[s-cars] RS6

[Robin St.Clair]

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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]

Guys

To clarify some points which have been made:

One poster wondered if the RS6 is coming to America - yes it is, definate, =
no maybe.

The same poster, I think, speculated about a BMW XM - the car which Hans St=
uck hustled round the Nordschleife in an 8 minute-ish time was extensively =
modified by the M division of BMW. Mark you, Hansi could hustle a Buick pre=
tty damn quick round the Nordschleife.

A number of posters are condemning the RS6 automatic Gearbox untried and un=
seen. As the only person I know who habitually double declutches as a matte=
r of course on a daily basis (put it down to a rural upbringing), I really =
was disappointed by the automatic only specification. I even took steps to =
find a suitable manual gearbox, and obtained quotations for fitting it, whi=
ch is quite complicated as the control of the Automatic is embedded in the =
engine electronics (so it doesn't shift on you in corners, I expect). Well =
after driving the RS6 several times, I no longer DEMAND a manual gearbox, t=
he automatic is so good it does not select innappropriate gears at innoppor=
tune times. Now, I don't know anybody else who has driven it and still dema=
nds an automatic gearbox.

Similarly, the "but it doesn't have the driving dynamics of a BMW" school o=
f argument no longer applies, you have good feedback and can put the rear e=
nd where you want it, this car is competent. By the way, many real M5 affic=
ionados bitch about what a pig the current M5 is with its front end heavine=
ss (by afficionado, I mean those who drive the car hard rather than the bar=
 hard).

Audi does have some sporting stuff on the radar - new 6 speed for the S4, n=
ew SMG box, RSR developed with Lamborghini, Avantissimo based A8 'Sportivo'=
, new RS4 with much stronger rear bias 4WD.

In a spirit of progressive enquiry, lets reserve judgement on cars until we=
 have driven them, not condemn them by extrapolation based upon our own exp=
eriences to date, when there has been a quantum shift in behaviour, extrapo=
lation falls down.

The problem with "soft suspensioned" S4s in North America is 3-fold, the qu=
ality of the roads, the expectations of the drivers and the perception by A=
OA that they are delivering what is required. I recently drove a firmly spr=
unk RS4 in Germany which I thought perfect, even on Autobahn with with huge=
 expansion gaps. Somebody else thought it was a boneshaker on British roads=
, which tend to be better than the US roads I have driven on. I suspect the=
re is no answer to this question.

R+C



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