Audi Quattro GmbH

Say “station wagon” to the average American and chances are the first picture that pops into his or her noggin is a big, Disco Age American land schooner wearing green paint and mouldings and veneers made from only the finest plastic trees. With so many of today’s car buyers having spent their formative years in these motorized mastadons, is it any surprise contemporary wagons seem to be such a hard sell over here today? (The shortage of manufacturers willing to take the risk of selling them in this hemisphere makes it a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation, but bear with us.)

In Europe, however, the honeymoon with the station wagon (or “estate cars” or “kombis,” depending on where you are over there) hasn’t ended. In fact, wagons are so popular in the Old Country that many manufacturers offer high performance versions thereof. But in the mid-‘90s, the species Stationwagonus Wickedfastimus as we know it today didn’t really exist. It took a collaboration between two then-distant (now less so) corporate cousins from the Fatherland to create this category. And the Adam/Eve of the segment they came up with – the Audi RS2 Avant – was a real humdinger.

Finally, Audi's prince of AWD luxury has arrived. When the A5 coupe debuted people fell head over heels for its long nose, muscular metal and supple interior. Of course any good coupe worth it's weight in salt needs a performance variant, so naturally there was an S-model, propelled by a 354hp V8. But what people really wanted was to see the A5 get the RS treatment. With a stance and design that looks formidable yet sleek, it was only fair to give it a proper engine and some real performance. The S5 was quick, but could easily fall victim to numerous sport sedans, coupes and imports.

Nothing ruins taking your fellow law buddies for a ride like having a 19 year old kid in a WRX hand you your briefcase. Well at long last, we have the official specs of the upcoming, beautiful, powerful 2010 Audi RS5.  It won't make it's public debut until the Geneva Motor Show next week, but because the brochure was leaked onto the internet last weekend, we can provide all the only data you need to know.

Back in the early 80s, my father brought me back a remote-controlled Audi Quattro car from his trip to Italy. At the time, I thought it was the coolest thing ever but really didn't understand the significance of that particular vehicle. All I knew was that it was a race car and it looked awesome. Since the debut of the Ur-Quattro ("Ur" meaning original)  at the 1980 Geneva Motor Show, Quattro (Italian for "four") technology has served as a game-changing platform for performance motoring. The introduction of the Audi Quattro transformed the company from a luxury maker of automobiles to a motorsports and rally car monster, who dominated the sport for many years after its debut.

The original Ur-Quatro sported a 2.1-liter inline 5-cylinder 10 valve SOHC engine complete with turbocharger and intercooler, a first for a full-time all-wheel drive car. With 197 bhp and 210 ft-lb of torque on tap, the Ur-Quattro sprinted from 0-62 mph in 7.1 seconds with a top speed of 137 mpg. All told, 11,452 example of the production “Ur-quattro” models were built between 1980 and 1991. The company also launched two additional versions of the Quattro - A1 and A2 - for competition in FIA's Group B motorsports, pushing the turbocharged inline 5-cylinder engine up to about 350 bhp. 

The Audi TT has always been a stunner. It was different from the rest of Audi's fleet, with 2 doors and smooth curves. It appeared every bit the part of a sports car, but it was all looks. It lacked the muscle to be a capable sports coupe.  Audi's solution to this problem is the Audi TT RS. It's the first true sports car to be drafted by team Audi RS. Of course when the brilliant minds at MTM saw what was coming down the line, they got to work. The result is a formidable combination of style, power, grip and agility. Meet the MTM Audi TT RS. Competitors feel free to call in sick.

It's still the smooth, sexy coupe its always been, but the spec-sheet shows that it now has some real bite. The stock TT-RS uses a 2.5L inline 5-cylinder engine fitted with Audi's FSI system and a healthy turbocharger, making 340hp and 332lb ft. of torque. But like me, the MTM crew are never happy until they find out an engine's true potential. MTM co-founder Roland Mayer actually helped develop the original I-5 engine, so naturally he knows how to utilize every part. And the RS motor was built with a light-weight bottom end, just waiting to be tampered with.

This is our first introduction to German tuner MFK Autosport. From what we can tell they have a yen for old school Audi wagons. Their latest project involves the previous generation C5 Audi RS6, which was produced from 2002 to 2004, and featured Quattro GmbH's powerful 4.2-liter twin-turbocharged V8 good for 444 hp. The MFK Autosport Powercar Audi RS6, gets a host of aerodynamic and engine upgrades, including a remapped ECU which boosts the horsepower to 520 hp.

There are not a lot of cars that can transition so effortlessly into convertible form without giving up aesthetics or performance or both. The new 2010 Audi R8 5.2 FSI Spyder is one of those rare sports cars that not only pulls off the drop-top look in style but also gives up very little in street cred. The differences between it and the Coupe are subtle but nevertheless significant. The first thing that strikes you (besides the fact it's a convertible) is that gone are the trademark side blades, replaced with carbon-fiber air intakes built into the flanks.

Word is that Audi is going to produce a sport version of the A1 mini car sometime around 2011. The Audi S1 performance car will embody exactly what this class of vehicles is known for - power and handling. There should be a lot of competition at the bottom end of the luxury automotive market as pursestrings tighten in the global slowdown but enthusiasm for performance thrives. 

The Audi S1 should have solid aerodynamics and aesthetics with 19 inch alloy wheels, deep air scoops, a roof-mounted spoiler and LED daytime running lights. The powerplant will be the same 1.4-liter TSI engine found in the VW Polo GTI, with the exception that some tweaks and a new ECU should take the 178 hp engine up to well over 200 hp. A new S Tronic twin-clutch gearbox should provide great performance along with impressive fuel mileage.