Audi Lineage . . .

[i_rebel]

What's the general concensus on Audi and their history?

I see lot's of great information when I watch Speedvision as far as their motorsport history . . . the days of the "Auto Union" victories over Porsche . . . (at least that's what I think I was watching) lol . . . the days of drivers like Hans Schtup (sp?) . . . something like that . . . lol

Then there's the 70-80's I believe when the N American Audi's were looked at as very poorly made vehicles . . . cars like the 4000, 5000 (right?) . . .

Nobody wanted an Audi then . . .

Have they sufficiently risen above that period now? I think Audis are terrific driver's cars (they seem like they should be), although I must admit I've never driven one . . .


Later . . .

[flylwsi]

drive one and tell me what you think... it is fuckin sweet...
they are awesome cars.. and they date back further than porsche...
cars that would win races left and right, before the porsche was even known...
they are awesome cars, that have been around forever, and just b/ the n american cars sucked, it doesnt mean that they do...
come on.. they own lambo...

[i_rebel]

hmmmm . . .

believe me, I don't doubt that they are nice cars . . . I really wanted to start a nice stimulating thread where some knowledgeable people might share some Audi facts related to their past, present and future or lack thereof as the case may be . . . I do know that they have a VERY interesting history, and hoped somebody might want to share it here . . .

I definately like the styling . . .

Aren't Porsche/Audi/VW essentially the same company right now?

[flylwsi]

not really..
vw owns audi who owns lambo...
but they dont own porsche

that is a joint venture on the suv tip...
but not the same...

[i_rebel]

Cool . . .

What makes you so much into Audi?

Do you drive one?

[flylwsi]

i used to own a vw...
and i did a twenny page research paper on vw... so i know what is up...
and audi is one of my favorite marques...
just classy, but badass

[i_rebel]

Agreed . . . classy, but bad-ass . . .

I would like to have one or two of these in the stable . . . maybe an A4 and a TT roadster, how 'bout you?

[Jay!]

If you like the old-time Audis, check out their print ads in magazines right now. They're old photos from like the '30s with new models "worked in."

[DVSNCYNIKL]

You want facts, you got 'em! But I just want to say one thing about them, aside from liking them. I've always seen Audi as a luxury more than a performance marque. Although as of late it could be seen as the other way around, I just don't see them like that. Now, would I get one, you bet your ass I would if I had a choice in which one. But more for style than performance.

http://netnow.micron.net/~marriott/racing.htm
http://netnow.micron.net/~marriott/racing2.htm
http://www.euro-part.com/html/audi.html

Now these are just some of the facts. Of course we can get into deliberations after you read them but, I think Audi has made itself a good spot in the history books.

[flylwsi]

what about audi s cars... like the s4... twin turbos, six speed, 17s, big brakes, stiff suspension, sport seats, smaller steering wheel...
big aero kit that is way subtle...
or what about the rs4... the wagon that is out in europe... or the other s cars like the 380 hp a4 wagon that is over in europe...
or even an a6 w/ the 4.2 liter v8 and 300 hp... awd and big fender flares over bigger rims...
or an s8 w/ sick performance for sucha big car...
what about a tt w/ quattro and 17s

or even an older straight 5cyl audi turbo... the cars that dominated the rally circuits for years?

or even the muscular looking a4 w/ a turbo four, or the torquey v6...
either one pulls like a bad mutha, and they are all amazing cars...

i cant believe that the performance of any of those cars wouldnt draw you over the style...

especially a 250hp six spd s4
go drive one and tell me you like it for style
tell me that speeding on any street in first gear isnt fun...
it'll do about 60 in first... trust me... and 100+in third
hmm... all the while my ass was nice and warm in the heated seat, b/c it was a dry january day in cleveland... :licker:
oh yeah... it looked good... for a sleeper

[Vertigo]

There also rumors of a new 265bhp TT for model year 2003 and then a new S4 for 2004 and a 300bhp TT for 2004. These are however rumors so take them with a big grain of salt.

Audi's have a great racing history and are continuing it today. I do think that they turned the A4 into a pure luxury car in 2002 and with the removal of the S4 from the US market they are lacking a little bit in the pure sport segment. I think that they are re-designing the S4 to be better competition for the BMW E46 M3, 300+bhp.

[*Modena*]

They are currently working on the next generation S4. It might get the V8 FSI from de R8R Le Mans car, with more than 350 bhp. An introduction version will also be available with the 2.7T V6 engine of 280 bhp. It will be shown in Europe around november.

[Hudson]

While the Audi name can be traced back before Porsche's cars...their racing heritage does not. AutoUnion was the brand that combined Audi, Horch, Wanderer, and DKW. I don't ever recall the Audi brand racing before Porsche hit the streets.

VW took control of AutoUnion around 1960 and revived the Audi brand in the mid-1960s. This division was merged with NSU in the late 1960s and NSU faded away...as did Auto Union. Today, only the Audi name survives from that whole division.

I just wanted to straighten that misconception up.

Today's Audi cars are great. I have driven a few of the newer ones (A4 3.0, S4, TT, A6 2.7, A6 2.8, S6, A8, A8L, S8, allroad) and haven't found a major flaw among them.

[Tom_S8]

I think audi's succes is in very big precent because of their quattro awd system , in 1981 i think their rally car was winning everything and then pepole wanted the same in civil cars and they just started putting it into more and more of their road cars , it become very popular in areas where there is a lot of snow or bad conditions like rain and mud , but also on dry tarmac roads it provides very good traction , and they also started making very good engines (wonderful 5 cyl turbos) and that's how it was going... And belive me i'm young but i have driven many cars even when i didn't have the license yet , and there are no cars that compare to my S8 in any way...:toothless

[Cbass]

Yes, the quattro has been as important to Audi's success as their reliability and build quality. My 924 has an Audi engine, as a matter of fact. I'm curious about how the engine/transmission is mounted in the quattro cars nowadays. Most front wheel drive cars have the engine tranversely mounted, but I don't quite see how they could make an all wheel drive car with a transversely mounted engine/transaxle.

I'm trying to find info on how the 1.8 is mounted in the quattros, because I might be able to squeeze one into a 924.