[V8] Re: Debate 200 20V vs. v8

[Carter Johnson]

Couple of things at work, as I see it.  

First, you have to remember that the turbo kick of the
80's was winding down.  BMW and Merc were releasing
increasingly larger, increasingly more powerful
versions of the 560 (later 500 and 600 SEL/SEC) and
the 735/750.  The 750 had almost 300 hp and even with
an auto was a rocket ship.  On the other hand, there
was the German muscle sedan kick at the same time -
the 88 M5 and later E34 M5 led the charge with the
E500 Merc hot on its tail (Of course, we can all thank
the 300SEL 6.9 for starting the rocket land yacht
trend).  The V8 and 200 20V surely had different
markets, just as the S8 and the S6/RS6 do today.  Audi
was trying at a very difficult time to woo away
potential BMW owners looking at a 750, and a 2.2 liter
5 cylinder - advanced though it may be at the time -
wouldn't do it.  Also, Porsche was backing away from
turbos (breifly!) and the markets for small
displacement cars in general were drying up - this is
the same time that VW went to the VR6 and displacement
- not super technical turbos - seemed like it was the
answer.  Having driven a 200 20V, an S4, my V8 4.2
(when it runs...), an 88 M5, a 500E, and many other of
these rocket saloons, it's easy to see why the 200
20V/S4 wasn't the answer to Audi's problems.  Turbo
lag doesn't sit well when you're spending lots of
money for a fast car. Of course, in the end it wasn't
the V8 either.  It was the A4 that changed BMW owner's
minds, and still does today.  

Carter

--- SuffolkD at aol.com wrote:

> 
> No doubt different target markets, not a mine's
> better than yours, but why 
> did Audi work two high end type 44 versions with
> such limited production numbers?
> -Scott by Boston
> 
> Here's the forum topic:
> http://forums.audiworld.com/v8/msgs/56857.phtml
> 


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