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Audi claims that its latest A8 is the world's most powerful production saloon! 420bhp is not to be sniffed at. Many cars are still labelled supercars with less than that. You just would not expect such a figure to feature in the brochure for a saloon such as Audi's long wheelbase A8. It's true though. Audi have produced the most powerful saloon currently in production. How? A W (that is not a typo) 12 cylinder engine, that's how. The W configuration is unique to the VW Group, offering big advantages in packaging. I have not seen the production engine yet, but I am looking forward to it. Backing up the incredible power rating is 405 lb.ft of torque, enabling the A8 to hit 60 mph in well under six seconds, aided by the famous Quattro system. The car goes on sale in Germany this month for approx. £70,000, but guess what? No right hand drive versions. That is not too surprising as the A8 has a limited life-span in any case and not many executives need 420bhp to drive through London. We are promised the engine in the future though. |
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New look Renault Clio breaks cover. Now, I don't have the launch date to hand, but the current Renault Clio doesn't exactly strike me as out of date or even aging. In particular, the Sport Clio 172 is a serious object of automotive desire in the showroom and on the roads. Congratulations then to Renault for restyling the car so soon in its life. The reason of course is to fit in with the latest family look. I approve. The exterior is sharper as you can see. This is complemented by a new dashboard too, redesigned to incorporate the higher level of equipment now available. It appears that Renault are attempting to push themselves upmarket. Along with an increase in equipment levels is the addition of a few new engines, including a latest-generation diesel. Prices have not yet been announced, but the car goes on sale at the end of June. |
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Honda continue the Civic design theme with a new Coupé. When The Car Enthusiast tested the 2001 Honda Civic 5-door in November, we disapproved of the cars frontal styling. It has grown (very slightly) on me now having seen several on the road. However, the new Coupé seems to be following suit. The press pictures in any case do not flatter the car. I know it was made with the US market in mind, but come on! To its credit, the new Civic Coupé does seat five people and has a very high level of equipment. The 125PS (@6300rpm) VTEC engine manages to push the car to a top speed of 125mph (121 with a nasty automatic gearbox). It does, however, take over 9.5 seconds to get to 60 mph, so this is not really a sports car. More a sporty one. Prices have been announced as less than the outgoing model at £13,995 for the manual and £14,895 for the automatic. I never could understand the appeal of paying more for a car that is heavier, slower, thirstier and less fun to drive. All we need now is a Type R version (manual of course). |
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Audi continue to dominate sportscar racing. Yet another 1-2-3 for Audi at the Easter weekend at Donington Park. This was Audi's 11th consecutive victory in endurance sportscar racing. Do we think they will be beaten at Le Mans? No, we do not. Audi are also pretty confident, talking about another 1-2-3 at Le Mans this year. Their only serious challenge could be Bentley as it too uses the Audi engine. MG may well be a serious challenger in 2002, but not in 2001 I suspect. This race is not easily won with a new car. At Donington, Capello (winner of all three ALMS races this year) took the chequered flag, followed by Frank Biela and Stefan Johansson. The next competitor was 3 laps behind. |