Top Ten Greatest Fast Audi's Ever

[GlenT]

A friend of mine in England with an RS2 sent me this article.

Top 10: greatest-ever fast Audis
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January 26 2007
In honour of the new R8, arriving on these shores imminently, we've decided
to round up our top 10 favourite fast Audis. Rather than go for all out
speed, we've picked the cars we think mean most today. It's a varied bunch,
but unsurprisingly, only a couple of the cars fail to demand that most
famous Audi add-on, Quattro four-wheel-drive. Most of them have an 'R' or an
'S' (or both.) in the title, too.
We drive the new Audi R8

Audi S2But before we get there, a history lesson commiseration prize. The
first of Audi's production 'S' cars was the S2. Arriving in 1991, it
dispatched 62mph from standstill in under six seconds, which is still
impressive some 16 years later. But the S2 doesn't make our top 10 favourite
fast Audis. No, we haven't gone mad - Audi simply has so many fast cars to
choose from we had to draw that ever-so-awkward line somewhere. And while
the S2 falls just the wrong side of it, it does goes to show the cars we
have listed really are something special. Do let us know if you agree.
Display more Audi S2 photos from Live Search
Audi Quattro, 1981-1990

Audi QuattroThe original Audi Quattro - or 'Ur-Quattro' - is the daddy of
them all. Introduced in 1980, it revolutionised Audi's previously dour
image, and brought four-wheel-drive spitting and screaming out of the
farmyard and into the petrolhead consciousness. Much of this was due to the
ludicrously turbocharged rally cars, which won their very first outing, and
culminated in 1985's fearsome S1. Developing 444bhp from just 2.2-litres and
still wearing a license plate, this 'Group B' rally monster was homologated
from a short run of Sport Quattro production cars that made over 350bhp from
the turbocharged straight five.
Used Audi Quattros from ?4,000
The more ordinary road-going Ur-Quattros made do with a maximum of 220bhp in
'20v' form, but remain one of the defining moments of performance car
history.
Display more Audi Quattro photos from Live Search
We drive a Quattro down a mountainside with Stig Blomqvist
Audi S8 (and S6), 2005- (2006- )

Audi S8 There's something magical about a V10. Exotic without being plain
weird (W12, anyone?), it evokes Formula One cars, and in Audi's case, the
Lamborghini Gallardo. Shame the Italian powerplant and Ingolstadt's petrol
range-topper don't actually have that much in common - but since when have
details mattered? Especially when the Audi engine displaces 5.2-litres,
produces 444bhp and 399lb ft of torque in the S8 - enough to rocket the
managing director from 0-62mph in just 5.0 seconds and headbutt the 155mph
limiter with, oh yes, conviction. And whether it be the all-aluminium S8 or
its smaller S6 sibling, you get cool looks, too - with menacing LED running
lights that warn other road users to get out of the way.
Driven: Audi S8 V10
Audi S3, 2007-
The new Audi S3 is the most powerful hot hatchback currently on sale. Which
does mean we can rather forgive the lurid orange paintjob in the early press
photography. The 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged power unit produces
261bhp - enough to propel the all-wheel drive GTi basher from 0-62mph in 5.7
seconds, and match its bigger brothers' electronically limited 155mph top
speed. It looks the business, too, complete with deep front bumper, side
skirts and tastefully judged rear wing. Unfortunately, like its predecessor,
the new S3's dynamics fail to rise to the occasion demanded by its image and
performance.
Competent, safe, and effortlessly fast, but not emotionally involving -
here's hoping for an RS version.
Display more Audi S3 photos from Live Search
Audi TT, 2006-
The original Audi TT is best described thus: always a fashion icon but never
a driver's car. (Except when the initial version suffered high-speed
stability problems. This at least made it a challenge.) But now there's a
new TT, and suddenly instead of talking about hairdressers and estate
agents, the world is double-taking the meanly pumped-up evolution of its
looks and gasping at the improvement in dynamic involvement. Clever
weight-balancing construction and super-trick magnetic suspension option -
just like a Ferrari 599, and now the R8 - are just two of the reasons
enthusiasts should take note.
Which are your favourite Audis - and why? Tell all on our message boards
For maximum speed, the 3.2-litre V6 is your friend, offering 0-62mph in 5.7
seconds (with the S-Tronic paddleshift auto). But the lighter two-wheel
drive 2.0-litre turbo is the most fun to hustle.
Driven: new Audi TT V6
Display used Audi TTs - from ?7,000
Audi RS6, 2002-2004
444bhp is a magical number in Audi history. The official power figure of the
S1 Group B rally car (although this comprehensively represents a new
definition of 'conservative'.), 444bhp is also the amount cranked out by the
4.2-litre, twin-turbocharged V8 installed in Audi's RS6. This car remains
one of the most devastatingly effective ways of warp-speeding a wardrobe, no
matter what kind of twisting tarmac you've got between A and B. That's
assuming you bought the uber-chic Avant estate, anyway - otherwise it's just
going to be a couple of bedside tables, and maybe a rug.
But proving the Avant was the cooler variant, the run-out RS6 Plus -
complete with 480bhp, no less - was only available as a loadlugger. Your
furniture will never, ever, be the same again.
Driven: Audi RS6 Plus
Display more Audi RS6 photos from Live Search
Display used RS6s - from ?23,000
Audi RS4, 2005-
For driving enthusiasts, the Audi revolution starts here. Over the years,
Audi's become expert at ignoring complaints about the handling
characteristics of its nose-heavy automobiles - understeer is just what
happens when you've got half the engine ahead of the front wheels. But
finally, and presumably after one comment too many suggesting its cars
couldn't match the likes of BMW's M3, 2005 saw Audi retaliate - gifting the
world the second generation RS4. For the first time the Quattro system is
biased towards the rear, making for a much more incisive driving experience.
And also, instead of relying on forced induction muscle the RS4 is home to
an all-new, high-revving naturally aspirated V8. The result is 414bhp,
0-62mph in 4.8 seconds, and the most driver-focused Audi since the RS2.
Reviewed: Audi RS4
Display used RS4s - from ?37,000
Audi RS2, 1994-1996
Ever wondered where the cult of fast Audi estates actually came from? The
answer is the RS2, a slightly bizarre amalgamation of Audi 80 Avant and
Porsche engineering resulting in a car worthy of legend. Producing 315
Porsche-fettled bhp - arriving almost entirely in one massive old-school
bang at 3,500rpm - the RS2 does 0-62mph in just 4.8 seconds. Contemporary
roadtests registered a 0-30mph time of just 1.5 seconds. Which is quicker
than a McLaren F1. To stop the performance becoming a liability at the first
corner, Porsche also fitted bespoke brakes and suspension components.
The RS2 is one of our most frightening ever family cars
Quattro all-wheel-drive completed the package, while visual enhancements
included the side mirrors and alloys from the Stuttgart firm's own Porsche
964 Turbo. That only 2,891 RS2s were ever made simply adds to the myth.
Display more RS2 photos from Live Search
Display used RS2s - from ?10,500
Audi Q7 V12 TDI, 2007.?
When you're talking fast Audis the Q7 doesn't immediately spring to mind.
But then, some would say Audi's determination to produce any kind of 4x4 has
diluted the subtle sophistication of their design language - so perhaps it's
no surprised the world's most powerful diesel-engined passenger vehicle will
come in Q7 guise. Will come? Well, yes - we're cheating slightly here.
Announced in 2006, there's still no production date (the Q7 doesn't even get
the V8 TDI until sometime this year), but for fast Audi aficionados with
lots of stuff to carry it may be worth the wait.
The 6.0-litre V12 produces 493bhp, 738lb ft of torque, and can haul the big
off-roader from 0-62mph in just 5.5 seconds.
See photos of the Audi Q7 V12 at the Detroit Motor Show
Audi R10, 2006-
Forget the super-Q7. Ultimate Audi diesel means only one thing: the 2006 R10
sports racing car. Successor to the all-conquering R8 - a sports racer so
spectacularly well engineered if we didn't have a word for reliability we'd
be using its picture - the R10 seems hell-bent on continuing that car's
tradition, winning every race it entered last year, including Le Mans.
Starring a 5.5-litre V12 TDI diesel engine, it produces a regulated 650bhp
with an immense 811lb ft of torque - all while avoiding sounding like a
tractor. In fact, the R10 is one eerie-sounding racing car, with a quiet
whooshing noise more akin to low-flying spaceships. We'd imagine.
The fastest of fast Audis. So what if there's nowhere to hang a tax disk and
it's only got rear-wheel-drive.
Display photos of the Audi R10 from Live Search
Audi R8, 2007-
Since rediscovering the concept of driver involvement - evidenced by the new
RS4 and TT - the R8 has become like the icing on Audi's cake of renaissance.
The company's first ever out and out sports car, it takes the RS4's
4.2-litre, 8,250rpm redline V8, repositions it betwixt the axles, and cloaks
it in a shape that's utterly antithetical of a saloon car on steroids.
Actually, that shape is the R8's most controversial feature - no-one's
disputing Audi's intentions in going after the Porsche 911, but the
future-coup? looks are certainly opinion dividing. But hey, the car does
0-62mph in 4.6 seconds.
We drive the new Audi R8
And it will also be the first road-going Audi to officially come without a
155mph limiter, so the majority of critics will struggle to keep up. An Audi
that exhibits fierce passion as well as engineering - who'd have thought.
Which are your favourite Audis - and why? Tell all on our message boards
The Audi R8 is one of our top 10 cars of 2007
Display more Audi R8 photos from Live Search
Get in the queue for an R8 - currently being advertised for around ?80,000
upwards