturday, the track was slippery, the car numbers didn't last more than a few corners, and, well, the fun didn't quite come through.

http://poocs.net/media/hockenheim_2002/hockenheim2002-004_thumb.jpg
http://poocs.net/media/hockenheim_2002/hockenheim2002-006_thumb.jpg

Then in the break, after half a dozen pretzels and coffee, the instructors took a few lucky fellas on a ring raxi ride. My wife and I entered the back seat of the aforementioned daytona grey RS6 safety car we already met in Nuremberg and Rinaldo Cappello of Audi R8 Le Mans fame grabbed the steering wheel.

I don't know what happened during those 3 laps at Hockenheim. I got out of the car, took my wife's hand like a baby grabs for a lolly and asked soft-voicedly... "can I have one, please?"

When we got back home I fumed at my ignorance of selling all the RS6 goods we got at Nuremberg on eBay (*ahem*). The Monday after I called my Audi dealer and asked for a testdrive which took place a week later.

I was able to take an RS6 Avant (also daytona grey) for a ride of about 300km and wasn't really willing to ever return it to the dealer. I loved the automatic gearbox (especially in S-mode), I loved the traction, the growling sound, not to mention this amazing DRC. Go 250 through a corner of the autobahn and... what? nothing. You can steer with your little finger.

The braking system also felt really mature although it didn't even have the drilled discs. It's also a lot less noisy than the quattro GmbH brakes my RS4 has. Even with a couple of high speed to low speed braking maneuvers it still felt fresh and spicy, quickly able to suspend the car for little nagging fellas that tend to move in front of you for no apparent reason.

http://poocs.net/.tmp/rs6.jpg

So.. what's the end of this? When I returned the car I immediately signed the contract. I ordered an Audi RS6 sedan in daytona grey with black interior, 19" rims, drilled discs, sports exhaust, brushed matt aluminium trim, suede steering wheel and shift knob, and the nappa leather/alcantara combination for the seats. And boy, do I feel good doing this :) So now it's.. eagerly waiting!

Yours,
P.

Benman
January 9th, 2003, 03:05
scoop,

thanks for the post. for people like me who have never
driven any rs cars from audi it's nice to hear the car is
recommended by someone who actually ownes an rs.
its great to hear the car compares favorably to the
smaller and lighter rs4. espeacially enjoyed the coments
about its high speed handling and comfort.:0:

at the very least it helps make the wait worth it.:addict:

Reno
January 9th, 2003, 16:41
Nice story!! I just asked myself, what are you gonna do with RS4?? it such a nice car ( I hope you will keep it)

Greetz

scoop
January 9th, 2003, 16:43
Originally posted by Reno
Nice story!! I just asked myself, what are you gonna do with RS4?? it such a nice car ( I hope you will keep it)


Looks like I'm keeping it and get rid of the M Coupe as soon as the RS6 gets on stage.

Reno
January 9th, 2003, 16:47
I'm happy you'll keep the RS4, can't wait to see Pix of both your cars together:rs4addict :addict:

JP4
January 10th, 2003, 04:03
RS4 & RS6 in the same "stable".....Scoop.....you ARE da mann! :addict: :rs4addict :bow:

Dave
January 13th, 2003, 15:46
Excellent story.. and you won't be dissapointed..:race:

You are absolutly right about the S setting on the gear box.. it is absolutly amazing.. the car is always in the correct gear.. and it makes the odd decision that I think hang-on, but inveriably it's correct and you just get a torque rush that pulls the car out of every corner...

My car has just under 4000 miles on it now.. and it's better than ever.. the engine revs more freely and sounds superb. I was going to go with MTM, but am now thinking of Abt.. choices, choices :cool2:

I went to the Uk Autosport show at the NEC last week... Milltek have a new exhaust out for the RS6 worth about 10bhp.. free flowing and it looks fantastic.. still has the two oval pipes from the rear but they are larger in diameter.

The only down side is that my wife scraped two of the alloys :( :( , it's only the rims and not too noticable, but I do like the Abt 19" five spokes.. we'll see.. engine mods first !:alig:

Dave

JP4
January 14th, 2003, 02:05
Keep those great stories/anecdotes coming guys. They're taking some of the pain out of the waiting.

BTW-Do any of you recall seeing any female types on this forum? Just a curious observation.

Mr. Fru-T Pants
January 14th, 2003, 08:41
Dave...the Milltek exhausts have a fantastic tone. They can be tricky in fitment,
though, so make sure that if you purchase one, you receive some good solid
clamps. I believe they have rectified most of the issues w/ the previous
leakage, having said that. Also, make sure Forge doesn't make a similar, if
not identical exhaust for a little less. The two companies partnered up on the
S4 exhaust, then went their separate ways. Forge introduced its own product,
and it ended up beating the Milltek in price, and was almost a carbon copy.
The Milltek had a more pleasing aesthetic quality, IMO.

FWIW...

Patrick

Erik
January 14th, 2003, 15:16
Regarding the sports exhaust:
MTM have finished the work on it and are mapping the engine at the moment. As soon as I know more you will!

Rumor has it it will have some sort of valve that will open when the engine goes on full throttle. So a lot of V8 sound when accelerating and stealth-mode when driving slow in the city. :addict:

Nordschleife
January 14th, 2003, 15:27
Guys
The MTM exhaust is indeed finished. It has two round pipes each side. One pipe each side is open at all times, the second only opens under ECU control, for that fruitier sound.
The MTM exhaust has nothing to do with Miltek, Forge or anybody else, its a very substantial piece of engineering development. Having some knowledge as to what went in to its development, I can't understand why anybody would go for anything else. It has been tuned for both performance and its acoustic properties.
I am presently investigating having a version created which has two oval pipes each side, each the size of the quattro GmbH Sports exhaust, with the pipes being matte black anodysed. The problem is that a new rear lower trim piece would have to be manufactured to fit the pipes.
The new exhaust has metal cats, if you remove the cats, you too can havie flames out the exhaust!

R+C

Erik
January 14th, 2003, 15:38
Thanks for the more detailed update. Flames out of a 'family car' :MTM:

Maybe Ferrari has something similar, or at least the effect would be the same - compare picture with the pipes.

http://www.rs6.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20&highlight=ferrari

Dave
January 14th, 2003, 18:41
Sounds great guys.. now I'm edging back towards MTM.. was Abt.. now back to MTM.. hell!!!... I don't know where to go ???

Dave

taipan
January 15th, 2003, 00:51
If you look for a Ferrari sound, you may want to check Tubi Style, an Italian manufacturer in Fiorano, which provides after-market exhausts for Ferrari, Lamborghini, Corvette C5, Porsche 996 and BMW M3. I heard they had quite a prestige image within the Ferrari aficionados. They also produce some for offshore racing boats...
Not sure if they have a project for the RS6 (yet?) but last time I asked for an RS4, they mentionned they were looking for a car for developping it. So who knows, maybe an opportunity for someone ?

Their site http://www.tubistyle.it
(There's some flash animation that some may enjoy despite the load time).
And some neat exhaust pictures.


Eric