A64.2wasme
11-14-2004, 06:16 PM
Well, I flew all the way to Ft. Lauderdale to see the North American Debut of the A8L 6.0. The good news is twofold:
1) There was a 6.0 there.
2) It had the refrigerator option, so I was able to get the pics Plano requested.
Here's the story:
It was a nice day, the show was not crowded, and the cars looked great. As I approached the Audi stand I could see the W12 on an elevated turntable. It looked good, but it also looked familiar...
Too familiar...
I was sure I had seen this car before. Then I saw the sign indicating that this was a European spec car, and I knew this was the car I'd seen at the Mondial in Paris last month. (I checked the pics in my camera and confirmed it.) Damn!
But, the spokesmodel, after giving me a bit of a hairly eyeball, confirmed that it had the refrigerator option and grudgingly permitted the attendant Sales Guy (Jorge L. Rovirosa from The Collection in Coral Gables) to open the trunk and allow me to take these pics, so it was not a complete loss.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/62964/trunk_with_refrig_4.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/62964/trunk_with_refrig_1.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/62964/trunk_with_refrig_2.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/62964/trunk_with_refrig_3.jpg">
The turntable kept moving, so I apologize for the shaky picture quality. It looks like a sizable decrease in trunk space - more because the intrusion, which comes to the edge of the lip before the spare tire cover drops off, splits the deep space under the hat tray. There's still enough room for a couple of golf bags, I guess, but no more 4-body trunk. :-)
So I took a red eye across country only to see, not the North American version, but a car I'd already seen a month before. (I'll have to do better recon next time.) Not happy about that, but I did enjoy the show. Spent a lot of time at the Bentley stand. If the Arnage T had quattro I'd be in serious trouble!
Sounds like there will be better information on the availablilty of the 6.0 after next week: according to Jorge, there is a training sometime in the next week when the dealers get the latest skinny on when, how many and ordering details. It does sound like all the cars are ordered, but I'm still convinced that the dealers have entered orders that they can tweak once there is a real buyer involved.
As additional eye candy, below is a pic of the beautiful Maserati Quatroporte. I hope the board lets me upload it - it's Audi-Related since there's a rumor of an upcoming collaboration between Audi and Maserati on drivelines.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/62964/dscn0079.jpg">
If anyone want's more info, just post or email me.
I'm glad to be home!
1) There was a 6.0 there.
2) It had the refrigerator option, so I was able to get the pics Plano requested.
Here's the story:
It was a nice day, the show was not crowded, and the cars looked great. As I approached the Audi stand I could see the W12 on an elevated turntable. It looked good, but it also looked familiar...
Too familiar...
I was sure I had seen this car before. Then I saw the sign indicating that this was a European spec car, and I knew this was the car I'd seen at the Mondial in Paris last month. (I checked the pics in my camera and confirmed it.) Damn!
But, the spokesmodel, after giving me a bit of a hairly eyeball, confirmed that it had the refrigerator option and grudgingly permitted the attendant Sales Guy (Jorge L. Rovirosa from The Collection in Coral Gables) to open the trunk and allow me to take these pics, so it was not a complete loss.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/62964/trunk_with_refrig_4.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/62964/trunk_with_refrig_1.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/62964/trunk_with_refrig_2.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/62964/trunk_with_refrig_3.jpg">
The turntable kept moving, so I apologize for the shaky picture quality. It looks like a sizable decrease in trunk space - more because the intrusion, which comes to the edge of the lip before the spare tire cover drops off, splits the deep space under the hat tray. There's still enough room for a couple of golf bags, I guess, but no more 4-body trunk. :-)
So I took a red eye across country only to see, not the North American version, but a car I'd already seen a month before. (I'll have to do better recon next time.) Not happy about that, but I did enjoy the show. Spent a lot of time at the Bentley stand. If the Arnage T had quattro I'd be in serious trouble!
Sounds like there will be better information on the availablilty of the 6.0 after next week: according to Jorge, there is a training sometime in the next week when the dealers get the latest skinny on when, how many and ordering details. It does sound like all the cars are ordered, but I'm still convinced that the dealers have entered orders that they can tweak once there is a real buyer involved.
As additional eye candy, below is a pic of the beautiful Maserati Quatroporte. I hope the board lets me upload it - it's Audi-Related since there's a rumor of an upcoming collaboration between Audi and Maserati on drivelines.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/62964/dscn0079.jpg">
If anyone want's more info, just post or email me.
I'm glad to be home!