Audi News

[fjg@ch.hp.com (Frederic Gittler)]

My cultural background (I am French, living in the USA) leads me to read
other Automobile magazines than most on this mailing list. I have some news
I have not seen posted before.


In the January 95 issue of L'Automobile Magazine, there is an overview of
the new cars planned for 1995. According to this, Audi will add a 30 valve
head to its 2.8 liter V6. This engine is said to deliver 193HP. It should be
introduced in the European A6 in September 95. Will this be enough to
correct the perceived lack of performance of the V6 Audis in the US?


This list has been discussing at length the merits of the 5 cylinder S6 and
of the 8 cylinder A8. French magazines seem to prefer a "mid-point",
unfortunately unavailable here: the 8 cylinder S6, with 290 hp and 295
lbs.ft of torque. Even though the V8 gives its max torque at 4000 rpm, it
delivers 220 lbs.ft starting at 1000 rpm. Note that this is the same engine
as the A8, but it delivers 10 hp less, and is mated to the 5 or 6 speed
manual gearbox. It is also the same engine as the V8, with slight
performance improvements. With this combination, the car is quite fast
(sorry for the sparse matrix, I do not have all the numbers available):

                     0-62MPH   0-1km (.625mile)  0-1/4 mile
  A8 4.2 quattro       7.7s         27.6s
  S4 4.2 quattro       6.0s         25.9s                    (*)
  S4 2.2 quattro       6.7s         27.5s          14.9s
  RS2 2.2 quattro      5.1s         25.2s          13.8s
  (*) Note: the 94 S4 4.2 (measured) delivers only 280 hp

A last note: based on prices in France, considering exchange rates, taxes,
and the like, I estimate the S6 4.2 would be approximately $10,000 more than
the S6 2.2 turbo if it were available here.
---
Frederic "AWD" Gittler

'94 Audi S4 Quattro
'91 Toyota Previa LE All Trac
'86 Volkswagen Quantum Syncro