Re: Ferdinand Piech interview/article in Fortune magazine...

[Aleksander Mierzwa <alex@matrix.pl>]

At 22:26 99-03-17 -0500, Elliott Potter wrote:

>I mean think about it, in terms of 'sporty', does the A4 match the 3
>series?  

The current E46 model is probably the least sporty 3-series ever made.
German press actually says that "it feels more Mercedes-like than the
Mercedes itself". And there's no true performance model available so far.
Audi already has the new S4, but we have still to wait for the new M3. I
believe that the 1.8T Quattro with sport package fills the definition of
"sporty" much better that any of the current 3-series models.

>A8 match the 7 series?  Well, one out of three ain't bad...or is it?

The 750i was an impressive car when it was introduced in 1987, but this was
12 years ago and the current E38 model AFAIK is not far from the original
E32 model. Now, Audi has made a great step forward in the last 10 years or
so and there's some impressive technology incorporated into the A8 -
aluminium chassis, quattro, 5 valve engines. The current 7 series is just
plain inferior in probably every aspect to the A8. And in terms of
"sporty", there's no BMW that could match the S8. The 750i is a fast car,
but it's available only as an automatic and the suspension belongs to a
luxury cruiser rather than performance machine. I'd love to see an M7
model, but BMW just fails to build it, while Audi has filled this niche
with the S8.

Aleksander Mierzwa
Warsaw, Poland
mailto:alex@matrix.pl
87 Audi 5000CS turbo (mine)
88 Renault Medallion wagon (mom's)
91 mountain bike (just in case both cars break at the same time :-)