M power this!

that 2.0 'could' be a very, very cool motor in our cars. hope they deliver and not just shut the door on H.O. turbos.

we might not be lightweights, but damn entertaining, safe cars. the Japanese heavy hitters might have more power/weight, but i prefer being able to get out of a huge reck with all 6'3" of me intact.

2953

...<font color="003366"> <i>in Europe</i> would shut the program down. And it is moving forward. But the North American price could be far more problematic. The value of the Dollar against the Euro has plummeted over that last year. If the € continues to strength against the $, you'll find <i>all</i> Audis are going to get more expensive.

As I write this, the base price for a TT 180 coupe (including delivery) is $33,970. When the next model appears I don't believe the base car will be a $44,000 car. But I wouldn't be surprised if the mid-range model (conceptual equivalent of today's 225 coupe) pricing started around $43,000.

As for the RS4 it's a ways off. First gotta get the B7 A4 launched. Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but an A4 coupe ain't gonna happen. Got a Nuvolari in the plan that has to get into production first.</font>

2953

...<font color="003366"> as Audi's production engineers discovered with the A2, ASF does not lend itself to high volume production. It is far more time intensive that welding up a stamped unitbody. And bodyshop cycle time equals plant throughput. Fortunately, the A2's price and specifications all but guaranteed that selling more than 70,000 a year would be the marketing equivalent of "pushing on a rope." In fact, the A2 line only got close to <i>operational</i> break even at volumes in the 25,000~35,000 range. A number that is coincidently close to peak TT annual line rates.

Audi was well aware of the volume weakness of aluminum space frame construction and never seriously considered ASF for the A6. But the truth has never stopped the whiz kid "new" editors at <i>Auto Bild</i> or <i> Auto Zeitung</i> from taking a comment out of context and then "analyzing" it into their own take on reality.

If you believe VAG folks are tightwads, please explain why they have the best interiors in the business. <b>Nothing</b> in the interior of <i>any</i> car comes for free. As Toyota, Honda, GM, Ford and Nissan have discovered time and time again. Or more precisely, ever since they started benchmarking VW and Audi interiors.

As for your horsepower figures, make sure you adjust them for the differences between DIN, SAE and JIS horsepower. They ain't the same. And do you not find it interesting that the 270HP 3.5L Honda engine isn't offered in Europe? Finally, if you believe Nissan's claimed engine output numbers could you please explain why an Infiniti Q45 with 340 <i>Nissan</i> HP was out dragged by a heavier, comparably geared Lexus LS 430 with 290HP in the first comparo test Road &amp; Track did with the two cars? It's simple. As far as the VQ bent 6-cylinder and V8 engine families are concerned, they seem to, I'll be polite, <i>exaggerate</i> their outputs. Just like M-B does with their normally aspirated 3-valve Vee engines. I suppose that puts Nissan in "good" company.

Working for a magazine, you of all people should be hyper skeptical of what you read. Remember what Hemingway said, "Nobody but and idiot ever wrote. Except for money." That must put the price of "truth" at about 78¢ a word these days.</font>

YosemyTT

I saw the earlier pic of this car. What I was saying was that we saw very similar pics a couple of years ago of another 'future TT mule'. It was doing laps in Germany. It also had wider fenders and different suspension. Seriously, it looked almost exactly the same as this one.

2953

...<font color="003366"> And it's one dinky little sucker! Not much more than an inch and a half square. I took a picture of it but you can't even tell that it's blue. I suppose I could Photochop it 'til it looks right, but that really would be cheating.</font>

joe@vwvortex

thanks for the insight on the A6 ASF issue - I wasn't aware of the production limitations - although it makes perfect sense. As for the tightwad comment, I won't argue interior quality because we all know that VAG has that down. I'm talking more about things like not offering FSI on the lower end cars such as the GTI 2.0T and developing a non FSI head etc. for the US because of the cost of FSI and the poor quality gas in the US. To me that doesn't make sense. Then again I don't have the whole story.

As for the HP ratings - I know that some companies claims are higher than then they really are, but others aren't. Rumor has it the new 3.2L V6 by Audi can't be increased in displacement unless the block in totally redesigned. The US lives by HP and 0-60 numbers. Sad but true. In Europe - they live by the price of gas. Hell - look at all the diesels offered there and the fact you can't even buy a diesel in CA in 2004......

I guess when it comes right down to it, I just don't think Audi or VAG is being agressive enough and creating products that are leaders in their respective field. It seems like they are always playing catch-up.

westton225

Novulari type grill?2.0 turbo 200hp initial engine?

The Mystro S4

Audi IS moving all its models $$ up. Its has to be above the $50k mark.

CarbonFibre

Okay, thanks for the info. I didn't think they were going to do anything about an A4 coupe. It just seems like it wouldn't be all too hard with the cab already made. I guess if it was like the cab, it would be a little too femme for my tastes anyway.

JohnLZ7W

and considering the fact that it is almost as large as a D3 A8 and doesn't use an ASF that's pretty impressive. If the TT does use an ASF then dropping 500lbs is believable.