S models coming to North America in 1999!

["Ricardo David" <ricardo.david@worldnet.att.net>]

I attended the Road America Quattro Club event the past couple of
days and had a great time with my A4 1.8tqm.  I enjoyed meeting some
of the faces behind the email addresses that I see on the list.  And
most of all my Road America track time was a ton of fun, a total
blast. Need some stickier tires however.. and springs... (here we
go...)

Anyway, an Audi of America Product Planner was on hand to give a
presentation at the Monday night dinner. I can't remember his name,
but he did an excellent job going through the '98 product line and
summarizing all the changes. What was on everyone's minds was "when
is Audi going to start bringing the S models back to the US?."  The
Audi product planner discussed the point that you have to have a
proper base to build a sport model on.  A base with significant
numbers. He alluded to the BMW stategy of first bringing in your base
model, then add a larger engine variant, then bring in the M version.
 He did not say this directly but this was his point. You establish a
large base and then bring in your performance variants.  In the case
of the A6, you bring in the base model v6, then possibly add the v8
that I heard rumors about, then add the S model.

But in the end the most revealing comments was "Trust me, you will
see performance variants in the future, I assure you."  He said there
would be two performance variants in 1999.  One can assume this means
S4 and S6. 

I'm not sure who is on the list that help organize and run the event,
but if you are, thanks a lot, I had a blast and am sure to return
next year.  

Other interesting bits,
in 1999 Sport Pkg on A6 will appear
in 1999 A4 1.8t AVANT will appear
$500 sport seats available on A4 no leather for 1.8t sport seats
(dealer council didn't want it)

Ricardo David
'97 A4 1.8tqm w/Wetterauer chip