there is a great deal of discussion over these issues. and i wanted to highlight them.
i think the R8 weighs what it does simply because it is what audi wanted. i remember sitting down to talk to one of the chief RS4 development engineers in geneva. he told me that audi designs cars "backwards". that is, an executive decision is made to achieve basic, non-negotiable INTERNAL goals for the car. in many cases these goals, though reached, are never advertised as such. some of these goals are actually downgraded publicly.
case in point. the RS4 0-60 time. the on-paper goal for the RS4 was for it to hit 60 in 4.5 seconds. consistently. and it does. at least developmentally. then they advertise a higher number (why? you figure that out yourself, i suppose). despite this, some car mags do worse (and some better). ultimately all averaging, you guessed it, about 4.5 seconds. intriguing.
he told me similar things about power output. and he also told me that when the car and its numbers are drawn up (way before any engines, power outputs, and such have been calculated) there is also an equipment specification that is assigned to the car. that is. there are certain items that are expected to be standard on the car whose presence is non-negotiable (that is, in order to achieve the performance numbers, engineers cannot delete these items at whim nor add any items. although they can redesign them in order to be less intrusive or complementary to the final end of the car) as long as, of course, their redesign does not impact yet another number, production cost (and overall reliability). interesting, huh? this whole process burns a lot of people out. and this process is why parts-bin sharing is so crucial. redesigning a part that has been tried and tested is a last option, usually.
so. we have the R8. the R8 was designed to be what pictures show (and what some lucky ones of us have seen) and what the numbers in the text imply. a luxurious, very fast, very exclusive, comfortable, and very fancy-looking car. and it was planned from the get-go to be all of those things the way audi interpreted those things to be. whether you or i agree with audi or not is a whole other thing. (discussion is fun anyway)
personally, as i've stated before, i am sure this car is faster than a 997 4S with the power pack and sport exhaust (at 116K USD), and it will likely retail for less, out of the box, here in the US- about 100K with the magnetic ride option as standard. and i predict it'll handle better.
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now the V10. audi wants to compete in the future with upcoming offerings from competitors. and the V10 is actually pretty much ready. but it is not its time. its time will come. very soon. (it might coincide with the appearance of a bimmer we shall see before 2007 is over.......) a benz you said? i don't know. that will depend on the stubborness of the folks over at mclaren.
will the V10 be the same as the RS6? i do not claim to know. but i do not think it will be. why? re-read paragraphs 2 and 4 if you already forgot
finally, at IT'S pricepoint. the V10 will finally silence most critics.... because that one will definitely be capable of 60 in less than 4.0 seconds. regardless of what the final official power figures state. don't ask me how i know. :king:
that is all. cheers, gentlemen. and bon nuit........
and thank you for your time.
i humbly remain.
RXBG
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Originally Posted by m3fan
