Perfecto Quattro

July 04,2005

s that the best you pansies can do? I could almost hear Marv’s voice growling from the Audi A8 W12 as we waited for our acceleration run. The car was dismissing our efforts at unsettling it, like Marv slapping away some shadowy hit men. We were not in the dark alleys of Sin City, though. We were washed in the searing sunlight of Clark Field; the day was hot as hell.

This was the first exercise of the Audi quattro driving experience, held last 21-24 June by Audi AG and the Philippine exclusive distributor, PGA Cars. The instructions were simple: accelerate as fast as you can in a straight line, hitting 100 km/h by the end of the strip, then full pressure on the brakes, steer gently through the S-twist in the line of cones, and come to a dead halt. This simulates a panic stop at high speeds and simultaneously avoiding an obstacle, say a drunken jaywalker on C5.

The near-silent burbling of the engine gives way to a muted growl as we floor the throttle. You can’t hear much from the vault-like cabin, but from the outside the engine sound is a unique warbling note. 6.0 liters, 12 cylinders in a W configuration pump out 450 bhp and 580 Nm, enough to propel the A8 to 100 km/h in 5.2 seconds. It’s not the brutal acceleration of a Porsche, but a smooth, firm push to the triple digits.

The car’s six-speed auto has barely shifted to second gear when we reach the end. As the car’s nose enters the lane of cones, I stomp on the brakes, invoking the ABS, then turn into the bend. What seems like an insane maneuver from the passenger seat seems rather easy when you’re at the controls. The car remains perfectly obedient under the worst circumstances.

I lower the window as Cristoph Klagger, our instructor, approaches.

“Are we sightseeing?” he barked. “When I say floor it, it means the pedal has no more space to go,” slamming his fist into his palm. “You have to go faster.”

This is my kind of driving lesson, I thought, as we circled around for another turn.

The A8 probably wouldn’t be your first choice to weave through orange cones. It’s limousine-long and wide, and even with the use of the Audi Space Frame—the car’s body panels are hung on an aluminium frame, as on hand-built sports cars—it weighs nearly 2 tons. But behind the wheel, it’s an amazingly nimble car. Set the car’s air suspension to dynamic via the MMI controller and you’re all set.

The second exercise involved some wet sideways action. This time, an A6 4.2 quattro and water-soaked concrete provided the ingredients. The objective was to enter a sweeping bend that tightens up as you go along, and to control the car using steering, brakes and throttle.

The trick here was that Mr. Klagger had earlier pulled out the fuses for the Electronic Stabilization Program, ABS and traction control—no electronic aids then. I gunned the throttle and entered the cones. The car starts sliding a third of the way through, and I prod the accelerator as I twist the steering. Particularly with the ABS and ESP switched off, quattro proved its worth here, pulling us forward out of disaster, where a rear- or front-wheel drive car would end up mowing down the cones—or in the daisies, if this had been a real road.

The third and the most fun part was weaving through a twisty road course, with a slalom section at the end. The A6, with its electronic aids now restored, was in its element, thanks to its point-and-shoot nature. Its heavily-bolstered leather seats fit perfectly. The A8 held its own as its immense torque powered it through the bends.

Good against the cones is one thing; good against the real world is another. Still, the quattro experience helps drivers gain basic knowledge that will help them deal with emergency maneuvers. “No matter how good a driver you are, you will return home a better one after experiencing Audi’s training program,” is their summation.

There’s no mistaking the new Audi face, and behind the wheel there’s no mistaking the feel of quattro four-wheel drive and its contribution to driving safety and fun. The day was worth it: worth driving for, worth braking for, worth going sideways for.

By Jason K. Ang | Photos By Jason K. Ang

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