Concept quattro to production quattro.

[SAF]

Let's call it the quattro.30

Personally, I'd like to see this car be made available with as few frills as possible. Fewer gadgets = less weight and less to break. Make it an enthusiast's machine while keeping it enthusiastically well priced. A big factor in this is how to get the weight reduction without using high $ CF and aluminum everywhere.

To start - no 6-cd changer and heavy collection of speakers stuck in everywhere, no sunroof, no 50 function computer with nav, no 12-way adjustable heated seats, a rear deck instead of a rear passenger compartment and all the bits that entails, a two function streering wheel (like the C5 RS6) - steering and horn, and a simple yet effective manually adjustable suspension system (paired with wider wheels) and a lightweight (and larger) fixed rear spoiler.

Thoughts?

[Marlo]

I think a good stereo is definitely needed it's a big part of the everyday driving experience IMO, no back seat is fine to make up for the weight though. Agree with you on not going over the top with expensive materials to lighten weight, so good race buckets with a tilt and slide feature is sufficient. Manual transmission only, and open the customization options (interior/exterior) in the same way it is for the Euro market I would love to have those diamond stitched seats.

[ben916]

sounds like the F40 of Audi...
Bone stripped but HUGE hp... and the obligatory AM/FM tuner with $hitbird speakers

[SAF]

LOL, and maybe a cd player optional - that's what I'm talking about!

[V8weight]

[ben916]

Is that the optional seatbelt?

I would really dig a late model-esque S1 stripped down quattro...

[Ruergard]

Strip it, make it hardcore and let it spit some fire. C'mon!

[S6V10Avant]

Being the modern interpretation of the ur quattro I would like it to have dsg with large paddles fixed to the steering column or a propper sequential shift with very fast shifting speed. If sequential, it should be pulled to shift up and pushed to shift down like all racing/rally cars. Further, no ABS, TCS or ESP.

[Joker]

No ABS or ESP?

If I were to buy one of these then I would like both to be present because I like that safety net on the occasions that I drive quickly on the road as you never know what or who might pull out on you, but on the track the ESP needs to be able to switch off completely. As for how stripped it would need to be, not too far I hope, I still want aircon and a stereo with decent sound is a must but electric seats and the other luxuries we have become accustomed too are extra weight that's not needed on a focused driver's car.

[tailpipe]

Sadly, I don't think that the Quattro Concept as shown in Paris will ever make production, especially as Martinkorn (head of the VW Group) has stated that the cost of putting a new body on the shortened A5 platform is likely to be in the region of €400-€500 million. I also think that such a car would kill the RS5, although it probably wouldn't matter if the QC arrived in three years time.

What I think is more likely is two other cars. One is the RS3 with the 5-cylinder engine, which we already know about and should arrive soon. The other is the new R4 with a transverse rear mid-mounted 5-cylinder engine developing 408 bhp and with a 7-speed S-Tronic gearbox. This would be the Audi version of the VW Bluesport concept. It would be a two-seater coupe, as per the eTron concept shown earlier this year.

I would love to be wrong, but I just don't see how the business case for the Quattro Concept stacks up. Based on total costs of €500 million, a limited 3,000 units production run would translate into a development cost of around €167,000 per car. if Audi were to go for volume, the market for such a focused machine might only be 10,000 units per annum, which translates into a unit cost of around €50,000. That is a massive overhead cost compared to standard A5 models and delivers a pitiful margin and profit potential. Given that competitors, as well as Audi itself, are investing in some pretty fancy hybrid technology and that hybrid technology is changing radically every 6 months, the Quattro concept could be a white elephant by the time it comes to market. If i were Winterkorn, the risks would be too great for me.

What I will say about the Quattro concept is that, in many ways, it is what the RS5 should have been. But now, not in 3 years time. A lightened A5 chassis weighing considerably less than 1,600 kg and with a 5-cylinder engine developing 400 bhp, would have been better than the ancient set-up we actually got. I think the the QC simply underlines the RS5's deficiencies. Taking another two years to bring it to market just adds insult to injury.

(Tailpipe puts on flame suit quickly and tries to exit building.)

[Benman]

What I will say about the Quattro concept is that, in many ways, it is what the RS5 should have been. But now, not in 3 years time. A lightened A5 chassis weighing considerably less than 1,600 kg and with a 5-cylinder engine developing 400 bhp, would have been better than the ancient set-up we actually got. I think the the QC simply underlines the RS5's deficiencies. Taking another two years to bring it to market just adds insult to injury.

(Tailpipe puts on flame suit quickly and tries to exit building.)

No need for the flame suit on the quoted portion as you speaketh the truth!

[R5T]

The other is the new R4 with a transverse rear mid-mounted 5-cylinder engine developing 408 bhp and with a 7-speed S-Tronic gearbox. This would be the Audi version of the VW Bluesport concept. It would be a two-seater coupe, as per the eTron concept shown earlier this year.

The R4 will not be based on the Bluesport, maybe you have not noticed it but the last e-tron III concept have a longitudinal V6 TDI engine and have grown a bit.
It's clear that Audi have repositioned the car by making it longer, but it is still shorter then the TT.

[PeterJohn]

My guess is that the TT is on its way out, and we'll get a "Torsen-TT" which will also be the base for the Quattro Sport. (That would leave room for a 2door A3 coupé on the transverse platform.) Even though the TT performs as well as other small sportcars, its Golf DNA with the front biased traction will always be a disadvantage in a market for enthusiast drivers. I think with a proper drivetrain it'll be on the top of a lot more lists. Like a lightweight GT-R.

[Joker]

My guess is that the TT is on its way out, and we'll get a "Torsen-TT" which will also be the base for the Quattro Sport. (That would leave room for a 2door A3 coupé on the transverse platform.) Even though the TT performs as well as other small sportcars, its Golf DNA with the front biased traction will always be a disadvantage in a market for enthusiast drivers. I think with a proper drivetrain it'll be on the top of a lot more lists. Like a lightweight GT-R.

This is a very well thoughtout response. Have Audi stated that the TT is on it's way out, I wasn't aware of it and even if they did would want to replace it with a proper two seater?

Now if Audi could offer us a TT type car which was just a practical with a hatchback boot and rear seats which could be used for children but has a proper quattro drivetrain at under £45k then sign me up.

[tailpipe]

This is a very well thoughtout response. Have Audi stated that the TT is on it's way out, I wasn't aware of it and even if they did would want to replace it with a proper two seater?

Now if Audi could offer us a TT type car which was just a practical with a hatchback boot and rear seats which could be used for children but has a proper quattro drivetrain at under £45k then sign me up.

Amen.

My brother, a longstanding Porsche fan, had a nasty experience of lift-off snap oversteer in a 911 back in 1983. A few days later a friend turned up to lunch in one of these new Audi Quattros. One blast around the country lanes of Leiceestershire and he was hooked. He owned two and would have bought a third, if Audi had replaced it. The Audi coupe that succeeded the Quattro was never quite in the same dynamic league. The Quattro wasn't perfect, but unlike the 911, at least it had two decent rear seats. The boot was not good either. All things considered, it was a brilliant car. Truly, it was the thinking man's sports car. I guess the RS2 was a Quattro for a new age, but it cost a bomb.

So, Joker, I share your enthusiasm for the Quattro 30 Concept. I agree that it has to be a 2+2 hatch. And I don't think Audi should use Haldex in any of its models. A proper Torsen set-up with a longitudinal 5-cylinder engine is perfect. I see such a car as being a perfect competitor to not only the 911 but equally the BMW M3.

It's amazing that by returning to an almost identical formula to that of the orginal Quattro, Audi has created a car more capable than today's crop of overweight V8 supercars. The more things change, the less things change. Less is more. I can't think of any more cliches.

[Erik]

Not reall on topic, but I feel I have to post this.

Not sure about the fire around the engine however...

[Qisha]

Not reall on topic, but I feel I have to post this.

Not sure about the fire around the engine however...

http://www.rs6.com/showthread.php/20...l=1#post196682

[Erik]

Sorry missed it...second place again.