audi news

[David Eaton]

courtesy of a 2 week holiday at the beach, i've got plenty
of time to read. the april issue of "car" magazine reveals
the following audi factoids: 

1) a good drive/review of the le mans (by georg kacher:
speed limited, but nevertheless loving the
ride/handling/power & braking of the car), with great pics. 
2) the le mans, as driven is the spec that will make
production with the following changes: 
- wheels 19", not 20" (235/35/19 fr, 295/30/19 r) 
- revised front packaging to improve luggage space 
- secondary storage wil be created behind the seats 
- fuel tank increased to 90litres 
- weight reduced from 1530kg to 1450kg through better use of
aluminium. 
- engine at launch will be a 4.2 fsi v8 with individual
throttle bodies, 32valves, 380bhp and 302lb ft. 
- transmissions will be either dsl 700 (dual clutch) or
6-speed manual. 
- 3 years after launch, a v10 will be added - 5.2l 500bhp &
387lb ft. this will be launched after the gallardo has been
face-lifted (and it's engine increased to 550-600bhp). 

other news: 
not a great surprise, "car" likes the look of the new a6 -
"the look of the new a6 annexes the middle ground between
bmw's avant-garde 5-series and merc's evolutionary e-class.
very smart.." 

s6: late 2006 
- v10, 5.2l 420bhp, 376lb ft. 

rs6: 
- v8 32v twin turbo fsi 
- 500bhp, 456lb ft. 

rs4: mid-2005 
- n/a v8 fsi 4.2l 
- individual throttle bodies 
- 420bhp, 311lb ft 

quattro:
quattro will gradually adopt the new torsen "c" unit
(debuted in the le mans) which integrates a platentary gear
set with the torsen, and will migrate to a 40:60 fr:r torque
split. both the s6 & rs6 will have the new unit.

dave 
'01 s8