Re: quattro vs. Syncro??

[Unka Bart <mendicant@buddhist.com>]

> >Quattro is Audi speak for all wheel drive - Syncro is VW-speak. They are
> >purely marketing terms.

This is an accurate statement, as far as it goes, but one needs to keep in
mind that VW has used the term "Syncro" to describe both purely
gear-driven, as in the original Audi Quattro system (used by the Quantum
Syncro) and viscous-linked (as used by the Vanagon Syncro and the Rallye
[ye gods, how *is* that spelled?] Golf).  And it looks like Audi might do
the same with the A-3 et al.

> >If the engine is longitudinally placed and drives all 4 wheels, then
> >it's the classic Audi drivetrain: no VC couplings - either open or
> >Torsen center diff (the V8Q with automatic is the odd duck with an
> >electronically controlled multi-plate center diff).  If the engine is
> >transverse, then it uses the viscous center diff.  Until recently, all
> >Audi's used the former, but the upcoming A3, TT, and TTS quattros will
> >use the latter.
>
> NOT TRUE!  My Syncro Double Cab (Vanagon with a PU Bed) has a
> longitudinally place engine and it is definatly Syncro.  The Porsche 911 C4
> is the same too.  Both use a VC, but then a lot of other non
> VW/Audi/Porsche companies are using VCs too.

This statement about the C4 Porker is an equally slippery one.  The 964
version  used a simpler version of the 959, computer-controlled but purely
gear/clutch-linkage; the 993 versions have gone to the viscous system.

Yer kindly ol' Whatizname...