Each week, our German correspondent slices and dices the latest rumblings, news, and quick-hit driving impressions from the other side of the pond. His byline may say Jens Meiners, but we simply call him . . . the Continental.
Audi does not offer the Q3 in North America, but this is about to change within a year or two. And so my colleague Matthias Knödler took a closer look at the little luxury crossover—specifically, the high-performance RS Q3, which is being launched in Austria right now. We hear that as soon as the Q3 receives its midcycle face lift, it will be sent to the U.S., where it will compete with the BMW X1 and the slightly smaller Mercedes-Benz GLA-class. Why isn’t it coming now? Because it does not meet the requirements to be classified as a “light truck” and will need to be modified to, among other things, manage the mandated approach angle for such vehicles. Once that issue is tackled, the Q3 will be heading stateside—the hot RS Q3 included.
Powered by a turbocharged, 2.5-liter straight-five, the RS Q3 is rated at a conservative 310 horsepower—slightly more than the X1 xDrive35i and far less than in the outgoing RS3 and the TT RS. Power comes on around 3500–4000 rpm; it is channeled to all wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. This makes the RS Q3 plenty quick: It charges to 62 mph in 5.2 seconds and is governed at 155 mph. Matthias says that even in Dynamic and Sport modes, the RS Q3 could be more eager to downshift on tight mountain passes, and given how the shift paddles are indispensable, they could be a bit larger. Outside, the RS Q3 sounds great; inside, its unique exhaust note is perhaps a bit too muted.
The suspension handles the power with aplomb, keeping the RS Q3 neutral right up to its high limits. Stopping isn’t a problem, either, since there are eight-piston brake calipers up front, hiding behind 19-inch wheels. This suspension could handle more output, and indeed, Audi says that 310 horsepower needn’t be the ceiling: “There is potential for more.”
Professor Indra Weighs In
I recently had the opportunity to spend some time with Fritz Indra, whose distinguished career led him from Alpina to Audi to GM, where he was director of advanced engineering in powertrain operations until his retirement in 2005. Here are some of his comments.
Indra on Opel: “I hope they have a lot of great cars in the future. They should know that it is impossible to make money with electric vehicles. They need to make reasonable cars with which they actually make money. The Astra and Insignia are great cars, but they are too expensive. They must know that an Opel can never cost as much as a Mercedes.”
Indra on multi-speed transmissions: “It depends on the engine. More speeds allow the engine to operate in its most efficient range, and they allow for a sharper and more efficient engine application.”
Indra on three-cylinder engines: “They are great for smaller cars; GM, Ford, Fiat, etc., but probably not for BMW. Moreover, 1.5 liters of displacement is too much, mainly for acoustic reasons. The ideal three-cylinder engine is a turbocharged 1.0- or 1.2-liter.”
Indra on two-cylinder engines: “They don’t make sense. They run like a tractor, and you are always revving them too high in real life.”
Indra, who owns an Intermeccanica Indra—a 1970s sports-car project he had nothing to do with—is also no fan of electric vehicles, which he says do not offer any advantage over conventionally powered cars in either fuel economy or environmentally. I’ll have more on the latter point in a separate story.
- First Drive: 2012 Audi Q3
- Instrumented Test: 2012 Audi TT RS
- Prototype Drive: Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6×6
Auto Executives Gone Wild?
Speaking of auto executives, meet Frank Stronach, the creator of the Magna International automotive juggernaut, which—among a lot of other things—builds the venerable Mercedes-Benz G-wagen. Successful stuff, but the 81-year-old billionaire has failed woefully as a politician. Last week, his “Team Stronach” (cobbled together in only a year) fell far below expectations in Austria’s national elections. It ran on a populist platform that allegedly aimed to dismantle the Euro as a currency. The former auto exec pumped almost €35 million of his own funds into the campaign and had hoped for double-digit results. Instead, the self-proclaimed savior of the country came in a distant fifth, with 5.7 percent of the vote.
Stronach’s bizarre TV appearances were his undoing; he predictably got upset at journalists and once comically complained he didn’t get the beer he asked for. And I will spare you the shirtless picture he circulated before the elections, which wasn’t nearly as flattering as Vladimir Putin’s infamous horseback photo. On Thursday, only days after the voting, Stronach departed Austria, but not before ejecting a number of his party’s officials and demanding millions back from the organization. Stronach is not involved in the day-to-day business of Magna anymore, and there will be more hilarity down the road as he gives his luckless minions maximum grief.
Source: CarAndDriver
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