Re: Fastest Wagon (was: 90 90Q 20V vs. 97 S6 vs. 98 A4 30V)

[Ramana Lagemann <elmool@tiac.net>]

On Wed, 23 Jul 1997 17:11:51 -0400 (EDT) Kwattro@aol.com wrote :

> Not to toot your horn, as I don't care for teh Volvo either, but look which
> one is still in production

First of all, the S6 and S6 plus were still in production up untill
about 9 months ago, when Audi began readying itself for the completely
new A6. You can't consider the S6 "out of production" just because it
was not imported to the US even though it was still rolling off of the
assmebly line in Germany.
Audi as we speak are preparing a new S6 based on the new A6. You cannot
discount them because they are in the middle of introducing a COMPLETELY
different model... it's not like ovloV just changing the headlights and
calling an 850 a V70 

>and look who just came out with a sophisticated AWD system.  

According to more than a few published articles, from mostly European
magazines, the new ovloV AWD system leaves _much_ to be desired... from
what I gather it is too sophistacated and all of it's high tech
components together just do not meld.

> How far away is the 850R awd?  And in European Car, IPD states
> the factory specs for the 850R wagon, which are 0-60 in the 6's and 158mph.

Reread what you wrote above. Are you telling me I should take ipd's
claim of the factory's over-inflated claim? I already produced actual
TESTS from Road & Track which stated 0-60 in 7.2 seconds for the 850R...
 
>  Which is right with the S6, which is no longer available, unless you want to
> say "eh?" a lot.    

If you want to beleive the factory claims, the 850R is "right with" the
S6, but it has already been proven that the 850R is much slower than the
factory says it is...
Before you argue that point regarding factory figures, I compared Audi's
acceleration claims with Motor Trend's test results of an S4 sedan.
Audi's literature says that the S6 sedan has a 0-60 time of 6.2 seconds.
Motor Trend got a 0-60 time of 5.9 seconds from virtuallly the same
automobile, which would lead me to beleive that Audi's factory claims
are under-exaggerated and _at least_ completely beleivable.

> Again, I state that as much as I love Audis, it is 
> undeniable that they are not always the best at everything.  

Too bad you don't share the same opinion as me  8*)

> I also don't
> really agree with your gearing theory.  I believe that the 145 mph limit is
> caused by the huge tires which stick out the sides of the car and the roof
> racks, which really don't help top speed runs at all.  Just my opinion,
> though.

Your above theory is a valid one, but I have found most Audis to be
overgeared, which supports my idea that the S6 just runs out of RPMs to
push it's top speed any further. While aerodynamics can be/are a
limiting factor, I beleive that they are not THE limiting factor...

-Ramana

-- 
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* Ramana Lagemann		          
* Cohasset, MA	
* mailto:elmool@tiac.net			
* 1990 Coupe Q	
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