Mori
October 22nd, 2006, 11:00
Two days after the event has put some perspective on the matter, so I will try to quickly relay my feelings regarding the cars that I drove.
We took out the RS4's first in the morning, for a small drifting event. Basically, the instructors asked us to floor it from a standstill and at about 100-120km/h we came up upon a 90 left hand turn on the rack. We were supposed to abruptly let go of the accelerator in the beggining of the turn, and lightly press the brake in exactly the middle of the turn. Now some of you are probably smiling already, knowing what will happen, and yet disbelief that it will be possible in the dry with those grippy 255 tires will stain your minds. Yes, the car starts to drift very nicely and it is soooo easy to control in the drift that I was in total shock. It easily bested the Mitsu Evo9 which handles really well in a drift and is very easy to control. Anyway - Audi is now the Ultimate Driving Machine(TM) in my book after just that display of control and simplicity.
We took turns later in the morning in various S8's, S6's and the new TT's with DSG (V6 quattro).
In the afternoon we were lapping the track in all the cars; 6 laps per car or so, so it took us into the late afternoon. I must say that I am very spoiled ever since there's a 911 C4S (997) in our family and I get to drive it from time to time. It is of course so much more perfect than my S3 which I prize highly.
Regardless, the new TT is a toy in my eyes. It is less fun to drive than my S3, the DSG is super quick but its not a Porsche Tiptronic (where it doesn't shift gears if you don't want it to - it will run the rev limiter until you shift or the engines blows). The build quality is worse that it was, worse that on my S3 - well maybe not so much the build quality, but the materials used are cheap in feel and sight.
The S8 is very refined, but its so quiet inside, that you don't hear the engine that much, nor do you feel the acceleration. It handles extremely well in corners, especially on smoking tires, and it was near to impossible to get it to go sideways, using all the little tricks such as liftoff, braking, twitching the steering wheel the other was and back. A very comfortable car for long journeys but with that sporty attitude when you want it. Yet despite all of that it did not impress me. It lacks the grin factor.
The S6 was very much the same, the suspension merely a tad less uncomfortable, the noise coming from the engine more distinct, and the gearbox a little more responsive in the form of faster shifts; smooth yet not creamy smooth as the S8.
All of the above cars had a very nice growl to the engine, if perhaps a little too high-pitched in the TT. You did have to let the windows down in the S8 to fully appreciate it though. :)
And now the RS4 - the most perfect sports car in the saloon range. It doesn't match the 911 in my eyes in terms of handling yet it is so close, that its a no brainer if you need a big car. Understeer - what understeer?! In comparison my S3 feels like it has 90% of its mass up front! The difference is huge. The acceleration is quite appealing as well. ;) I was so caught up in the car that I forgot to ask if it had the SS+ fitted or the stock suspension, but I considering it was fully optioned with ceramics too, I would dare to say it did have the sports suspension. Which was perfect by the way. It hardly let the body roll, yet it wasn't a bone-jarring experience either. It is easily stiffer than the coilovers that are on my S3, yet as the same time so much more comfortable. And the most important thing of all - the grin-factor: you could shovel it out of the car all day and there would still be enough left for a lifetime. The engine sound was truly wonderful - like a spaceship when it was cold before the exhaust warmed up, to a mild growl after a few laps, and to a vicious roar when I pressed the S-button the steering wheel; the bucket seats are ideal - they fit you so snuggly that you could wrap up a toddler in them and they would sleep forever. At first I thought the throttle response was fantastic, until I pressed the afore-mentioned S-button. Razor-blade sharp.
So now starts the pain, as I have to wait for my RS4 to arrive in mid-novembre. Oh the agony! :rs4addict
Last but not least: they presented the new R8 - not yet a production version, but there would no visible differences once they show up on the street. Beauty and the Beast (behind the seats that is!).
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/3198/l1505003tw8.th.jpg (http://img140.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505003tw8.jpg) http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/7581/l1505004pq9.th.jpg (http://img220.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505004pq9.jpg)
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/2870/l1505005jy0.th.jpg (http://img100.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505005jy0.jpg) http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/708/l1505006ai1.th.jpg (http://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505006ai1.jpg)
http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/7286/l1505007wg7.th.jpg (http://img155.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505007wg7.jpg) http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/7282/l1505008vr3.th.jpg (http://img226.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505008vr3.jpg)
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/2738/l1505009ix3.th.jpg (http://img140.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505009ix3.jpg) http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/2786/l1505011yh4.th.jpg (http://img86.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505011yh4.jpg)
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http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/9199/l1505025qy9.th.jpg (http://img84.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505025qy9.jpg) http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/2769/l1505026rl8.th.jpg (http://img225.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505026rl8.jpg)
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http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/4048/l1505029rp7.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505029rp7.jpg)
We took out the RS4's first in the morning, for a small drifting event. Basically, the instructors asked us to floor it from a standstill and at about 100-120km/h we came up upon a 90 left hand turn on the rack. We were supposed to abruptly let go of the accelerator in the beggining of the turn, and lightly press the brake in exactly the middle of the turn. Now some of you are probably smiling already, knowing what will happen, and yet disbelief that it will be possible in the dry with those grippy 255 tires will stain your minds. Yes, the car starts to drift very nicely and it is soooo easy to control in the drift that I was in total shock. It easily bested the Mitsu Evo9 which handles really well in a drift and is very easy to control. Anyway - Audi is now the Ultimate Driving Machine(TM) in my book after just that display of control and simplicity.
We took turns later in the morning in various S8's, S6's and the new TT's with DSG (V6 quattro).
In the afternoon we were lapping the track in all the cars; 6 laps per car or so, so it took us into the late afternoon. I must say that I am very spoiled ever since there's a 911 C4S (997) in our family and I get to drive it from time to time. It is of course so much more perfect than my S3 which I prize highly.
Regardless, the new TT is a toy in my eyes. It is less fun to drive than my S3, the DSG is super quick but its not a Porsche Tiptronic (where it doesn't shift gears if you don't want it to - it will run the rev limiter until you shift or the engines blows). The build quality is worse that it was, worse that on my S3 - well maybe not so much the build quality, but the materials used are cheap in feel and sight.
The S8 is very refined, but its so quiet inside, that you don't hear the engine that much, nor do you feel the acceleration. It handles extremely well in corners, especially on smoking tires, and it was near to impossible to get it to go sideways, using all the little tricks such as liftoff, braking, twitching the steering wheel the other was and back. A very comfortable car for long journeys but with that sporty attitude when you want it. Yet despite all of that it did not impress me. It lacks the grin factor.
The S6 was very much the same, the suspension merely a tad less uncomfortable, the noise coming from the engine more distinct, and the gearbox a little more responsive in the form of faster shifts; smooth yet not creamy smooth as the S8.
All of the above cars had a very nice growl to the engine, if perhaps a little too high-pitched in the TT. You did have to let the windows down in the S8 to fully appreciate it though. :)
And now the RS4 - the most perfect sports car in the saloon range. It doesn't match the 911 in my eyes in terms of handling yet it is so close, that its a no brainer if you need a big car. Understeer - what understeer?! In comparison my S3 feels like it has 90% of its mass up front! The difference is huge. The acceleration is quite appealing as well. ;) I was so caught up in the car that I forgot to ask if it had the SS+ fitted or the stock suspension, but I considering it was fully optioned with ceramics too, I would dare to say it did have the sports suspension. Which was perfect by the way. It hardly let the body roll, yet it wasn't a bone-jarring experience either. It is easily stiffer than the coilovers that are on my S3, yet as the same time so much more comfortable. And the most important thing of all - the grin-factor: you could shovel it out of the car all day and there would still be enough left for a lifetime. The engine sound was truly wonderful - like a spaceship when it was cold before the exhaust warmed up, to a mild growl after a few laps, and to a vicious roar when I pressed the S-button the steering wheel; the bucket seats are ideal - they fit you so snuggly that you could wrap up a toddler in them and they would sleep forever. At first I thought the throttle response was fantastic, until I pressed the afore-mentioned S-button. Razor-blade sharp.
So now starts the pain, as I have to wait for my RS4 to arrive in mid-novembre. Oh the agony! :rs4addict
Last but not least: they presented the new R8 - not yet a production version, but there would no visible differences once they show up on the street. Beauty and the Beast (behind the seats that is!).
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/3198/l1505003tw8.th.jpg (http://img140.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505003tw8.jpg) http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/7581/l1505004pq9.th.jpg (http://img220.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505004pq9.jpg)
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/2870/l1505005jy0.th.jpg (http://img100.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505005jy0.jpg) http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/708/l1505006ai1.th.jpg (http://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505006ai1.jpg)
http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/7286/l1505007wg7.th.jpg (http://img155.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505007wg7.jpg) http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/7282/l1505008vr3.th.jpg (http://img226.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505008vr3.jpg)
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/2738/l1505009ix3.th.jpg (http://img140.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505009ix3.jpg) http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/2786/l1505011yh4.th.jpg (http://img86.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505011yh4.jpg)
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/6054/l1505012qq1.th.jpg (http://img246.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505012qq1.jpg) http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/4140/l1505013pv6.th.jpg (http://img213.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505013pv6.jpg)
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/6404/l1505014ha9.th.jpg (http://img208.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505014ha9.jpg) http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/7386/l1505016hd2.th.jpg (http://img138.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505016hd2.jpg)
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/7471/l1505018jv6.th.jpg (http://img134.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505018jv6.jpg) http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/9128/l1505019fq0.th.jpg (http://img92.imageshack.us/my.php?image=l1505019fq0.jpg)
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