Fastest stickiest Audi? Opinions welcome.

[Phil Payne <quk@sievers.com>]

In message <2.2.32.19960929180021.006e1f2c@e-z.net> Fringe Ryder writes:

> Philosophically, I guess the question would be:
> 
> Is AWD theoretically superior in dry conditions?

> I haven't seen any evidence that AWD is superior in dry conditions, but that
> may be simply because BMW focuses on sportier driving than Audi.

Evidence is easy.  In the British Touring Car Championships that finished last 
weekend, the AWD Audis carried a 30kg weight penalty over the RWD BMWs.  And 
won both the drivers' and the manufacturers' championships. 

BMW, and others, asked for the weight penalty because the Audis simply wiped 
them out in the first five races of the season.  Same engine size, same weight 
limit, same tyres.  AWD first, every time.  Once by half a lap in a 20-lap 
race.  And just like Group B in 1983 -the only way to stop AWD winning is to 
change the rules to discriminate against it.

BMW concentrate on image, not on sporty driving.  If you take a standard A4Q 
and invest in tuning packages to equal the price of an M3, you have a package 
that holds an M3 in a straight line and just disappears at the first bend.

If you saw the first heat last weekend at Brands Hatch, you'd know why the 
Audis are so superior.  There was a 'nasty' halfway round the first lap, and 
none of the RWDs had sufficient grip in reserve to avoid it.  Look at the head-
on slow motion shot of Bintcliffe steering round the out-of-control RWDs - it's 
an object lesson in what AWD vs RWD is all about.

--
 Phil Payne
 phil@sievers.com
 Committee Member, UK Audi [ur-]quattro Owners Club