skiwi

courtesy of a 2 week holiday at the beach, i've got plenty of time to read. the april issue of "car" magazine reveals the following audi factoids:

1) a good drive/review of the le mans (by georg kacher: speed limited, but nevertheless loving the ride/handling/power & braking of the car), with great pics.
2) the le mans, as driven is the spec that will make production with the following changes:
- wheels 19", not 20" (235/35/19 fr, 295/30/19 r)
- revised front packaging to improve luggage space
- secondary storage will be created behind the seats
- fuel tank increased to 90litres
- weight reduced from 1530kg to 1450kg through better use of aluminium.
- engine at launch will be a 4.2 fsi v8 with individual throttle bodies, 32valves, 380bhp and 302lb ft.
- transmissions will be either dsl 700 (dual clutch) or 6-speed manual.
- 3 years after launch, a v10 will be added - 5.2l 500bhp & 387lb ft. this will be launched after the gallardo has been face-lifted (and it's engine increased to 550-600bhp).

other news:
not a great surprise, "car" likes the look of the new a6 - "the look of the new a6 annexes the middle ground between bmw's avant-garde 5-series and merc's evolutionary e-class. very smart.."

s6: late 2006
- v10, 5.2l 420bhp, 376lb ft.

rs6:
- v8 32v twin turbo fsi
- 500bhp, 456lb ft.

rs4: mid-2005
- n/a v8 fsi 4.2l
- individual throttle bodies
- 420bhp, 311lb ft

quattro:
quattro will gradually adopt the new torsen "c" unit (debuted in the le mans) which integrates a platentary gear set with the torsen, and will migrate to a 40:60 fr:r torque split. both the s6 & rs6 will have the new unit.

nirad

nice info. it seems like the S6 will be positioned below the M5, and the RS6 will take it head on.