urs6ville

My good friend from college who incidentally was the previous owner of my UrS6 got a chance of a lifetime this weekend... thought I would share his email that he sent me... (he lives in Munich)
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So Car and Driver was in Munich on Friday and Sunday. Dave Vanderwerp and Tony Quiroga were here to evaluate:

1. the new M3 -red, carbon roof, 6 speed, V8 tucked in for Center of Gravity
2. RS4-yellow, ceramic brakes, awesome seats, D shape wheel, AWD of course, and a V8 way up front. 6 speed
3. AMG C63. That's right, 6.3 liters (420 cubic inches or something) 4 tailpipes, I think 8 piston calipers out front, manumatic trans

The photo car was a 911 cabrio 4s, also nice. Silver with black interior of course.

Leipheim Airbase was the test grounds, a big runway between Stuttgart and Munich, and only a few hours from Ingolstadt. Dave did the top speed testing. Bimmer and C63 were limited to 155. Both easily reached the limiter, the C63 attacked it like a pit bull. That thing is a rocket with all that displacement! The Audi had a higher limiter that Dave wasn't even able to reach on the runway. 160mph I believe was the highest he got up to. I watched him braking up to the end of the runway with Juergen the German rep for C&D, and we both got a little nervous...

The AMG can do 0-60 in 3.8 seconds my friends. That is pretty much as fast as a Ferrari! With the auto trans and paddle shifter, just stomp your right foot and go really fast. Audi with the AWD was hard to launch, but it isnt really a whole-shot car anyway, like the M3 or AMG can be. The other cars were about 4 or 4.1, I don't remember exactly.

On the double lane change, the Audi was as expected very stable. The AMG was a little heavy and looked like it was working hard going through the cones. The M3 just danced right through with the highest speed of the group. It also looked like it was not overworking the front wheels like the C did. -The tape measure was missing from the test box, so we borrowed one from the airport, and I was converting feet to meters with my palm pilot so we could set up the cones! The timing equipment also had a blown fuse, which took tony and I a while to get working, but we got it up and running....They were actually glad I was there to help out...I was glad to get my chance to romp on the cars a little also :-)

I did a few 0-100 runs, some braking checks and a few double lane changes....The Audi was my first pick to drive. flat strong torque curve awd, so I didn't do any crazy launches. I was able to pull it hard up to about 100 in the first 3 gears before backing off. -they had closed the roads leading up to the runway when Dave was doing the high speed tests, but not when I was playing around...On the test track you could tell it was fast, but not very exciting. visually very impressive. Bright yellow, silver mirrors, very sporty seats, D shape steering wheel and the ceramic brakes. There is also plenty of room inside the passenger compartment and the back seat gets it's own 2 doors as does the C class.

I had done a pretty basic driving school at BMW with some 330is with some M parts on them, and was not very impressed. Black and confined interior, I was starting to think I didn't really like BMW's that much honestly. I like having leg room in the Audi, and how often do you really need that perfect weight balance anyway? Getting into the M3 I was skeptical.

Then I drove the M3: windows down, full launch on new sticky tarmac. The engine sings and pulls smoothly up to the 8,000rpm redline. I was screaming with pleasure by second gear. *Very* much fun. 6 speed of course. Dave and Tony and I were talking like little kids after we each drove the M3. It's been said before, but they deserve the name Bavarian motor works. (By the way, I just found the M office in munich today...have to stop by someday) With a 6 speed and rear wheel drive, you can also do some great doughnuts and pinwheel turns.

The C63 is just insane with power. There is no way to justify it. 6.3 liters! The first AMG C class was 3.6 liters! Pedal down and the auto trans sounds sweet upshifting. I didn't even use the paddles on the steering wheel to shift. Just watched the speedo up to about 120 before backing off because of space and not wanting to **** off the control tower from the airport. The next higher gear ration doesn't even phase the engine. Acceleration seems even in the first 4 gears. Could be because they feed in more power with each gear...

Sunday I got to drive the RS4 around Munich a little bit with Tony and Dave as I showed them the town. Having AWD on tight and damp city streets was very nice, and allowed for some fast, stable and secure driving in Munich were things are pretty confined.
If I am lucky I will be in some photos sitting shotgun in the M3. I have my fingers crossed. I also got to drive the 911 cabrio as we took pictures of all 3 cars driving together. We took a few burnout photos of the 2 cars that could, the Audi just pulled away and into the camera man as the other cars stood still and made big black marks :-)

It was a very cool experience, I really need to get back into a job where I am testing cars again....Or I need to buy an M3, although the RS4 would also be a good choice...Sorry Moose (buddy who works for MB), the C63 is out in my opinion. It's a hooligan car in a suit but still the most power so I give it props. The M3 is a definite sports car with the carbon roof, sweet V8 and manual trans, a little bit smaller interior. compared to the Audi, but I was able to sit in the passenger seat, and Dave, who it a good 3 inches taller than me could still fit in the back seat with nobodys knees touching the dash or seat back...

They are similar cars, in that they are fast as hell sedans, but each has their own flavor and strong points...On the track or airport runway: of course the M3 for agility and ability to slide when and where you want, around town and in the mountains I might take the Audi. I like that AWD and power combo: power on, no oversteer, no fuss, just go and hear the engine and gear whine from the trans....

OK you guys, if they come back for another test sometime I'll give you another personal write up. One of you needs to send me a copy when the article comes out.

ROCCO_16V

I think I'd also go for the yellow car