sakimano

latf99p.com

clochner

Nice!! Couldn't have said it better myself.

plivac

they can do 333 limited units of this little .... but no RS4, or RS6 for us in US.... just plain sucks


http://blog.caranddriver.com/audi-un...12-a1-quattro/

Drewalk

I agree the twin turbo RS4 V8 with 520 or 560 HP would be awesome. The problem that we all face is internal politics. VW Corporate has many different car makes from VW to Lambo. Why does the Golf R only have 260HP, because they don't want it to compete with Audi, They won't have a 500+ hp RS4 because it will compete with another make like Lambo? I'm sure it's not the only reason, but I'm sure it's not all by chance either. If Audi was a stand alone company, we would see your RS4 with a twin turbo 500+HP engine.

plivac

Drewalk, I agree with you. Those are the realities of running a business. If Audi was on its own, like BMW or Benz, the RS models would be standard like Ms and AMGs.

Sill, as a consumer and enthusiast I think it is important for one to voice his desires. How else will you get corporate to listen. And even if they don't (which is more than likely), trying matters.

Drewalk

I disagree, my boss has a 2007 RS4 and I have a 2011 S4 6MT. He drove my S4 and felt it was a very compentant contender, he even felt it was faster. A lot of RS4 owners will probably not agree, having driven both, it's a close match. The S4 is much better balanced with the lighter Supercharged V6, vs the heavier 4.2 V8. It's obvious they moved the engine back in the B8 platform vs. the B7, still the V6 is going to be lighter. Having said this, it would be hard for the naturally aspirated 450 HP 317ft/lbs of torque engine in the B8 platform RS4, to be worthy of being an RS4 in light of the current S4, it would need to be much better and I can't imagine the naturally aspirated 4.2 being able to deliver. (Don't get me wrong the V8 is an awesome engine and the RS4 is an awesome car) It just the next generation has to be that much better. So, my opinion, it would have to be a turbo or supercharged V8, if we ever see another RS4 again (I hope)

plivac

We are on the same page - I was not referring to the existing v8, but the one in the new s8.

Drewalk

Plivac, We are on the same page, I was responding to an earlier thread, from someone else, the TT gentleman, some how my response ended up in the wrong spot.

sakimano

The 8E S4 was launched in 2003. The 8K (B8) S4 was launched in 2009. Six years is a long time and of course the B8 S4 should be a step forward. That's just progress. The B7 RS4 was launched back in 2005. The fact that stock for stock the B8 S4 is pretty much equal with a B7 RS4 is pretty incredible for both cars...it shows how far Audi has moved the S4...and also shows how competent the B7 RS4 was that a 4 door S model launched 4 years later with forced induction is basically only able to equal it. When you think back, the B7 RS4 was hailed as a master piece back in 2005-2006 when the automotive world got their hands on it. NOBODY was complaining. It trounced the competition, and frankly made a name for Audi for many people. Now you can get 99% of that performance in the B8 S4 for fifty grand. That's amazing...but that's progress.

A 450hp B8 RS4 will likely trounce a stock B8 S4 3.0T in a race, raising the bar yet again. It will hit 60 mph in the very low 4 second range, and will put a buslength on a stock B8 S4 in the quarter mile. Saying it's 'not enough' vs. a stock B8 S4 indicates that you may not have a good grasp on stock B8 S4 performance (or stock B8 RS4/RS5 performance). Don't forget...nobody but us nerds on forums gives a **** about 'tunability' or 'mod potential'. 99% of these cars stay bone stock for the first owner, and that's who Audi sells a million cars a year to, not the tuner nuts. Frankly forced induction (and its inherent tunability) is a PITA for manufacturers because its so easy for in-warranty customers to generate a 10-20% hp/tq gain, stressing componenents that were sold at much lower power levels. I can assure you they're not designing these cars with 'tunability' in mind. Quite the opposite. They do their best to stifle tuning gains otherwise it makes it tough to sell 450hp all motor B8 RS4 avants when you can make 400hp and more importantly 400tq with just a tune on a B8 S4. Anyone who thinks Audi cares about the tuning market just needs to look at their efforts to protect the assets. The B8 S4 went 3 years before more than 1 legit tune emerged.

Your other points were great though about the internal politics in a large automaker. There's lots of weird **** going on at VW especially now that they own Porsche. They're trying too hard not to stomp each other. You know that when Porsche was trying to gain control of VW back in 2007-2008, their first item on the agenda was to STOP all R8 development? Simply to protect the 911 and its legacy. Just imagine dealing with 6-7 brands with this type of internal competition and trying to placate everyone.

Drewalk

The 450HP RS5 is only .4 seconds faster than a 333HP S4 from 0 to 62 mph,(Also keep in mind the RS5 has a launch control, where S4 does not) The extra ponies will only matter in top gear heading toward max RPM; most of us won't get there due rev limiters and jail time. So, again, the imaginary B8 4.2 V8 RS4's extra weight on the nose, extra inertia to break, the poorer handling created by the weight imbalance just won't make a good enough car to bother making it. It needs a lighter more potent engine, or at least much more potent engine to make-up for potential handling issues if they can't keep the nose weight down.