Audi RS6

[cegerer]

What's the story on the RS6? Was Porsche involved in this car? Was/is this available new in the USA?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6055&item=2488867824&rd=1

[UconnTim97]

I'm pretty sure they are now available in the US. Nice cars, and fast.

[rcm]

They are availible in the US. A friend has one and he has the courage to let me drive it occasionally. It goes like hell, paddle shifting, 450 horse, big reds. I do not know how involved porsche was but, one can assume they went diggin' thru parts bins for handling and stopping.

They cost as much or more than a new 911, I'm not sure which way I would go.

[speeder]

Those cars are just stupid fast.

[Adam]

The front brakes are 8-piston calipers!!!

Insane car.

[cegerer]

It's got to be the ultimate sleeper. Who would know it's anything special but for the true car nuts? I'm trying to figure out how this 2003 on eBay has only managed to accumulate 800 miles and how much the reserve is ....

[campbellcj]

Shares the top of my list of ultimate daily drivers with the E55 Benz. I drive along side one in my S4 for a while one day and was very impressed. That car really hauls w/o seeming to work very hard, unlike the S4 which really needs to be flogged.

[UconnTim97]

Yes it is a great car, but very heavy...I think it is over 4000lbs


http://www.fantasycars.com/sedans/html/rs6.html

[MFAFF]

I don't think Porsche had anything to do with it at all.

The last one they 'really' did was the RS2 (Audi 80 station wagon) which was badged as a Porsche as well as an Audi and the calipers still had Porsche script on (993 ones).

Still the formula is the same......

[layzee]

They were 968 brakes on the RS2 iirc.

[MFAFF]

968 wheel hubs effectively, but 993 calipers are the same(?)

[Halm]

Originally posted by campbellcj
...unlike the S4 which really needs to be flogged.

My wife just bought a '04 S4 and trust me, the V-8 does not need to be flogged.

[Bill Verburg]

There are 3 generations of S4(I have owned 1 of each)
gen1 circa 1993 5 cyl single turbo definitelly needed to be flogged for serious results, but very fast when driven thus.

gen 2 circa 2000 6 cyl twin turbo, faster, doesn't need to be flogged as much as gen 1, unless chipped

gen3 circa 2004, V8, n/a it's a whole nother ball game doesn't need to be flogged at all just faaasst.

[speeder]

Originally posted by Bill Verburg


gen3 circa 2004, V8, n/a it's a whole nother ball game doesn't need to be flogged at all just faaasst.

Then add twin turbos and go fast brakes and you have the RS6, a Bank robber's dream get away car.

[campbellcj]

I have the 2.7T S4 (2nd Gen) and I find that its performance really seems to vary. I know that is mainly because of spool lag and induction (intercooler) temps i.e. the heat soaking effect, and also perhaps variations in fuel quality. But most of all I believe it's due to weight, and factory designed understeer, neither of which can be completely dialed-out without turning it into a race car. A car that is fast in a straight line but a pig in the turns is of little interest to me. (I guess what I'm saying is that I like cars that are closer to 2000lbs than 4000).

The car is chipped w/ a 1bar GIAC Motronic setup and so in theory is putting out around 360lb-ft of torque. It does pull solidly -- i.e. table-flat torque curve -- from 2000rpm on up to redline which is far different from most Porsches (and kind of hard to get used to if you switch back and forth with other cars.)

But, sometimes the car "feels" fast as hell and other times it feels like an effin' dog that is slower than most minivans or SUV's on the local highways. The brakes are also frighteningly easy to fade on our local roads.

I still love the car and it puts smiles on my face several times per week, but suffice it to say it's my first turbo car and I'm not itching for another one (as a daily driver) anytime soon. Race cars can be a different matter, but IMHO for street hotrods there is a lot to be said for tuned NA engines of sufficient displacement to overpower the continual weight gains we seem to see each year.

[serge944]

I have to agree. Handing means much more than straight line speed. My 944 is slow, but i wouldnt trade it for a lot of the v8 pigs available today.

[MFAFF]

The initial S2/S4 series, gen 1 from 1993, is the 'original' Audi quattro model.

Its got the single turbo charged five cylinder engine mounted longitudinally with the majority of the engine being in front of the front axle line...talk about a difficcult engine location...well the 911 manages as well. To get the most out of it I find that a similar driving style to the 911 is the best, get the braking done nice and early in a straight line, and apply power before the apex to make sure any understeer occurs once you are 'thro' the curve. Cannot take too much speed into the curve without risking a washout from that weight up front..

I have a the S2 wagon, with its 230hp and 258lbs ft as a daily driver and it does need a firm prod to get going, but fly it does....

Around town its great 'cos nobody knows what it is and if you want you can trundle around in complete amonimity but if you need to get moving its a prod away...scare many 911s quite easily

Great car, but for all its speed it is no sports car.

Tried the later versions including the RS4 and the same applies, they get even quicker but they do not get any sportier.

[cegerer]

I thought this was the original Quattro model? Around 1986/87 maybe. A friend had one brand new. 5 cylinder Turbo. Not real fast, but at the time all-wheel drive was something of a novelty and a real blast. Especially on those ski trips in the snow.

[MFAFF]

Yep, that's the original quattro, the S2/S4 was its successor.

What I meant was its the only S car (except the S1 which was the SWB sport quattro) that used the same layout, ie five cylinder turbo engine 4wd...subsequent S cars had even number cylindered engines...not the same at all...a bit like long hoods and short hoods....

Seriously tho the refinement present in the later cars means the earlier ones, especially the RS2 are gaining a real following in the Audi crowd....