So I got an invite to the Audi Driving Experience at Autobahn Country Club. Basically a 4 hour session of Audi history, on-road sightseeing, autocross, and track time.
The day started off with a nice catered breakfast and a history lesson on Audi, their racing heritage, and their current technologies. Interesting even for a car guy like me.
After that, they took us outside and got us familiar with all the technology in the RS5, S6, S7, and S8. It was a one-on-one type thing where you sat in the car and got a tour of how everything worked, learned how to find a good driving position, discuss the car's technologies, etc.
Afterwards we did local backroads driving in the car of our choosing: S6, S7, or S8. I opted for the S7, though all the cars are very similar (same chassis, same 4.0TT V8).
Following the on-road drive, we had an instructional autocross session with a pro driver, again one-on-one. The car choices were the S4, S5, or TT-S. I won the morning session in the S5, besting even the instructor's time by 0.7 seconds (out of a 17 second course). The crowd was very entertained by my driving since it was so much faster than theirs -- smiles all around and some applause when I stepped out! I know for a fact the tail swung around a few times. It was funny since one of the instructors was the APR R8 V10 pro driver. He kept insisting the TT-S would be faster since it was lighter.
Since I won the autocross, that entitled me to a ride-along with their pro driver on the circuit. But more on that later.
After autocross it was time for the serious driving: track time. We got to do hot laps (no instructor in the car, just a pace car!) in the R8 V10, RS5, S6 and S7.
Predictably, the R8 was an absolute hoot and made the most wonderful sound. I sort of liked the R-tronic single-clutch transmission since it slams every gear. Might be slower, but you get a better sense of speed and acceleration. We were right behind the pace car (TT-RS) so we weren't held up by anyone and I could really put my foot into it. Even on summer tires on a dry track, the stability control was still fighting for control! Admittedly the car was cramped and rather boring on the inside but driving it was heavenly. I think I hit 120 at one point.
After the R8 we moved to the RS5, which was a blast too. It's got the muscle car formula down: big V8, lots of power, RWD bias. Fortunately it was an S tronic dual-clutch. I had no problem swinging the tail end around thanks to the Sports Rear Differential (a torque-vectoring system). The motor did need some revs to keep its speed up but on a track this was no problem. I was quite impressed with the balance and confidence; the R8 was very planted but still a tad twitchy. I touched 100mph for a brief instant.
Following the RS5 I did hotlaps in the S6 and S7. Heavy sedans but with the active suspension they still felt very composed. A bit of understeer at the limit but very manageable with the throttle. The S6 runs 0-60 in under 4 seconds but it does this so smoothly that you don't even realize how fast you're going. The S7 was actually better to drive on the track because it was a bit more tail-heavy. No rotation possible, but it was a bit more neutral than the S6. Couldn't seem to break 90mph in either, but for something of that size...not bad.
As I said above, since I had won the autocross event, I was entitled to some hot-laps in the TT-RS with their professional driver. Let me tell you that this thing completely blew me away...the sound, the dynamics, the composure...everything. It was so planted and linear with its power that I was shocked. He was absolutely driving the bejeezus out of it and was smacking right into the rumblestrips on every apex. Interestingly, he was able to hit 130 on the straight; that was the same speed I achieved in a Gallardo on that same section of track last November.
Going into it I figured, "oh it's a girly TT with some extra power and a faux-AWD system, who cares." Nope, it's a serious performer.
The day concluded with free schwag -- Truth in 24 Pt. 2 DVD, water bottle, and an Audi Sport hat. Not a bad way to spend my Saturday morning!
The day started off with a nice catered breakfast and a history lesson on Audi, their racing heritage, and their current technologies. Interesting even for a car guy like me.
After that, they took us outside and got us familiar with all the technology in the RS5, S6, S7, and S8. It was a one-on-one type thing where you sat in the car and got a tour of how everything worked, learned how to find a good driving position, discuss the car's technologies, etc.
Afterwards we did local backroads driving in the car of our choosing: S6, S7, or S8. I opted for the S7, though all the cars are very similar (same chassis, same 4.0TT V8).
Following the on-road drive, we had an instructional autocross session with a pro driver, again one-on-one. The car choices were the S4, S5, or TT-S. I won the morning session in the S5, besting even the instructor's time by 0.7 seconds (out of a 17 second course). The crowd was very entertained by my driving since it was so much faster than theirs -- smiles all around and some applause when I stepped out! I know for a fact the tail swung around a few times. It was funny since one of the instructors was the APR R8 V10 pro driver. He kept insisting the TT-S would be faster since it was lighter.
Since I won the autocross, that entitled me to a ride-along with their pro driver on the circuit. But more on that later.
After autocross it was time for the serious driving: track time. We got to do hot laps (no instructor in the car, just a pace car!) in the R8 V10, RS5, S6 and S7.
Predictably, the R8 was an absolute hoot and made the most wonderful sound. I sort of liked the R-tronic single-clutch transmission since it slams every gear. Might be slower, but you get a better sense of speed and acceleration. We were right behind the pace car (TT-RS) so we weren't held up by anyone and I could really put my foot into it. Even on summer tires on a dry track, the stability control was still fighting for control! Admittedly the car was cramped and rather boring on the inside but driving it was heavenly. I think I hit 120 at one point.
After the R8 we moved to the RS5, which was a blast too. It's got the muscle car formula down: big V8, lots of power, RWD bias. Fortunately it was an S tronic dual-clutch. I had no problem swinging the tail end around thanks to the Sports Rear Differential (a torque-vectoring system). The motor did need some revs to keep its speed up but on a track this was no problem. I was quite impressed with the balance and confidence; the R8 was very planted but still a tad twitchy. I touched 100mph for a brief instant.
Following the RS5 I did hotlaps in the S6 and S7. Heavy sedans but with the active suspension they still felt very composed. A bit of understeer at the limit but very manageable with the throttle. The S6 runs 0-60 in under 4 seconds but it does this so smoothly that you don't even realize how fast you're going. The S7 was actually better to drive on the track because it was a bit more tail-heavy. No rotation possible, but it was a bit more neutral than the S6. Couldn't seem to break 90mph in either, but for something of that size...not bad.
As I said above, since I had won the autocross event, I was entitled to some hot-laps in the TT-RS with their professional driver. Let me tell you that this thing completely blew me away...the sound, the dynamics, the composure...everything. It was so planted and linear with its power that I was shocked. He was absolutely driving the bejeezus out of it and was smacking right into the rumblestrips on every apex. Interestingly, he was able to hit 130 on the straight; that was the same speed I achieved in a Gallardo on that same section of track last November.
Going into it I figured, "oh it's a girly TT with some extra power and a faux-AWD system, who cares." Nope, it's a serious performer.
The day concluded with free schwag -- Truth in 24 Pt. 2 DVD, water bottle, and an Audi Sport hat. Not a bad way to spend my Saturday morning!
