If Audi put this in to production....

[Ruffiano]

Needs a 5 pot.

[Rusty]

Whatever happened to small, light sports cars... the preserve of Lotus only I guess. It'll weigh 1800kg, have far too big and engine and have loads of ESP crap on it that you can't switch off. It'll look and handle like a tank and use as many tenuous links to the original quattro as it's humanly possible to fit in the marketing bilge. Why not actaully make a car that is decent to drive rather than just silly fast. B7 RS4 was supposed to be pretty good but it's heavy and used grip to achieve it. What about a car that's lithe, 1200-1300kg, 300bhp turbo and handling to rival anthing from Norfolk... oh no, that'll be an OE quattro, that's not the German way any more, straight-line grunt and technology over physics are all you can get at the mo.

Oh, and it looks like a dodgy German tuning house effort... the A5 has no rallying roots, what about a proper hack at a DTM car for the road?

[curlyks2]

mixing up a pot of DNA from Angelina Jolie, Keira Knightley and Zeta Jones

:coldshower:

[Keeper of The Kitten]

DTM car for the road Andy? Would be good if they actually started with a bodyshell! Last I remember, we used to bond a tiny sliver of the original rear quarter panel onto the "door" - presumably to satisfy some antiquated rule!

I don't like this car and much like you Andy, I don't like what I suspect will be some tenuous connections to the past just to sell it to people who have two tenths of f-all understanding of the true heritage of the brand.

[Rusty]

Guess I was referring to a current Audi Sport project that could have links to the present, rather than links to a car that Audi no longer support with servicing or parts and that most Audi dealers wouldn't recognise if you threatened to give them a tenner to come out to the car park and see it for themselves...

[S2central.net]

Sorry for cross posting this........ but I started rambling in relation to the last episode of Top Gear that included a piece on German sports cars....... then I realised this thread was rather a better place for my social commentary of cynical ramblings. I should send a sanitised version of this to the suits in MK...... ahh then again - no point I don't fit their profile.... Audi has a serious problem though - if I ever do get into the market for a brand new car - I don't think I'd be going to the Audi dealership. How wrong is that - for me - a died in the wool Audi phreak for ~30yrs who wouldn't sully his Levis' by owning anything other than something with quattro.


It was quite ironic and correct that the whole point of Hamsters piece was that all this big German exec sports cars have blurred into the same dull bland crap that go really fast, have loads of flashy knobs, are super safe but makes driving a bit like shagging your favourite girl with two jonnies on... I mean what is the frickin point.....

Lets have some FUN in a car - it doesn't need Bluetooth enabled cigarette lighters, 20" alloys, 8 pot calipers or a gazillion horsepowers... It needs to look cool, sound great, be 'quick enough', be 'safe enough', be an absolute joy to drive round corners - but most of all - make it attainable for the honest hard-working folk here... Not priced so stupidly high that only stock brokers, GPs, lawyers and the well heeled 'empty suits' of the world can afford it. The rest of us have a wife, 2.5 kids and a killer mortgage to look after so give us a chance **** sake.

Then within the week there are alleged mockups of this RS5 Sport Anniversaachi thing on the internet - to make us cynical old *******s think that Audi have finally tried to recreate some magic for us. I for one am not convinced... Make it smaller, lighter, more nimble, more fun and less than £40k - I still couldn't afford a new one but at least there'd be hope for some of us !

Oh dear - you caught me monologing

Paul

[mikeraz1]

Needs a 5 pot.

But I would have one

[geryS2]

If they could just put the TT RS engine in the A5 and in the right direction !! ok for the enlarged wings, out lights, spoiler....

[S2central.net]

Thought about this for a long time tonight - probably longer than it deserves but hey....

In my view the A5 is physically too big a platform to start with. I'd want it circa 1200kg - approx same weight as UR - it was lauded widely for its 5pot turbo motor and the dynamics / handling of it in the turns... That is what any anniversary edition should be echoing. The A5 is a big GT cruiser - when sitting behind one in a B3/B4 you really see the difference - it will never be as nimble footed as a UR.

The TT chassis is the right size - well actually maybe two small for a proper 2+2 package and of course that engine is the wrong way round and has Haldex not Torsen

For me a 2+2 Coupe based on the B7 platform would be the right size - and to do that all they need is a roof on the B7 Cabrio - along with a crash diet and those flared arches we all love. I very much doubt they would use this as a base cos its easier just to put some styling tweaks on the bigger bloated A5.

Lets see a stripped down / superlight format here for the purists - minimal trim, sound-proofing, gadgets to keep weight down. Sure there needs to be a mighty option list for those that can't live without those bluetooth equipped ciggy lighters, DVD players, satnav, heated leather, aircon, 10 speaker audi, sunroofs, double glazed windows and whatever other nonsense.

Give us the 5-pot 2.5TFSI motor setup for 100bhp per corner and 550Nm. I'm sure thats possible with the help of variable vane turbos to maximise power and minimise lag.

Give us proper quattro with Torsen and the 'fun' rear bias that was so widely applauded on B7 RS4.

Give us adjustable suspension (within reason) - and strong brakes... If the weight is kept down then we can stay away from super huge heavy discs and 19-20 inch alloys.

Give us a minimum of 'driver aids' that get in the way of enjoyment and importantly give us simple ways to turn them all off - and that includes all those dopey things like left foot braking defeat, speed limiters, ABS etc - we don't need 30 knobs & dials to tweak like on a 360 Scuderia FFS - just some simple intuitive options to let people customise things - like having a really lean burning cruise mode to keep running costs down, a full on sports mode for increased revs, boost etc...

I've said enough - the formula for getting this right is quite simple in my opinion... If it bloats into an 1600kg beast brimming with gadgets that does 0-60 in 5s yet is boring to drive on the twisties then it will have failed.

[Barber]

TURD TURD TURD TURD TURD TURD TURD! IT LOOKS LIKE A BLADDY COLLARJE IF THATS HOW YOU SPELL IT!? WHY DOES EVRYTHING I LIKE TURN TO SH!!!!!!!TE!???????

[curlyks2]

if I ever do get into the market for a brand new car - I don't think I'd be going to the Audi dealership.

Between the diabolical lack of support for older cars (both in terms of parts and dealer knowledge) and the shift in image, purpose and price, I'm in the same position. Unless I won the lottery (in which case I could afford to maintain an urQ or start a new project with a B5 (R)S4) my S2 is quite probably the last Audi I'll buy.

That does of course leave me a problem: what to get if I do change: Cayman S? Exige? Go extreme in two directions and get a really really boring diesel everyday car with a towbar for the trailer with track toy aboard (Dax or something)?

I would go to an Audi dealership though - briefly - to have a test drive in the latest and greatest and then ask about late life support. When the salesweasel tells me it's wonderful, I'll pull out a list of NLA parts (from past top of the range models - urQ, S2, etc) from my back pocket and stroll over to the parts counter and go through them one by one with salesweasel watching. When he gets the point, I'll simply say something like "That's why I don't believe you and won't be buying the Audi, today or ever. You might want to tell your bosses why they've lost a sale."

Ck.

[Rusty]

Well done Paul, sounds like we have the same (correct ) thinking

I almost despaired at my Mum because she seriously said she'd not buy a car without ESP and buttons on the steering wheel...

[S2central.net]

Well ESP is for girls after all - so that figures... LOL

I have now drawn out in my minds eye what I would want this car to be... If money was no object it would be fantastic to do this starting with an S2 actually - it is the right size but the running gear would need to be updated... maybe a spaceframed front end to create structure for dual wishbone running gear - and somehow graft the dual wishbone setup from a B4 into the rear (we know that is the roots of B5 & B7 RS4 and works better than B3 rear end). Oh and lets clone the flared arch look of something like ABT C5 for better visual appeal.

Then its just a matter of sourcing that 2.5TFSI motor and bolting it up to a rear-biased 01E quattro gearbox (from B7 RS4). Ideally setup to run a suitable aftermarket ECU so important things can be played with on a rainy day but a round number of 400bhp has appeal - especially if we can get weight down to 1100-1200kg - that might be expensive though !

Brakes are easy with any number of big bolt-on options and there are plenty of adjustable suspension options around for RS4 platform.

Completely stripped inside except for things required to operate the machine - and lets put a cage in there to good effect along with two (or four) superlight seats and harnesses.
Paint it white and apply Audi Sport livery - et voila the 'Audi R5' is born... Bet it could be done to very high standard for £40k ball park even by contracting out the scarey stuff like spaceframe front end - but we 'know people' that can do **** like that in a couple of weekends...

Anybody know a TTRS and/or B7 RS4 thats been crashed recently ??????? Essentially melding the best bits of those cars into a flared B3 Coupe shape, with some parts from a B4 too would be just fantastic - well IMHO anyway. God I wish I owned/operated a tuning company - this is the blueprint for the best quattro that Audi never built !!!!!!!!

Steering away from all the trinkets and trivia that the 'new cars' bring and create something that actually echoes what the UR was about...

1 - Visually with those famous flares and aggressive stance.
2 - Dynamically with its (then) state of the art engine and its distinctive soundtrack
3 - Agility and the sheer fun with unmatched handling in its day - resetting the baseline for the industry and proving that in competition over and over again

Everything else is just in the details. Some details are important however - like the small matter of bolting up that engine to that gearbox - LOL - but this is just fantasy land so don't ruin it for me

[Rusty]

Mate, you're getting obsessed

[S2central.net]

I know - but I am right though.

Where's that pheckin lottery ticket ?