Posts Tagged ‘hels’

Driven: Audi TT RS. What happens when Germans go back to the future

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

I have an unusual habit of picking up test cars using public transport. I once took a Golden Arrow bus to Century City Mercedes Benz to pick up R2.2m worth of S65 AMG Limo Spec, which is almost exactly the opposite of public transport. It has a two TVs and a fridge for goodness’ sake.

The morning I was due to collect the TT RS I surprisingly had few lift options and so made use of the highly efficient and well-mannered minibus taxi service offered in Cape Town central. Sitting in the taxi waiting for it to fill up, so we could leave, I suddenly remembered all the advice about getting into an empty taxi. You literally wait. Until. It fills up. And then you leave. When the taxi driver has finished his lunch.

This gave my current vehicle a 0 – 100km/h sprint time of 24 minutes. Which is exactly 23 minutes and 55.4 seconds slower than the Audi TTRS I was about to be driving for a week.

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Driven (very quickly): The Audi R8 V10

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

Audi R8 V10, Subaru WRX Sport, 2am, Hels Hoogte Pass, Stellenbosch.

These days, the people’s car company makes a car for every person on earth. Volkswagen is now a very big family, having gobbled up Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, Seat, Skoda and even Bugatti.

And if soap operas have taught us anything it’s that families suffer sibling rivalries. Which is exactly what prevented the Audi R8 from getting the engine it always deserved: The 5.2 litre V10 from it’s flashier older brother, the Lamborghini Gallardo.
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