Audi 01/2013 - PDF

magazine 01/2013 | SINGAPORE EDITION
drive
Audi magazine / SINGAPORE EDITION / mica (p) 120/05/2012
Audi
move
The new Audi A3
Sportback
inspire
Audi Fashion
Festival 2013
drive: The Audi R8 at the Nürburgring / move: The new Audi A3 Sportback / inspire: Audi Fashion Festival 2013
The Audi R8 at the
Nürburgring
01/2013 SG
Editorial
Progressive. Delight.
Welcome to the first issue of the Audi Magazine
Singapore Edition for 2013.
In the coming pages, you’ll get a sample of what
we have prepared for you. Besides the lovely Audi R8
gracing our cover (coming in the next few weeks); we are
eagerly looking forward to the arrival of the new Audi A3
Sportback. Larger yet lighter, elegantly styled and even
more intricately finished, the new Audi A3 Sportback sets
the standard in the premium hatchback class.
Also lined up for Singapore is the arrival of the Audi
RS 4 Avant. After its exclusive preview at the opening of the
Audi Centre Singapore, this latest member of our illustrious
line of RS models is finally going to hit the streets.
Speaking of the new Centre, the Audi Magazine
team has put together a nice recap of that wonderful
evening of 12 December 2012 that starts in Pg 78. Have
you been to the new home of Audi yet?
Since the opening, the Audi Centre Singapore
has played host to a myriad of events, from photography
workshops to wine appreciation evenings and fashion shows.
The state of the art facility gives us new opportunities to
engage you, by offering things you enjoy, going beyond the
range of cars, that is.
Globally, Audi has been a longstanding partner
with fashion. With the 2013 installment of the Audi
Fashion Festival happening in May, the Magazine features
an added tinge of glamor with our very own fashion spread
on page 64. A first for the Singapore Edition, the pages
star the face of this year’s Audi Fashion Festival as well as
the latest Audi A8 L 4.0 TFSI. It’s a fitting complement of
beauty and craftsmanship at its best.
Keeping with the fashion theme, we catch up with
Roderic Wong, the winner of the Audi Star Creation, which
is a regional fashion design competition that culminates
at the Audi Fashion Festival. Roderic impressed us deeply
last year with his innovative design that included creating
his own unique material, in the process demonstrating his
version of the “Vorsprung durch Technik” philosophy that
has always been at the core of Audi.
It’s our hope at Audi Singapore, that you too, will
express the progressive spirit in your lives.
Yours,
Jeff Mannering
Managing Director, Audi Singapore
004 / Editorial / Audi magazine
012
Contents
move
move News  042  
 
News and success stories from
the Audi world of sport.
drive
Trafficology  043  
Tom Vanderbilt on the art of
communication in traffic.
drive News  010  
New models, new technology,
company news.
World’s end  044  
  
The Audi driving experience at
the northern edge of Europe.
Lord of the ring  012  
Birth of an Icon 050
12-12-12: An auspicious day and
a fabulous party
  
Professional racing driver Frank
Schmickler tests the revamped
Audi R8 on the Nürburgring.
inspire
Fabric of Success 076
A chat with Audi Star Creation’s
Young Designer Award winner –
Roderic Wong
Formula rising sun  056  
Perfectly connected  022
The electrical network in an
Audi is as complex as a nervous
system.
Life moves  026  
A portrait of three Paralympics
athletes who benefit from Audi
driving aids.
Under construction  032  
The Audi crosslane coupé:
Creating the show car for the
Paris Motor Show.
Audi Fashion Festival 2013 070
The fashion event of the year
returns in style
Alex Yoong is taking motorsport to China with the Audi R8
LMS Cup.
Two-strokes
of genius  060  
  
Audi Tradition unearths treasures
in Brazil: Two DKW cars conquer
the Copacabana.
The ten  078
Our top ten design products
for winter.
Me and My Audi 080
Claressa Monteiro and the
Audi RS 5
026
Power Wagon 064
Space meets pace in the extraordinary Audi RS 4
For topics marked with this
symbol, you can get exclusive
additional material in the iPad
edition of Audi magazine or
watch special reports on
Audi tv at www.audi.tv.
044
Audi R8 fuel consumption urban/extra-urban/combined (in l/100 km): 22.2–19.3/10.7–8.4/14.9–12.4. CO2 emissions combined (in g/km):
349–289, EU5. Audi Q7 fuel consumption urban/extra-urban/combined (in l/100 km): 14.4–8.2/8.5–6.5/10.7–7.2. CO2 emissions combined
(in g/km): 249–189, EU5.
Audi magazine / 005
Photos: Anke Luckmann, RECOM, AUDI AG
Fab Five 036
The versatile and refined Audi
A3 Sportback continues to win
hearts and minds
Audi cosmos
The latest on Audi tv, the magazine
t e a m a n d t h e A u d i d i g i t a l w o r l d . International Edition:
Masthead
Publisher
AUDI AG, I/VM-43, International Customer Marketing,
85045 Ingolstadt, Germany, www.audi.com
Responsible for AUDI AG
Tanja Quenzler
 Photographer Anke Luckmann braves the far north. 
If anyone decided to measure the proportion
of women working in automotive photography, they
would probably find that it’s only one percent. Anke
Luckmann is that rarest of creatures—a woman who
takes the driver’s seat in automotive shoots. Based in
Barcelona, the photographer has not only produced
the images that have graced numerous Audi vehicle
and motorsport campaigns, but has also met with
some of the top racing drivers as part of her work for
magazines. Despite a busy schedule, she immediately
jumped at the chance to capture the North Cape tour.
As it turns out, she hadn’t been to the edge of the
world yet, either.
 World Endurance Championship—Shanghai showdown. 
The thrilling showdown of the 2012 World Endurance
Championship was held in China’s harbor metropolis, Shanghai.
Audi had put in a sensational performance throughout the series
and clinched the manufacturer’s title several races earlier with
the Audi R18 e-tron quattro dominating most events. Audi tv
was in Shanghai to record all
the excitement.
 The revamped Audi R8. 
The specs speak for
themselves, as does the design. The latest Audi R8 picks
up right where its predecessor’s
six-year-long success story left
off. In this video report, a team
from Audi tv reveals not only
the breathtaking dynamism
and sensational handling of
the supersports car from Ingolstadt, but also all the new technologies that will have drivers
drooling.
Central Coordination and Editing,
International Coordination
Julia Risch, Fleur Cannas
Audi tv
Angelika Schallerer
Publishing House & Concept
loved gmbh, 20457 Hamburg, Germany
[email protected], www.loved.de
Editor-in-Chief
Sabine Cole
Creative Direction
Mieke Haase, Rouven Steinke
Art Direction
Julia-Christin Holtz
Editors
Andreas Wrede (Consulting), Jan Strahl (Duty Editor),
Hermann J. Müller, Christiane Tillmann, Timo Ahrens
(Final Editing)
Authors
Roland Huschke, Bertram Job, Thilo Komma-Pöllath,
Tom Vanderbilt
Layout
Kristin Eichmann, Alexandra Westphal
Publication Manager
Peter Matz
Publication Coordination
Ute Klemp (Hamburg),
Daniela Sutter (Ingolstadt)
Picture Editor
Penélope Toro
English Adaptation
Burton, Münch & Partner, 40549 Düsseldorf,
Germany, [email protected]
Singapore Edition:
The entire issue of the Audi magazine is also
available as an iPad app.
For all the up-to-the-minute broadcasts and
reports, go to www.audi.tv.
You can now also receive Audi tv on
Internet-enabled TV sets made by Samsung
and Loewe.
Download the weekly Audi tv podcast at
www.apple.com/itunes.
Publisher
Audi Singapore Pte Ltd, Marketing Department, 1 Kim Seng
Promenade, #17-10 Great World City West Tower,
Singapore 237994, [email protected]
Editorial Consultant
Big Time Publishing Pte Ltd
220 Tagore Lane, #03-01 Singapore 787600
Contributors
Tim McIntyre, Derryn Wong, Ben Chia, Melvin Tang,
Elissa Loi, Nathan Kelly, Leow Julen
Photography
Albert Tan
Audi tv now also in the Audi Space at
PlayStation Home on PlayStation 3.
Art Direction
Edroos Alsagoff
The Audi YouTube channel can be viewed
at www.youtube.com/audi.
Printing
KHL Printing Co Pte Ltd
Audi Germany is now on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/AudiDE.
006 / Audi cosmos / Audi magazine
Project Director
Anja Weinhofer
No responsibility will be accepted for unsolicited manuscripts and photos
received. Despite careful selection of sources, no responsibility can be
taken for accuracy. No part of this magazine may be used or reproduced in
any manner whatsoever without written permission. 2011 Audi magazine.
All rights reserved. 149/2104.00.18
drive
008 / drive / Audi magazine
T h a t e s s e n t i a l e d g e : V o r s p r u n g d u r c h Te c h n i k .
Lord of the Ring. 12
Electronic network: The nerve system of an Audi. 22
Life moves: Three Audi drivers with Audi driving aids. 26
Audi crosslane coupé: Building the show car for the Paris Motor Show. 32
Fab Five: The Audi A3 Sportback. 36
The new Audi A3 Sportback – Innovative features, class-leading build quality and trendsetting good looks.
Audi magazine / 009
News
Audi classics 2013
drive / New models, new technology
and company news
 Promising Start for Audi in 2013.
It’s still early days in 2013 but Audi is already quick out of the
gate. January 2013 saw 111,750 Audi vehicles delivered to new homes
across the globe – a 16.3 percent increase over January 2012. The bulk of
that improvement came from a strong showing by Audi’s mid-range cars,
such as the A4, A5 and Q5. Particularly strong growth in this segment
was posted in the USA and in Germany, where sales of the Audi Q5 shot up
by more than 70 percent. The two markets were key contributors to the
global expansion, increasing sales by 13.6 and 11.8 percent respectively,
while the biggest gains came from China, which saw a whopping 38.5
percent jump over the year before.
111,750
Play
 Shakespeare in the Park with Audi classics.  
Shakespeare in the Park, an eagerly anticipated
event organized by the Singapore Repertory Theatre
(SRT) and sponsored by Audi, returns to Fort Canning
Green this April with Othello. As the SRT is commemorating its 20th anniversary this year, the audience is in
for a treat – Othello promises to be the biggest, most
elaborate Shakespeare in the Park production to date.
Othello will be performed Wednesday through Sunday
from April 26 to May 19, at Fort Canning Park. Audi
customers enjoy a 10 percent discount on their tickets.
Simply present your car key at the SRT Box Office. More
information at www.srt.com.sg
5
 Five-star Euro NCAP rating for the Audi A3. 
The Euro NCAP consortium has awarded the current Audi A3 the maximum five-star rating for passive
crash safety. The results for adult occupant protection in
a frontal, rear and side impact as well as child safety and
pedestrian protection make the Audi A3 the safest car in
its class. Kudos were also given for the front and rear seat
belt reminder that comes as standard and for pedestrian
protection achieved through the specially designed front
end. Audi also prioritizes active safety, offering driving assistance systems such as Audi adaptive cruise control, Audi
active lane assist, Audi side assist, the speed limit display
and rest recommendations as optional equipment even for
the compact class.
Get to know the new Audi A3 models at the
dedicated website: www.audi.com/a3.
010 / drive / Audi magazine
2012
 Audi brand video is crowned the best car 
 advertisement of the year. 
Under the auspices of German motoring magazine AUTO BILD, an expert jury adjudicated the fifth edition of the AUTOSPOT
awards, which recognized the best commercials for the German market in 2012. Advertisements ranging from traditional TV ads
through viral web videos to interactive ads
for tablet computers were honored. Audi
came out tops in two of the categories. Conferred at the Paris Motor Show, the readers’
award went to the Audi brand video, while the
jury gave the interactive iPad ad “DTM finger
race” their thumbs up. www.audi.com/brandfilm
Watch the entire Audi brand video on
www.audi.tv.
 Audi Ambassador and World No.1 LPGA Golfer
Yani Tseng Visits the Lion City. 
The Singapore golfing community was abuzz last
weekend as Audi Ambassador and current LPGA World
Number 1 Yani Tseng of Taiwan visited the Lion City to
compete in the HSBC Women’s Champions tournament
held from 28 February to 3 March at the Serapong
Course of the Sentosa Golf Club. A day after the event,
Yani was seen arriving at the Hamilton Scotts luxury residences driving the limited edition Audi R8 GT Spyder.
1
Photos: AUDI AG
AFF
 The Audi Fashion Festival 2013 returns
2013 marks the fifth anniversary of the Audi Fashion Festival. This time around, the theme for Singapore’s fashion event
of the year is ‘Crafting the Future’. An apt theme since craftsmanship is as integral to fashion as it is to luxury motoring. The event,
scheduled for the middle of the year, will be fronted by two of Singapore’s top models – Sheila Sim and up-and-coming Vivien Ong
(For more of Vivien, turn to page 64). Apart from being the title
sponsor of the main event, Audi is also continuing its sponsorship of the affiliated Audi Star Creation 2013, the fashion design
competition that aims to discover and nurture young talent from
across Asia.
Audi magazine / 011
Lord of
the ring
012 / drive / Audi magazine
Its dynamics are irresistible, its handling properties
breathtaking. The Audi engineers have excelled themselves once
again with the revamped  Audi R8.  Audi driver Frank Schmickler
put the car through its paces on the Nürburgring.
B y H e r m a n n J . M ü l l e r ( c o p y ) & R o b e r t G r i s c h e k ( p h o t o s ) & re c o m ( C G I )
Audi magazine / 013
  A r a c e w o u l d n e v e r b e s t a r t e d 
  u n d e r t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s . 
  B u t F r a n k S c h m i c k l e r i s n ’ t 
  w o r r i e d i n t h e s l i g h t e s t . 
014 / drive / Audi magazine
A lot has changed at the Nürburgring in recent
years. The Grand Prix circuit is among the safest in the
world, but is now only used for Formula 1 races every two
years. A huge experience center has been built around the
start-finish area. But the legend of the Nürburgring lives
on, symbolized above all by the good old Nordschleife—
and the infamous weather. At eight in the morning as we
roll the new Audi R8 into the pit lane, it is again showing
off its bad side. Thick wafts of mist hang over the finishing straight, visibility is less than 100 meters, and a fine
drizzle gives the asphalt a threatening, shiny black appearance. A race would never be started under conditions like
these. Our photographer, on the other hand, grins gleefully at the “incredible mood” created by the inhospitable
setting. Frank Schmickler isn’t worried in the slightest,
either. The former Formula 3 and DTM driver knows the
weather on his home circuit and how to deal with it. Since
2008, he has worked as an Audi driving experience instructor, but he still regularly steers an Audi R8 LMS around the
Nordschleife in Nürburgring endurance races. >>
Audi magazine / 015
016 / drive / Audi magazine
  A f t e r i t s r e c e n t u p g r a d e , t h e A u d i R 8 l o o k s 
  e v e n m o r e a t t r a c t i v e a n d d y n a m i c t h a n b e f o r e . 
Audi magazine / 017
The star of the show is similarly unaffected
by the weather at the Nürburgring. After its recent
upgrade, the Audi R8 looks even more attractive and
dynamic than before: The Singleframe grille and air
inlets at the front have been redesigned, as have the
all-LED headlights and tail lights. Slimmer exterior
mirrors, a shiny black diffuser under the rear spoiler
and not least the red diamond in the R8 logo—signaling the car is built by quattro GmbH—set the new
model apart from its predecessor at first sight. An
eye-catcher for experts is concealed behind the forged aluminum wheels: The brake discs in the optional
ceramic brakes are made from carbon fiber reinforced
ceramic material. They provide outstanding deceleration even in extreme temperatures—and boast low
weight. In addition, the extremely hard and virtually
abrasion-proof material increases disc life. But even
with the standard equipment level, there are new
features: The wave brake discs in the 18-inch highperformance brake system differ in appearance from
standard discs due to their wave-shaped edge. Much
more important, however, are their technical benefits:
018 / drive / Audi magazine
The floating mounting of the internally vented and
perforated discs minimizes deformation and so improves performance. Also, the lower weight means less
unsprung mass, which in turn spells enhanced driving
dynamics.
And that’s precisely where our test drive is taking
us. Frank Schmickler knows the Audi R8 inside out and has
done for years, but this is the first time he has seen the new
model. He admires the new Fine Nappa full-leather trim
with diamond stitching, instantly notices the enlarged and
ergonomically improved shift paddles, and proceeds to
warm up the car. Burbling discreetly, the Audi R8 rolls out
of the pit lane onto the exit lane, disappearing gradually in
the mist, the “sweeping indicator” the last thing that can
be made out vaguely through the veil of fine water droplets as the car hits the track. When barely more than two
minutes later it sweeps down the finishing straight for the
first time, the car has evidently reached running temperature: The speedometer needle passes 200 kilometers per
hour before Schmickler brakes ahead of the near-hairpin
at the end, flips down the gears almost playfully with the
left paddle and then accelerates again toward the next left
hander, defying the slippery surface. Once again, Schmickler is “amazed” by a car that for him represents the “perfect combination” of two ordinarily conflicting qualities:
“It’s super-fast round the corners yet at the same time
very comfortable to drive. Even with a really sporty driving
style, the Audi R8 remains extremely good-natured.”
This is impressively confirmed in the last bend
before the finishing straight. Schmickler has turned off
the electronic stability control (ESC), deliberately steers
hard into the bend and presses down on the throttle—a
provocation that would send most cars spinning on such
a slippery surface, but not this one. With gentle counter
steer movements, the seasoned Schmickler keeps the
Audi R8 effortlessly on course and is full of praise for its
handling: “Sensational! You’re operating at a very high level, reaching high cornering speeds, yet the car isn’t in any
way aggressive or twitchy. It’s even quite forgiving of the
odd mistake. When you reach the limits of handling with
other cars of this caliber, you’re often walking a tightrope.”
The reason for the good manners of the Audi R8,
according to Schmickler, is the perfectly balanced axle
load distribution and above all the four-wheel drive: “The
quattro is a massive help in situations like this because,
with it, we still have traction on the front axle—so when
the car’s slightly unstable, it soon gets it back in the
right direction.” It works just as straightforwardly with a
“normal” driver at the wheel, as Schmickler has experienced time and again in his job as an Audi driving experience instructor: “When I see how people start off in the
morning, the relatively low level they’re starting from,
and then how they finish up in the afternoon, going miles
faster and feeling safe doing so—it’s really gratifying at the
end of the day.”
Another ongoing source of pleasure for the
47-year-old is the powerful V8 FSI engine, delivering 430
horsepower and a power-to-weight ratio of 3.7 kilograms
per horsepower, as well as its interplay with the completely redesigned S tronic® seven-speed dual clutch gearbox,
deployed in the Audi R8 in place of the previous sequential R tronic®. Schmickler: “Five years ago, I wouldn’t have
considered anything but a manual transmission, but the
extremely short shift times, the intelligent control system
and the option of using the paddles to have more fun—
it’s simply sensational.” As someone who travels around
70,000 kilometers a year in his Audi A3 Sportback (“the
ideal car for me”), Schmickler is so thrilled by the new
Audi R8 that he “could well imagine having one in the garage for Sundays.” The weather wouldn’t matter, either ...
//
Further impressions of Frank Schmickler and the Audi R8 on
the Nürburgring can be found in the iPad App.
Audi magazine / 019
Engine
Audi R8 V8 Coupé 4.2 FSI quattro (430 hp)¹
Audi R8 V8 Spyder 4.2 FSI quattro (430 hp)2
Audi R8 V10 Coupé 5.2 FSI quattro (525 hp)3
Audi R8 V10 Spyder 5.2 FSI quattro (525 hp)4
Audi R8 V10 plus Coupé 5.2 FSI quattro (550 hp)5
Drive/transmission
quattro permanent all-wheel drive, six-speed manual gearbox or
seven-speed S tronic.
Standard equipment
Incl. all-LED headlights including headlight cleaning system, LED
tail lights, automatic air conditioning, sports seats (R8 bucket
seats in the Audi R8 V10 plus Coupé) , leather-covered multifunction sports steering wheel in three-spoke design, anti-theft alarm,
driver information system, heated seats, recuperation.
Optional extras
Incl. Fine Nappa full-leather trim with diamond stitching, ceramic
brakes (standard in the Audi R8 V10 plus Coupé) , garage door opener (HomeLink), Audi music interface, Bluetooth interface, parking
system plus with reversing camera.
To find out more about the Audi R8 or configure
your car, go to www.audi.com.sg.
You can view the Audi R8 in action
at www.audi.tv.
The figures stated were determined in accordance with stipulated measuring methods. Fuel consumption urban/extra-urban/
combined (in l/100 km): (1) 21.3–19.3/10.0–8.4/14.2–12.4; (2)
21.3–19.6/10.3–8.6/14.4–12.6; (3) 22.2–20.5/10.6–8.9/14.9–
13.1; (4) 22.2–20.5/10.7–9.2/14.9–13.2; (5) 22.2–19.9/10.6–
8.6/14.9–12.9. CO2 emissions (in g/km): (1) 332–289; (2) 337–
294; (3) 346–305; (4) 349–310; (5) 346–299. All EU5.
020 / drive / Audi magazine
  T h e r e a s o n f o r t h e g o o d m a n n e r s 
  o f t h e A u d i R 8 i s t h e a x l e l o a d d i s t r i b u t i o n 
  a n d a b o v e a l l t h e q u a t t r o d r i v e . 
Audi magazine / 021
Perfectly
connected
Bugged by that bird’s nest of cables under your desk? It ’s nothing
compared to the  wiring in an Audi A1.  More than 1,000 different
cables and up to 368 connectors are needed to
operate all the functions of the smallest Audi model.
B y H e r m a n n J . M ü l l e r ( c o p y ) & N i l s K a s i s k e ( i l l u s t r a t i o n )
022 / drive / Audi magazine
Like a nerve system, the electric and data cables in an Audi A1
Illustration: Steven Pope PPDM for AUDI AG
connect into a network with a total length of up to 1,640 meters.
Fuel consumption and CO2 emission figures are provided on page 24.
Audi magazine / 023
To ensure the electronic systems work even in critical conditions, tests are carried out that simulate every conceivable electrical system scenario, including undervoltage and overvoltage. Staff in the electronics center test the network in a so-called reference vehicle (an Audi A8 in the photo).
  I n a f u l l y e q u i p p e d A u d i A 1 , a t o t a l o f 
  1 , 0 6 8 d i f f e r e n t c a b l e s e n s u r e t h a t e v e r y 
  p u s h o f a b u t t o n i s a c t e d u p o n c o r r e c t l y 
  a n d r e a c h e s a l l t h e s y s t e m s i n v o l v e d 
  i n t h e d e s i r e d f u n c t i o n . 
Are you well connected? We hope so, because
you don’t get far nowadays without a wide and wellfunctioning network of contacts, in both your social and
work life. Good connections also make car driving a lot
easier. On the face of it, operating a modern car seems
simple—as simple as getting electricity from a socket.
You step on the gas pedal and the engine revs up. Press
a button and the air conditioner switches on. Turn a
knob and the temperature changes. But few people realize that even in an outwardly compact Audi A1, the pri-
Audi A1 fuel consumption urban/extra-urban/combined (in l/100 km): 7.5–4.4/5.1–3.4/5.9–3.8. CO2 emissions combined (in g/km):
139–99, EU5. Audi A8 fuel consumption urban/extra-urban/combined (in l/100 km): 13.1–6.4/7.4–5.2/9.5–6.0. CO2 emissions combined
(in g/km): 199–139, EU5.
024 / drive / Audi magazine
mary controls conceal a highly complex network. One
person who does is Markus Lutzenberger, responsible
for electrical systems at Audi technical development. He
has measured the nerve cords in the smallest Audi model and come up with some impressive figures: In a fully
equipped Audi A1, a total of 1,068 different cables with
an aggregate length of 1,640 meters ensure that every
push of a button is acted upon correctly and reaches
all the systems involved in the desired function.
And in a relatively simple function such as
switching on the hazard lights, that doesn’t just include
the turn lights. The command from the hazard lights
button goes as a signal to the central electrical system
controller. From there, an asynchronous serial bus system (CAN bus) passes the information on to the gateway, a kind of bus station, where the information from
the individual controllers comes together. From here it
is passed on accordingly—for example, to the door controllers, which activate the turn lights integrated in the
outside mirrors, or to the instrument cluster, which visually signals the functioning of the hazard lights to the
driver. At the same time, the electrical system controller checks whether the rear lid is open or closed and activates the turn signals either in the tail lights or inside
the rear lid.
The role of the controllers
The electronic network in an Audi cannot work with a wiring system
alone. To execute the driver’s commands and process internal signals, it additionally needs intelligent controllers that, together with
sensors, monitor compliance with set parameters and carry out adjustments where needed. There are up to 38 such controllers in an
Audi A1, controlling safety functions such as the ABS, comfort features such as automatic climate control, as well as technical processes
such as diesel pump operation, the mechatronics of the dual-clutch
gearbox and brake energy recuperation. On top of that, there are
multi-tasking computers such as the central electrical system controller BCM35 installed in the side of the driver’s footwell. This 350 gram
mini-computer the size of a cigar box houses a four-layer printed circuit board, has a clock speed of 32 megahertz and a maximum switching capacity of 1.1 kilowatts, and controls functions as diverse as the
entire interior and exterior light system and the central locking system including radio remote control.
Photos: AUDI AG
With complex functions, signal transmission is
even more intricate, and things aren’t made any easier
by the large number of options available for the Audi A1.
Depending on the electrical equipment chosen, each
vehicle is fitted with a customer-specific cable set, of
which—according to Markus Lutzenberger—there are “a
maximum possible 420 sextillion variants.” This complexity, which requires elaborate design and logistics in
development and electrical system manufacturing, is
for the customer’s benefit: The cross-section of each individual cable is designed to meet specific requirements (consumer power, voltage drop, ambient temperatures, fuses), and in each vehicle only as many
cables are installed as are needed for the particular
equipment level. This reduces not just costs but also
weight. Including accessories, relays, fuses and connectors, the entire electrical system of a fully equipped
Audi A1 weighs under 30 kilograms and, in the future, it
will weigh even less: More and more aluminum wires are
being used in electrical system manufacturing. Although these require a slightly larger cross-section to
achieve the same conductivity, they are still lighter than
conventional copper wiring.
The wiring network is particularly complex in
vehicles with the full infotainment package. The large
amounts of data generated during use of the navigation
system and sound systems require extremely high
transmission capacities, which cannot be optimally
achieved using normal cables. Instead, an optical data
bus system called MOST (for Media Oriented Systems
Transport) is used. Here, data is transmitted digitally
between the individual components with the aid of light
waves. The driver only needs to press a button and millions of bytes flow through the car.
//
Audi magazine / 025
Maria Kühn gets into her new Audi A1
Sportback for the first time. It’s been
equipped with Commander classic hand
controls. To accelerate, an ergonomically
shaped and adjustable lever is turned
to the right. When the lever is pushed
forward, the car brakes.
026 / drive / Audi magazine
Life
moves
F o r P a r a l y m p i c s m e d a l w i n n e r s  M a r i a K ü h n , G e r d S c h ö n f e l d e r a n d V i c o M e r k l e i n , 
mobility and independence are non-negotiable. Thanks to the Audi portfolio of
 driving aids,  they enjoy these freedoms in spor ty style on Germany’s roads. Over
the following pages, these exceptional athletes offer insights into theirlives.
B y E v a B o l h o e f e r ( c o p y )
Defending, dribbling, shooting—Maria Kühn does
it all on two wheels. And she isn’t dainty about it. After
all, wheelchair basketball is no sport for the fainthearted.
Tires squeal as players collide. Falls are fairly common. If
a team member is knocked out of their chair, play continues uninterrupted and it’s up to them to find a way to get
back up. “At first, I had no interest in joining a disabled
sports group because I thought it was just an opportunity
for everyone to cry on each others’ shoulders—which is, of
course, garbage,” says the 30-year-old member of the German national squad. Today, the world-class athlete who
won gold in the Paralympics and has two European Championship titles as well as a silver medal from the World
Championship under her belt is among basketball’s greats.
In 2002—the year of the horseback riding accident that put her in a wheelchair—that gold medal would
have seemed like a completely unrealistic prospect, not
least because she was never that much into ball games.
Although her injury came as a terrible shock to her and her
family, she quickly learned how to cope with her new circumstances. Right after leaving hospital, she started her
training as an industrial clerk and went on to study business. In other words, she continued on the course her life
was to have taken regardless of her new situation. “I had
to prove to myself that it was all still possible. In fact, I’ve
become more of a risk taker since the accident,” explains
Maria Kühn. Aside from wheelchair basketball, she also
enjoys skiing, swimming and diving. Her passions include
such adrenaline rushes as bungee jumping and parachuting, too. “Bungee is something I was already doing before the accident but I’m only able to skydive in tandem,”
adds the girl from Stuttgart whom friends know as Ria.
Kühn accidentally stumbled on basketball when she tried
wheelchair dancing. “Someone in the dance group mentioned that in Ludwigsburg you could also play basketball
in a wheelchair. So I went to check it out,” says Kühn. >>
When she’s not chasing gold with the national squad, Maria Kühn
shoots hoops for the Mainhatten Skywheelers.
Audi A1 Sportback fuel consumption urban/extra-urban/combined (in l/100 km): 7.5–4.4/5.1–3.4/5.9–3.8;
CO2 emissions combined (in g/km): 139–99, EU5.
Audi magazine / 027
While Gerd Schönfelder may have retired from professional competition, he is by no means
“tired.” For one, the Audi brand ambassador works as a motivational coach throughout Germany.
A mere three years later, she was selected for the German national squad, which went on to win the European
Championships in the UK that same year. The crowning
achievement of her career so far came at the Paralympics
this summer in London, where Kühn and the German team
beat Australia in the final to take gold.
“Just getting to London called for intensive training because making the national team was no walk in the
park. I am so grateful that I was picked and got the opportunity to experience competing in the Games,” says Maria. The accident is no longer a sore point for Maria Kühn:
“While I’m not glad that it happened, I can’t imagine what
my life would be like if I could still walk. I’m happy with
things the way they are.” Looking at her, you can tell that
these aren’t just empty words but simply the facts.
With a smile on his face, alpine skier Gerd Schönfelder holds up an award in his left hand that bears the
inscription “Champion of the Year 2012” in black letters.
The honor conferred on Schönfelder by 88 of Germany’s
finest athletes during a retreat on Crete is the equivalent
of a sporting knighthood and a fitting close to a stellar
career encompassing 16 Paralympic gold medals and 14
World Champion titles. Schönfelder retired from competition at the beginning of this year. “After 20 years representing Germany and six Paralympic Games, you need to
tell yourself that it’s time to move on—before others do,”
explains the 42-year-old.
The “Champion of the Year” award was set up in
2000 by tourism chain Robinson Club and the German
Sports Aid Foundation (DSH). Since sportsmen and women
028 / drive / Audi magazine
have a different perspective on their peers’ achievements,
the award centers on the idea that other athletes rather
than journalists or fans select the winner. “There is no
greater accolade than to be commended by such an illustrious group of world-class German sportsmen,” comments the delighted Bavarian from the town of Kulmain on
receiving the prestigious trophy.
Over 20 years ago, Schönfelder lost his right arm
and three fingers on his left hand in an accident. “It was
terrible at first but I’m really good at putting things out of
my mind. I told myself: It will all come with time—just take
baby steps. Gradually, I won back my independence with
the ability to feed myself, dress myself without help—basically to cope with the everyday stuff.
“I’m pretty resourceful. I start off thinking about
what I want to achieve and then try to find a way of getting there.” Instead of sulking over what might have been,
his optimistic outlook on the here and now helped him
make the best of things. Since his accident, the qualified
electrical engineer has gained a masterly grip on doing everything left handed—from skiing, playing golf and tennis
to swimming and mountain biking. Next, he plans on giving kayaking a go. Even now that the bull of Kulmain, as
Schönfelder is affectionately known, has officially retired
from sport, physical activity remains his lifeblood—sitting
around is just not his style.
As his days no longer revolve around a training
schedule, Gerd Schönfelder is spending lots of time with
his wife and kids. Which is not to say that life has slowed
to a sedate pace—that would be contrary to his nature. The
Audi ambassador is coaching Germany’s top disabled athletes, giving talks around the country and is active in his
community in Kulmain as a youth officer. In working with
young people, Schönfelder is particularly passionate about
promoting sport for the disabled: “Keeping physically >>
Whether on his mountain bike or in his Daytona Gray Audi A6 Avant S line with
quattro permanent all-wheel drive, Gerd Schönfelder is always on the go.
Gerd Schönfelder’s Audi A6 Avant has been fitted with a multifunctional joystick that
makes it possible to steer with one hand. What’s more, the vehicle is also
equipped with an automatic transmission, adaptive light, rain sensor and advanced
key that unlocks the trunk using a sensor.
Audi A6 Avant fuel consumption urban/extra-urban/combined (in l/100 km): 10.8–5.9/6.6–4.4/8.2–5.0;
CO2 emissions combined (in g/km): 190–132, EU5.
Audi magazine / 029
Handcyclist Vico Merklein pushes past his limits and keeps on going. On a downhill,
he can get up to 90 kilometers per hour. As a result of the material wear, Merklein needs
a new bike every two years.
fit is especially important for people with disabilities because it makes overcoming their challenges that much
easier,” he points out. “What’s more, it adds to your quality
of life and every success is a great self-affirmation.”
Schönfelder also continues to test his own limits—
with the Race across America, for instance. This transcontinental bicycle race runs from the U.S. West Coast to the
East Coast, a distance of 4,800 kilometers. It’s an event
that’s guaranteed to ensure that the Champion of the Year
stays true to his motto in life: “living on the edge.”
Vico Merklein can’t live without the highs of competition, victory and pushing himself to extremes. The top
athlete clocks up as much as 20,000 kilometers each year
on his recumbent racing handcycle. Using the strength of
his arms alone, he reaches speeds of up to 45 kilometers
per hour during races. Merklein is also one up on Gerd
Schönfelder, since he completed the Race across America
in 2009. Crossing the U.S. from west to east, the body
comes up against new physical boundaries with each passing kilometer. Despite the agony, it’s something Merklein
would not have missed for the world: “I have a thousand
images in my head of sunrises and sunsets, banks of mist,
lush greenery and stark landscapes, deserts, mountains,
valleys, forests and fields of flowers. And there’s the immediate experience of the weather from scorching sun to
shivering cold. It takes a while to digest so many impressions,” recalls the extreme sportsman.
But Vico Merklein was not always as super fit and
disciplined as he is now. After a motorbike crash put him
in a wheelchair at the age of 20, it took him four years to
come to terms with his new situation. “A foolish daredevil,” is how the Vico of today describes the person he was at
the time of the accident. “At some point, I realized that I
had two options—either give up on myself completely or
do something to start moving forward.”
It was then that he met a man in a wheelchair with
a handcycle. Merklein was instantly taken with the contraption and bought a similar bike powered by the arms
instead of the legs. From that time on, there was no stopping him. Each day brought new progress—five kilometers
became six, which became seven, until he was covering 60
in one go.
When he’s not out riding his handcycle, he’s constantly tinkering with his bike, trying to figure out new
030 / drive / Audi magazine
Vico Merklein’s Audi A6 Avant is fitted with Commander classic hand
controls, which allow him to operate the throttle, brakes,
headlights, indicators, hazard lights, windscreen wipers, windscreen
washer system and the two-tone horn.
Vico Merklein used to resent needing the help of others;
today he knows to ask when necessary.
Audi driving aids
Vico Merklein likes to keep up the pace on his handcycle and behind the
wheel of his Audi A6 Avant.
ways to improve it, to make it lighter and faster. “Sport
has turned my life around completely—not least because
I’m using my body again instead of ignoring it. I live in the
here and now and can’t remember when I last felt like I
was missing out on anything,” enthuses the 35-year-old.
The Paralympic silver medalist also wants others
to benefit from this feeling, which is why he teaches kids
in wheelchairs how the handcycle works—and how they can
leave their friends with rollerblades in the dust. For Merklein, the goal is to keep riding for as long as he can. And
that’s sure to be many more kilometers. //
Photos: Audi AG
You can find a movie clip about Gerd Schönfelder in
the Audi magazine iPad App.
Getting from A to B, going places, moving forward—this is
what Audi offers people with limited mobility. The four rings’
range of practical and beautifully finished adaptations not
only makes getting around in daily life easier but also provides an experience of dynamism in all its forms. Among
other things, the Audi range includes a steering wheel knob,
left foot electronic accelerator pedal, hand controls for the
throttle and brake as well as seat modifications. All of the
premium-quality driving aids are ergonomically designed to
be user friendly and integrate seamlessly with the vehicle
styling. What’s more, with the wide range of engines available, there’s sure to be something for almost everyone. Even
the basic models come generously equipped and the extensive palette of optional extras add further dynamism and personalized comforts to your driving experience.
Installation ex works
All Audi driving aids can be supplied directly from Audi partners as part of a new vehicle order.
Certified installations
All driving aids are tested by Audi during their technical development and entered on the vehicle registration certificate
by the German technical inspection authorities (TÜV).
Audi A6 Avant fuel consumption urban/extra-urban/combined (in l/100 km): 10.8–5.9/6.6–4.4/8.2–5.0;
CO2 emissions combined (in g/km): 190–132, EU5.
Audi magazine / 031
Still without a roof but nearly there: Six hours
before its inspection by the Board of Management,
the Audi crosslane coupé begins to take shape.
Under construction
032 / drive / Audi magazine
New technology for greater clarity: In an innovative
move, two OLED displays are inserted by hand one
behind the other into the rotary controls.
No time to be tired: Sunday’s just another
work day for interior designer Uli Beierlein
(left) and project leader Alexander Kendl.
The  Audi crosslane coupé  was one of the stars of the Paris Motor Show.
But just a few days before its debut, it still required a good
deal of imagination to picture the final result.
By Hermann J. Müller (copy) & Andreas Stark (photos)
Audi magazine / 033
It’s a gloriously sunny fall day, the Oktoberfest in
Munich is underway at last, FC Ingolstadt are due to kick
off against Dynamo Dresden at noon and on Paradeplatz
in Ingolstadt, “Hepberger Saustoimusi” are making sure
everyone’s having a good time. But all this is a world away
for a team of around 30 people hard at work in an inconspicuous flat-roofed building north of Ingolstadt. Frosted
glass and blinds block out the nice weather, cold artificial
light creates a cool ambience, soda bottles and coffee
mugs replace the beer steins—and radios and televisions
are banished.
For weeks now, the team led by Alexander Kendl,
coordinator of special design projects at Audi, has been
enthusiastically planning, assembling and bolting things
together. Even today, the designers, engineers, mechanics
and modelers are working flat out, putting the finishing
touches to a project which is shortly to be presented to
the Management Board before finally heading to the Paris
Show the day after. It’s an ambitious undertaking because
even by late morning, the vehicle, officially called the P12
(for Paris 2012), still has a distinctly unfinished air about
it. There is very little evidence of the show car that will
soon be unveiled in a hail of camera flashes as the “Audi
crosslane coupé,” a vision of forward-looking, sustainable
design. So far, there’s just a rather bare chassis with four
wheels, two rear wings and a roof section resting on the
C-pillars.
But even to recognize that much, you have to take
a very close look given that the show car is abuzz with
activity. Someone is fitting the new three-dimensional
Space Frame to the car’s front end while another is routing a wiring harness through the cockpit. Further back, a
side window is being installed and, at the rear, a function
check is being carried out on the rear light clusters. Working away at separate workstations all around the vehicle,
which sits enthroned on a lifting platform in the center of
the hall, are yet more team members, busy hand-polishing
parts milled from solid aluminum, smoothing off excess
material on plastic parts with small deburring tools and
gluing the brightly polished Audi rings onto the radiator
grille. And right in the thick of it all, standing with arms
folded, is the project leader. Outwardly at least, he gives
the impression that he and his people still have all the time
in the world.
In fact, Kendl, who previously worked in design and
at Audi Motorsport before heading up special projects (the
Rising above it all: The Audi crosslane coupé sits
enthroned on a lifting platform to enable the team to
work on the underbody.
034 / drive / Audi magazine
P12 is his first), is watching everything like a hawk, keeping an eye not just on every team member’s work, but also
making sure that the correct dress code is observed. “Basically everyone can dress how they like here. The only rule is
that sweatshirts must be worn untucked so that the paintwork doesn’t get damaged by belt buckles or buttons.”
Minor niggles can be ironed out at any time, but the paintwork is sacrosanct. After all, this is no “off-the-peg” blend.
This is a four-coat paint system in an exquisite iridescent
grey, specially created for the P12 by the Color & Trim department. “If we have to re-do any of it, it will take five
days—time we just don’t have any more,” says Kendl. If ever
the phrase “just-in-time production” were apt, it’s here.
Keeping everything in line:
Engine compartment designer
Adrian Egger checks that the
engine cover is an exact fit.
In a side room, designer Lars Fanselow is carrying
out intricate work on the air conditioning controls using
tweezers and watchmaker’s screwdrivers. In an innovative move, the controls incorporate two OLED displays
positioned one behind the other, ensuring brilliant clarity
and further enhancing the operating logic. “We only got
them from China yesterday,” says a delighted Fanselow as
he inserts the delicate parts into the rotary controls that
have the typical Audi click. Fanselow still has a little time
left to finish off because the instrument panel will not be
installed until the last minute—in fact, it too is only just
taking on its final shape. During a trial installation, interior designer Uli Beierlein discovered that one of the curves
was not quite right. The plastic part is currently being reworked by hand.
Yet Alexander Kendl merely smiles about such
minor issues. From his days in motorsport, he’s used to
night shifts and having to react flexibly—and knows that
“the devil is often in the detail. Sometimes, it’s not until
you start assembling things that you realize that you need
another trim strip here, or a thread there. But ultimately,
the list gets shorter and shorter.” Time, however, is running out. It’s not until 4:30 on Monday morning that Kendl
dares to leave the Audi crosslane coupé for a few moments
to rush home and grab a shower before the Board of Management arrives for the presentation. But even then, the
car is not completely finished. “There are a couple of parts
that are only provisionally installed,” admits the project
leader afterwards, “but that didn’t present a problem, the
Board was delighted.”
Things don’t get really serious until Wednesday,
when the show car arrives in Paris and a function test on
the Audi stand reveals that the car’s electrics are not working properly. For Kendl and his colleagues, this means
enduring yet another night shift to locate and rectify the
fault. After all, the slogan of the Paris Show is “The Future,
Now”—and no one’s about to keep the future waiting. On
Thursday morning, when the Audi crosslane coupé emerges from a cloud of dry ice and onto the world stage, its
new LED headlamps are beaming more brightly than the
photographers’ flash guns. Alexander Kendl, the sweatshirt now abandoned in favor of a gray suit, is also beaming, the stresses and strains of the last few weeks having
melted away. //
Audi crosslane coupé
The Audi show car unveiled at the Paris Motor Show is more than
just the indulgent creation of the design and engineering departments. As a concept study, it aims to provide a glimpse of what
design, vehicle and powertrain concepts could look like in the future and hints at the design idiom of tomorrow’s Audi Q models. It
embodies two of the carmaker’s core concepts. The Multimaterial
Space Frame made from aluminum, carbon-fiber reinforced plastic and glass-fiber reinforced plastic is taking Audi ultra lightweight construction technology forward into the next generation.
And the 1.5-liter, three-cylinder TFSI engine, together with the
two electric motors, shows what an advanced plug-in hybrid drive
could look like.
To find out more about the Audi crosslane coupé, please visit
www.audi.com/crosslanecoupe.
Audi highlights from the Paris Motor Show
can be found at www.audi.tv.
Audi magazine / 035
Special
Attraction
The Audi A3 Sportback makes a glitzy and glamorous debut
at the Audi Fashion Festival 2013.
By Ben Chia (copy) & Audi SG (photos)
036 / move / Audi magazine
The all-new Audi A3 Sportback made its much-anticipated debut in Singapore with a glitzy unveiling during
this year’s Audi Fashion Festival Red Carpet Night at the
Marina Promenade on May 14. The launch event was complemented by the A3 Sportback Driving Experience, which
was held throughout the festival week from May 15 to 19 at
the A3ttraktion Zone, situated at the F1 Pit Building.
Sporting an all-new design and packed with the latest technology, the Audi A3 Sportback marks a rejuvenation of a model that has been a success among the young and
fashionable set, making the backdrop of the Audi Fashion
Festival an ideal setting for the car’s launch. The car’s classic Audi lines and design details combine with a truly usable
and practical interior for the urban crowd, and the new A3
Sportback also comes with Audi’s revised Multimedia Interface (MMI) infotainment system, which now has a more
user-friendly rotary control with integrated touchpad.
The new Audi A3 Sportback launches in Singapore
with a choice of two engines — a 1.4 TFSI version that produces 122 horsepower and 200 Newton-meters of torque,
and a 1.8 TFSI variant with 180 horsepower and 250 Newton-meters of torque. Both models offer outstanding efficiency, with the A3 Sportback 1.4 TFSI emitting just 123
grams per kilometer of CO2, and the A3 Sportback 1.8 TFSI
with just 130 grams per kilometer. This means that both
qualify for a $10,000 rebate under the Carbon Emissionsbased Vehicle Scheme.
Audi magazine / 037
Features like Audi connect, Audi MMI
navigation plus, and fourteen-speaker
Audi Sound System accentuate the sense
of quality and attention to detail that
befit a premium automobile.
To allow the public to experience for themselves
the dynamic qualities of the new Audi A3 Sportback in a
fun and light-hearted setting, Audi set up the A3 Sportback
Driving Experience at the A3ttraktion Zone @ Audi Fashion
Festival. Customers were invited to register their interest
at Audi’s dedicated website for the new A3 Sportback in
Singapore, www.wayahead.sg, and successful registrants
were given the chance to drive the car through a series of
obstacles, aided by professional driving instructors. There
were also other activities set up in the A3ttraktion Zone Pit
Building for the family, such as foosball tables and racing
simulators.
038 / move / Audi magazine
The obstacles that drivers had to negotiate in the
Audi A3 Sportback included a seesaw ramp where the car
ascended a ‘seesaw’, stopped in the middle, and waited for
the ramp to tilt downwards. Next was a football section
where participants used the car to ‘kick’ an oversized ball
into a large ‘goal’. Finally, the slalom section demonstrated
the A3 Sportback’s dynamic driving abilities.
There was an added twist for participants — those
who managed to ‘score’ a goal in the football section were
entered into a draw with a chance to win a VIP Package to
catch the Audi Cup 2013, a pre-season football tournament
taking place in Munich, Germany, featuring world-class
football teams such as Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Manchester City and FC Sao Paolo. The package also included a pair
of business class tickets to Munich, courtesy of Etihad Airways.
Audi A3 Sportback and Audi S3 Sportback
Engines:
Audi A3 Sportback 1.4 TFSI (122 hp) 1
Audi A3 Sportback 1.8 TFSI (180 hp) 2
Audi S3 Sportback 2.0 TFSI (300 hp) 3
Drive/Transmission
Front-wheel drive with seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch transmission
quattro all-wheel drive with six-speed S tronic dual-clutch transmission
Fuel Efficiency
Fuel consumption: city / highway / combined in l/100 km
6.1/4.3/5.0/ (1) 7.0/4.8/5.6/ (2) 6.9 (3)
CO2
116 g/km (1) 130 g/km (2) (CO2 figures Not available) (3)
Performance
0-100 km/h 9.3 sec / top speed: 203 km/h (1) 0-100 km/h 7.3 sec / top speed: 232 km/h
(2) 0-100 km/h in 5.0 sec; top speed 250 km/h (electronically limited) (3)
Standard equipment
Audi radio, start-stop system, side airbags front, exterior mirror with integrated LED
indicator, electromechanical parking brake
Optional equipment
MMI Navigation plus, side assist, park assist, Audi pre sense basic, xenon plus headlights with integrated LED daytime running lights, Bang & Olufsen Sound System,
driver information system
Audi magazine / 039
move
040 / move / Audi magazine
Always on the go with the best in sport and travel.
An Audi driving experience takes participants to the northernmost reaches of Europe. 44
Party of the year: Snapshots from the Audi Centre Singapore’s launch event. 50 
Audi racing driver Alex Yoong brings motorsports to China with the Audi R8 LMS Cup. 56
Audi tradition on an outing with two hale and hearty old-timers in Rio. 60
Power wagon: The Audi RS 4 Avant. 64
The Audi RS 4 Avant – The versatile, practical supercar.
Audi magazine / 041
News
move / News and success stories
from the Audi world of sport
Ingolstadt
 German alpine skiers train in the Audi wind tunnel. 
Light at the end of the tunnel: The German Ski Federation
(DSV) has sent its athletes to hone their competitive edge for the
coming winter season at the high-tech Audi wind tunnel in Ingolstadt.
The aim is to have the team in peak form for the 2012/13 Audi FIS
Ski World Cup and the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships presented
by Audi. www.audi.com/wintersports
Western Cape
2012 Audi quattro Cup World Final concludes with
a thrilling climax.
Held at Western Cape in South Africa, the 2012
Audi quattro Cup World Final saw Giora Friede and
Jason Rubenstein from Australia and Brian Blignaut
and Nico Uys from South Africa pip 52 other teams to
emerge winners of their respective groups in the Audi
quattro Cup 2012. Prior to the final, more than 80,000
participants took part in 824 qualifying tournaments
around the world, making the Audi quattro Cup one of
the most popular amateur golf tournaments around.
The 2013 World Final is slated to happen in Los Angeles, USA, from 7 to 11 October 2013.
Oschersleben
Revisit the 2012 DTM thrills and
spills on www.audi.tv.
042 / move / Audi magazine
Le
Mans
Audi R10 TDI voted car of the decade at Le Mans.
Audi made history when it won the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2006 in
a diesel-powered car – the Audi R10 TDI. In 2012, it rewrote the history
books yet again, winning the 24 Hours with a diesel-electric hybrid – the
Audi R18 e-tron quattro. Recently, more than 20,000 motorsport fans cast
their votes in an online poll to pick out the 10 iconic Le Mans racecars that
had shaped Le Mans history. Created to mark the 90th anniversary of the
race, the poll was conducted by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO). The
final decision was made by a twelve-member panel of expert judges including FIA President Jean Todt and ACO President Pierre Fillon in Paris and saw
the Audi R10 TDI voted the most legendary Le Mans sports car of the past
decade while the Audi R18 e-tron quattro was named the most important
present-day Le Mans sports car.
Photos: AUDI AG
 FC Bayern basketball players visit the DTM. 
FC Bayern basketball players Demond Greene and Steffen
Hamann (left to right in photo below) got to experience the
German Touring Car Masters (DTM) in Oschersleben up close
and personal from the inside of an Audi R8 LMS race taxi. Audi
driver Christopher Haase was at the wheel and maintained a
blistering pace. Canoeists Martin Hollstein and Andreas Ihle,
who won a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in London,
also visited Audi in Oschersleben.
www.audi.com/motorsport
column //
The art of communication
Driving recently on the underpopulated back roads
of Vermont, the Green Mountain State, I began to develop
an appreciation for what locals described to me as the “Vermont wave”: Two lone drivers, encountering each other at
speed and at distance, casually lift a few fingers off of the
steering wheel, sometimes forming a peace symbol.
A few days later, I was back in New York City, where
strangers do not generally wave at each other. Surrounded
by so many people, New Yorkers are primed not to communicate. Which is why, when crossing a crosswalk in front of
my house, I reacted with supreme irritation when I heard
the car off to my right honk. I spun on my feet, squeezed
my face into my best impersonation of Ratso Rizzo (Dustin
Hoffman’s con man character in Midnight Cowboy, who
shouts at right-of-way-violating vehicles, “I’m walking here!
I’m walking here!”), and glared down at the car. It was, it
turned out, my neighbor. From behind the windshield he
gave a friendly wave. I sheepishly waved back. What was
interesting about the two episodes, besides offering a
comparative sociological look at interpersonal relations in
Vermont and New York City (where you’re more likely to get
a one-fingered rather than two-fingered gesture), was that
they both involved communicating in traffic—and in ways
that were outside of the formal structures and requirements of driving itself.
In general, driving does not lend itself to human
interaction. Enclosed in our comfortable capsules, moving
at speed, with more than 90 percent of our glances directed to the front (yes, this has been studied), we generally don’t have the time or ability to engage in traditional
face-to-face interaction, in which we use a variety of subtle
signals, cues and prompts—ranging from eye contact to a
nod of the head to raised eyebrows.
In his book How Emotions Work, Jack Katz, a professor of sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles, notes that drivers typically experience an “interaction
asymmetry.” While you may be aware of what other cars
are doing, chances are that awareness is not being reciprocated; Katz suspects that an individual driver “watches
others more than those others are oriented to pick up the
meager expressions of one’s inexpressive vehicle.” When
another driver does something to us—for example, cuts
us off—we sometimes get angry. But not necessarily about
what the driver did. “What drivers get mad about,” argues
Katz, “is their own dumbness, experienced as a sensed inability to get other drivers to take them into account.”
And so we honk the horn, not at the moment we
are cut off but afterwards, in a desperate attempt to have
the other driver acknowledge the wrong. The gesture is
deeply futile: It’s too late to warn the driver of the danger
they have created. They may be oblivious to why you are
honking. They may have heard you but now have no way
to acknowledge receipt of your message (e.g., if they honk
back, is that an “apology honk” or a “revenge honk”?). Plus,
of course, they simply may not care. None of this means
we give up trying to communicate while driving. Indeed,
the sheer ingenuity displayed in trying to turn devices like
headlights into messaging tools demonstrates how powerful the impulse to communicate is. Depending on the
context, we use headlights to signal all kinds of things
amidst the complex interactions of traffic for which we
have no “official” signal: to indicate to other drivers that
it’s okay to make a turn in front of them, as a warning that
there’s a police officer down the road with a radar gun.
Some have argued that driving might be a more
pleasant experience if we actually had more ways to talk
to each other in traffic, with fanciful concepts for “expressive functions” on cars (smile, wink) or light boxes that
beam LED messages (apology, annoyed). But there are a
few problems with this. For one, as the German sociologist Norbert Schmidt-Relenberg has argued, “cooperation
in traffic is not a means to attain something positive, but to
avoid something negative: Every participant in the system
attempts to reach his destination without friction. Hence
traffic is a system all of its own—the less its participants
come into contact with each other and are compelled to
interact, the better it works.” Having more signals to interact may simply invite more counter-signals and, instead of
greater understanding, may simply create more aggression.
Another problem is that many drivers fail to use
the existing means of car-to-car communication. A recent
study released by the Society of Automotive Engineers,
for example, found that 46 percent of the time a sample
of drivers failed to signal they were making a turn, or forgot to turn the signal off once the turn was completed—
that’s some two billion failures to communicate each day
in the U.S. alone.
While a polite wave is certainly better than a
raised fist, wouldn’t you ultimately rather a driver tell you
what he is going to do with his car than tell you to “Have
a Nice Day”?
//
Experience the audio version of the column
in the Audi magazine iPad App.
Our columnist writes for various international publications and is author of the New York Times best seller Traffic: Why We Drive the Way
We Do (and What It Says About Us), which has so far been translated
into 18 languages.
Audi magazin / 043
Photo: Takahiro Yamamoto/Getty Images
Trafficology
Archaic hand signals, or the full arsenal of options modern vehicle
t e c h n o l o g y a f f o r d s ?   To m V a n d e r b i l t  e x a m i n e s h o w d r i v e r s t a l k t o e a c h o t h e r.
World’s
end
044 / move / Audi magazine
Thanks to the Gulf Stream, the fjords,
including Straumfjord shown here, are
almost always free of ice.
To s t a n d o n t h e N o r t h C a p e — i t ’ s o n e o f t h e t h i n g s o n m a n y p e o p l e ’ s
b u c k e t l i s t s . W i t h t h e   A u d i d r i v i n g e x p e r i e n c e N o r t h C a p e t o u r, 
it can come true. Best of all, you not only get to drive through
t h a t l o n e l y, f ro z e n a n d b re a t h t a k i n g l y b e a u t i f u l l a n d s c a p e y o u r s e l f
but to do it, for instance, in an Audi Q7.
B y S a b i n e C o l e ( c o p y ) & A n k e L u c k m a n n ( p h o t o s )
Audi magazine / 045
The myth that Eskimos have hundreds of words
to describe snow is a remarkably persistent old chestnut.
Aside from the fact that there isn’t just one but many different Inuit languages, the reality is that they have about
the same number of words for snow as everyone else—four.
They translate as “snow on the ground,” “falling snow,” “driving snow” and “drifting snow.” That doesn’t seem like nearly
enough when you take a trip to Europe’s frozen northern
edge. There, you are confronted with snow that covers the
landscape like tissue paper and snow that acts as a screen
for the mesmerizing shadow theater of the clouds. Then
there’s snow that you can blink away and snow that sticks
hard and fast like dried cement. Let’s not forget the snow
that flies at you horizontally and is so blindingly lit that you
lose almost all sense of direction in it and snow so pristine
046 / move / Audi magazine
that it demands a new word to describe a shade whiter than
white. And you haven’t even started on all the new words
that are urgently needed for ice—rough sandpapery ice,
rippled frozen sheets of ice, slippery ice under a blanket
of snow, mirror-like ice which reflects the delicate mist of
snowflakes above. There’s fun ice, slide ’n’ glide ice and the
ultimate ice—quattro ice. Hallelujah!
In a fleet of eleven Audi Q7 and Audi Q5 hybrid
quattro cars, the Audi driving experience participants hit
the road in the Finnish town of Kittilä and head across
Lapland to Norway’s northernmost county, Finnmark. Destination? North Cape—the edge of Europe, often also referred to as the world’s end. Although Finnmark is at the
same latitude as Siberia, Greenland and Alaska, the Gulf
North Cape
Honningsvåg
Taking the ferry from Lyngseidet to Olderdalen will
save you a long drive winding along the fjords en route
from Tromsø to Alta. For us it was no temptation—we
Alta
Tromsø
watched the boats and then got back into our cars.
Kilpisjärvi
Muonio
Kittilä
Sweden
Trondheim
Finland
Norway
Bergen
Helsinki
Oslo
Stockholm
Gothenburg
Audi driving experience North Cape tour
Participants in the five-day Audi driving experience North Cape tour fly into the
Finnish city of Kittilä, where they take the bus to Muonio. There, they receive their
Audi driving experience cars. Stage one ends at the harbor town of Tromsø, which
is also a port of call for the Norwegian coastal passenger and freight liners known
as Hurtigruten. From there, the route winds along the fjords to Alta in Finnmark.
Honningsvåg is the final overnight stop before heading out the next morning to the
North Cape. The return journey goes via Alta and Muonio back to Kittilä. Altogether
that’s just under 1,600 kilometers over ice and snow. Each tour consists of a maximum of 20 participants in up to ten vehicles.
Further information on the Audi driving experience is
available at www.audi.com/driving.
To watch videos of the Audi driving experience North Cape tour,
go to www.audi.tv.
Stream ensures that it has the longest stretch of ice-free
coast in the polar region. While quantities of snow pile up
over the course of the long winters, many areas lie in protected mountain lees and are therefore spared the worst
of the wind and biting cold that blows in from the sea. In
the interior, however—on the border with Finland, for instance—the climate verges on arctic and temperatures can
plummet to extremes of below minus 50°C. Brrr. Ice, cold
and snow—but we have to push on through.
To be more accurate, we have the pleasure of pushing on through. It’s Easter and the skies treat us to a few
sunny hours between ice storms and snowdrifts. Over five
days, we are voluntarily clocking up 1,600 kilometers on
icy roads, polished by tires till they’re like glass but with
patches melted by the sun and areas with deep snow
where the shadows are long. As for road markings—forget
it. Instead, poles stick up out of the snow and offer a reminder of how deep the snow can get here in mid-winter.
“Rule number one,” says Markus, an instructor for the Audi
driving experience and the one who has to crack the whip
if the group of motoring-mad customers takes a chance,
“If you get out of the car, never leave the road. And never
attempt to pull into the side of the road where there aren’t
any bays for stopping.” The first is definitely the more dangerous blunder. Anyone who steps into the snow sinks, and
if their luck is out and more snow falls, simply disappears.
While an Audi Q7 won’t sink as deeply and can usually be
pulled free by the Audi driving experience escort vehicle
with Markus at the wheel, occasionally a truck is >>
Audi magazine / 047
Between May 13 and July 29 the sun competes with
the numerous lighthouses in northern Norway.
There is virtually no sunset during this period.
needed to get the job done. The problem is waiting for the
truck to arrive, as traffic is not a big feature of the inhospitable north. That brings us back to rule number one, which
can be encapsulated as “no mistakes.” Other dos and
don’ts communicated to the group of 20 ice adventurers
who are paired off can be summed up as: Drive carefully
and cautiously—and, of course, go easy on the gas. While
you might think that no one would venture out in such conditions, the Norwegian traffic police with their radar guns
are as active as ever. We climbed aboard our Arctic automobiles. Anyone who thinks that the Audi Q7 is a bit on
the big side for Central European roads has to admit that,
here, the car is in its natural habitat. The raised seating position provides an excellent panorama of the challenging
weather conditions. With its high ground clearance, the
car stands tall over the snow. You can’t help but recall the
legendary Eskimo ad from the eighties—“Audi. quattro.”
Studded tires bite into the ice. “No one here fits snow tires,
everyone uses the studded variety,” explained a Finn at the
airport. On the first depression of the gas pedal, the Audi
polar bear pads surefootedly forward. And it does so on a
surface that you struggle to hobble across even in boots
with heavily profiled soles. The driver’s initial circumspection on approaching the first hill is transformed into glee
as the car handles as if on skis, skates and bear paws—all
at the same time. A grin spreads across your face and remains frozen in place, even though climate control keeps
the interior lovely and snug.
The cars hug the road as we wind between frozen waterfalls. We drink in the beauty of the fjords, chew
048 / move / Audi magazine
through deserted snowy wastelands and glory in the gas
pedal on the straights. Traffic thins until the only other
travelers we meet are solitary truck drivers, sports junkies
on their souped-up snowmobiles and daredevil snowkiters
who use the icy wind to hurtle into the white wilderness.
We are nearing the North Cape.
The North Cape is neither Europe’s northernmost
point—that is the archipelago Franz Josef Land—nor is it the
northernmost tip of the European mainland since it, too, is
on an island. Despite this, a quarter of a million tourists
visit the magical cliffs in the Arctic Ocean every year. Most
go in the summer during the two and a half months when
the sun never sets. For two and a half months in the winter, however, the sun never rises over the horizon. Between
November and April the last stretch of road to the North
Cape is only opened once a day for registered parties. A
snowplow steams ahead of us at an astonishing pace. We
rush along in convoy in its wake. The sun is shining, as is
appropriate at such a glorious moment. Snow churned up
beneath the quattro-powered wheels glitters in the air.
The silver SUVs meander up the gentle incline to the North
Cape cliffs 300 meters above sea level. We switch off our
engines and gaze at the Arctic Ocean. No doubt everyone
is thinking the same thing: What an ultimately satisfying
feeling it is to arrive at your destination just as planned.
Here at the world’s end, our journey, too, is at an end.
Now let’s do it all over again!
//
Find a feature with further impressions in the
Audi magazine iPad App.
The last few kilometers to the North Cape can only be undertaken with a
snowplow leading the way and an escort bringing up the rear.
Audi Q7
The Audi Q7 is the largest SUV in the Audi range. Thanks to
its three-meter wheelbase, the 5.09-meter-long Audi Q7 has
an interior with room to spare and 27 possible seating configurations. Audi delivers the big SUV as a five, six or seven
seater, according to your preference. Folding seat backs
are fitted as standard in the second row. When this row is
dropped flat, the cargo capacity is increased from a volume
of 775 liters to 2,035 liters.
Audi Q5 hybrid quattro
The sporty Audi Q5 hybrid quattro is the first full hybrid SUV
in the mid-size premium segment with a lithium-ion battery
that comes as standard. Designed as a parallel hybrid, it
combines the performance of a six-cylinder engine with the
fuel economy of a four-cylinder power plant. The Audi Q5
hybrid quattro accelerates from zero to 100 kilometers per
hour in 7.1 seconds and can reach a top speed of 225 kilometers per hour. In pure electric mode, it can cover up to three
kilometers at a constant speed of 60 kilometers per hour
and get up to 100 kilometers per hour.
To learn more about the Audi Q7 and
Audi Q5 hybrid quattro online,
go to www.audi.com/q7 or www.audi.com/q5.
See the Audi Q5 hybrid quattro in action
at www.audi.tv.
Audi Q7 fuel consumption urban/extra-urban/combined (in
l/100 km): 14.4–8.2/8.5–6.5/10.7–7.2. CO2 emissions combined (in g/km): 249–189, EU5. Audi Q5 hybrid quattro fuel
consumption urban/extra-urban/combined (in l/100 km):
6.6/7.1/6.9. CO2 emissions combined (in g/km): 159, EU5.
Audi magazine / 049
Birth of
an icon
The opening gala for the Audi Centre
Singapore provided all the style and
glamor for a truly unforgettable
evening.
By Leow Ju-Len (copy) & Audi SG (photos)
12.12.12 might well become the best-remembered day of last year, but perhaps not for numerical
reasons. It’s on that date that the doors were finally
opened to a new architectural icon, the Audi Centre Singapore, and it seems safe to say that the gala opening
party to celebrate the affair will not be forgotten.
As the distinctive building with its unique façade
clad in signature Aluminum Honeycomb began to assume its final form towards the close of 2012, it was
only natural that anticipation for a close look at Alexandra Road’s new jewel would build to a fevered level. And
so it was that the country’s glitterati eagerly converged
upon the Audi Centre Singapore on its opening night, to
be rewarded with an evening in which showroom, museum and concert venue were to be remarkably intermingled in a manner without precedent here.
050 / move / Audi magazine
The extraordinary Audi RS 4 Avant was flown in specially to commemorate the grand opening of the Audi Centre Singapore.
Audi magazine / 051
Mr Axel Strotbek, Board of Management for Finance & Organisation
AUDI AG; Ms Angelika Viets, German
Ambassador; Mr Hadi Tanaga, President, Premium Automobiles; Mr James
Morrison; and Dr Chia Shi-Lu, Member
of Parliament, Queenstown
The gala event was kicked off in style with the
auspicious pomp of a lion dance, after which came the
cutting of the ribbon that marked the official moment
that the building would enter into the story of Audi.
That, too, was a ceremony of no small significance —
among the ribbon-cutters were such honored guests
as Dr Chia Shi-Lu, Member of Parliament for Tanjong
Pagar GRC, the German ambassador Her Excellency
Ms Angelika Viets, Mr Axel Strotbek, Member of the
Board of Management of AUDI AG for Finance and
Organization, and even Mr James Morrison, the charttopping singer-songwriter and Brit Award winner. From
that moment, the friends and well-wishers of Audi
began to fill the building, among them a constellation
of local stars — mingling amongst the 450 VIPs who
graced the evening were Ms Michelle Chia, Ms Ann Kok,
Ms Paige Chua, Ms Jacelyn Tay, Mr Zhang Yao Dong and
Mr Chen Han Wei.
“Walking into the completed building for the
first time, you really shared the joy of seeing it all come
to fruition,” said Ms Lynn Tan, Chairperson, Women
in Motor Sport Commission for the Singapore Motor
Sports Association. As a trained architect and motoring
journalist, her view that the new Audi Centre Singapore
lives up to the prominence of its location certainly
carries much weight.
The evening revealed too that the jewel of
Alexandra contained gems of its own. On prominent
display on the ground floor was the Audi R18 e-tron
quattro, the turbodiesel-electric hybrid racing car
that personifies speed and endurance. Being the first
hybrid machine to win the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans
052 / move / Audi magazine
assures the Audi R18 e-tron quattro a place in history,
so what finer venue for it to showcase the purity of
Audi’s racing pedigree than the Audi Centre Singapore?
As guests explored the eight-story tall building,
they were treated to the region’s first glimpse of the
new Audi RS 4 Avant at an unveiling hosted by the
effervescent and effortlessly stylish Denise Keller.
The latest of Audi’s remarkable RS models, the
450-horsepower icon had the distinction of providing
the backdrop for an appearance by Mr James Morrison,
his guitar in hand for an intimate performance. With
respect to the singer-songwriter, though, it might be
argued that it was the other way ’round.
In the end, the glittering evening was perhaps
best summed up by Mr Axel Strotbek. “The opening of
the Audi Centre Singapore is a significant milestone
in the further development of the brand in South East
Asia,” he said. “It speaks of the long-term commitment,
strength and ambition of both Audi and our partner
Premium Automobiles Private Limited to become the
number one premium brand in Singapore.” For that to
happen, the Audi Centre Singapore need only continue
the way it started — in style and glamor, and firmly at
the forefront of the nation’s attention.
“The evening revealed that the Jewel of
A l e x a n d r a c o n t a i n e d g e m s o f i t s o w n .”
The glitz and glamor of opening night as VIPS and media celebrities celebrate a new icon of
Singapore. Mr Hadi Tanaga, Mr Axel Strotbek and Mr Jeff Mannering pose for the camera with
Mr James Morrison.
Audi magazine / 053
054 / move / Audi magazine
Audi magazine / 055
Formula
rising sun
F o r m e r F 1 r a c e r   A l e x Yo o n g   i s o n e o f t h e m o s t i n f l u e n t i a l
ambassadors for motorspor t in Asia. At the world’s first one-make Audi
event, the  Audi R8 LMS Cup in China,  the native of Malaysia will
be inspiring growing enthusiasm for his spor t. His continent is, after all ,
c o n t i n u a l l y s h i f t i n g u p a g e a r.
By Thomas Wir th (copy) & Bernhard Spöttel (photos)
056 / move / Audi magazine
This gentle smile is something of a trademark in
Asia, where Alex Yoong is a star. There, the career of the
racing driver who was born in Malaysia in 1976 and rose to
burn rubber at motor racing’s highest level is without precedent. His story is the stuff that lets dreams take flight.
It proves that anything is possible if you refuse to give up
even when the going gets tough.
Today, Alex Yoong is 36 years old. He was just
three when he saw his first races and, not long after, his
sights were set on motorsport—but not just at any level.
“Formula One was always my goal,” he says. The only
problem is that, then as now, Malaysia has no program
for grooming young talent. “There wasn’t even karting,” adds Alex. Despite the challenges, at the age of
16, he sat for the first time behind the wheel of a touring car and it wasn’t long before he started contesting races in various formula classes in Asia and the UK.
Melbourne Grand Prix in 2002. At the French Grand Prix
he came in tenth—but a spot on the podium eluded him
in racing’s crème de la crème. Sometimes technical problems were to blame, sometimes he was knocked out
in accidents. But he also lacked experience. There just
weren’t enough opportunities for testing—and ambition alone is as much help in Formula One as sheer willpower. “The pressure is incredible,” says Alex, “As a
driver, you have to have your emotions fully under control.” It’s a job you have to do as if you were a machine.
His two years in Formula One proved a turbulent
time. Even after it was over, motorsport defined his life.
He continued to race, competing in Le Mans in 2006 and
2007, among other things. What’s more, he established a
Malaysian racing team that put in a strong performance in
the international A1 Grand Prix series. In Asia, >>
With encouragement from his father, he tenaciously fought his way up the ranks. Come 2001, he had
arrived. A contract with Minardi meant that he was the
first—and to date only—Malaysian to race in Formula
One. His teammates at the time were none other than
Fernando Alonso and subsequently Mark Webber. “When
you think that we came from Malaysia and that we had no
idea how you go about these things, just making it into
Formula One was a huge achievement,” explains Alex.
Yoong lined up at the start of 17 Formula One
races. His finest hour was finishing seventh in the
The dragon on Alex Yoong’s Audi R8 LMS ultra is
not only indicative of his Malaysian roots but also
his fierce competitiveness.
Audi magazine / 057
Yoong is also associated with Formula One as a commentator for popular sports channels such as ESPN
STAR Sports and 8TV. Yoong has been on board at Audi
since 2010. “I’ve been an Audi fan since I saw rally ace
Hannu Mikkola in his Audi Sport quattro S1,” he admits.
Later, he followed the four rings’ successes at Le Mans:
“I really admired the way Audi did things—they set the
bar incredibly high.” In recent years, Alex Yoong has
been involved in a lot of development work for Asian
GT3 teams and sat behind the wheel of a plethora of racing cars. “That only meant I was even more impressed
when I first got into the Audi R8 LMS ultra,” says Alex,
“Everything on that car was perfect right from the start.
You really get a sense of how the engineers labored over
every detail.”
058 / move / Audi magazine
Last May, Alex Yoong was in the cockpit of
an Audi R8 LMS ultra at the start of the ADAC Zurich
24-Hour Race on the Nürburgring. Representing the
Audi race experience team, he enthusiastically recalls,
“The atmosphere was amazing and the 24-hour endurance challenge taught me valuable lessons—
especially during the night laps and when the track
was wet. And the Nordschleife is, of course, fantastic.”
Photos: AUDI AG, private
Back home in Asia, even bigger challenges await.
The Audi R8 LMS Cup in China, for one. This is the world’s
first one-make Audi event. A passionate fan of motor racing, Yoong is not only getting the public excited about
the Cup but also believes he has work to do outside the
cockpit. “We need more motorsport here,” he says, “more
races and more competition.” This is what he’s devoting
his energy to achieving. He has every confidence in the
next generation from his corner of the world: “One day,
there will be outstanding Asian drivers in Formula One
and Le Mans. It’s just a question of time.
//
Audi R8 LMS ultra
This year, the Audi R8 LMS ultra took up the baton from its
predecessor in GT3 racing—the highly successful Audi R8
LMS, which has won customer sport teams 118 races as well
as 13 national and international titles in just three years.
Forty kilograms lighter than the Audi R8 LMS, the new car
not only boasts more power and torque but also improvements to the chassis, aerodynamics, cooling and brakes as
well as a new exhaust system.
Audi R8 LMS Cup, China
With more than 300,000 deliveries in 2011, China has become the biggest market for Audi worldwide. This is one
of the reasons that the Ingolstadt carmaker is staging the
world’s first Audi one-make series in the Middle Kingdom—
the Audi R8 LMS Cup. The event pits 27 drivers against each
other in a competition for driver and team rankings. At the
time of going to press, Alex Yoong was in third place.
Audi race experience
Drivers with racetrack dreams can experience getting behind the wheel of the Audi R8 LMS and seasoned racers have
the chance to compete in an Audi R8 LMS ultra as part of the
VLN German Endurance Championship or even the legendary 24-hour challenge at the Nürburgring.
For further information on the Audi R8 LMS ultra, go
to www.audi.com/r8. You can read more about the
Audi race experience here: www.audi.com/driving.
To view a video featuring the Audi R8 LMS in a race,
go to www.audi.tv.
Audi magazine / 059
Two-strokes
of genius
  H a l f a c e n t u r y a g o , B r a z i l s u d d e n l y c a t a p u l t e d i t s e l f 
  i n t o t h e m o d e r n a g e . T h e c o u n t r y ’ s m o b i l i t y 
  w a s p r o v i d e d b y   D K W c a r s .   W i t h t h e i r t w o - s t r o k e e n g i n e s , 
  t h e s o l i d b u t s w a n k y G e r m a n s a t t r a c t e d p a s s i o n a t e 
  d e v o t e e s i n S o u t h A m e r i c a . 
060 / move / Audi magazine
By Thomas Wir th (copy) & Stefan War ter (photos)
Contrasts in Rio: The Copacabana, the city’s skyline and the mountains in the distance provide the backdrop for the two DKW-VEMAG cars.
It’s warm. Gentle and rhythmic, the waves roll
onto the golden sands of Copacabana beach as strains of
samba float on the air. Mountains of coconuts flank the
beach bars, where fresh caipirinhas beckon. We’re in Rio,
that dream-like paradise in the far-off South. A rude awakening: The hoarse rattle of two-stroke engines is suddenly
the new soundtrack to this tropical scene. A smoky racket
that gets plenty of heads turning in search of its source.
There they are, two green classics, a wondrous sight in
the otherwise faceless snarl of traffic on the six-lane
Avenida Atlântica.
German two-stroke engines under the palm trees?
Well, almost. One of them recalls the Auto Union 1000 S
with its baroque looks, except that its front end is more
opulent and heavier on the chrome than its German role
model. It also features the sporty twin headlights that
used to be so fashionable. In contrast, number two exhibits
the Italian elegance typical of the 1960s. Looks are everything on the Copacabana. It’s been quite a while since Brazil added its own chapter to the DKW annals. Auto Union
was active in South America way back in the 1930s, and
the organization called itself VEMAG (short for Veículos e
Máquinas Agrícolas) starting in the 50s. At the time, Brazil
was fighting imports energetically. The country preferred
to attract investors—and manufacture as much as possible
itself. When the first licensed production of DKW vehicles
got underway here in 1956, even the Brazilian upper class
often drove nothing more luxurious than a VW Beetle—if
they drove at all. South Americans welcomed the DKW
design from Ingolstadt with open arms. But they found
the generous curves of its body far too seductive for its >>
Audi magazine / 061
Fissore and Belcar were the two DKW-VEMAG models that helped drive Brazil into the modern era.
dry German name, 1000 S. So, in the shadow of Sugar Loaf,
the newcomer was poetically dubbed Belcar, or “beautiful
car.” Its sturdy chassis and reliable two-stroke technology
added to its popularity.
Quite a few passersby indulge in memories here,
where the heart of Rio beats. Two-stroke engines played
the soundtrack to the giant leap Brazil dared to make
into the future. Everything was changing as the country
dreamed of catching up with the wealthy North. In São
Paulo, VEMAG built a large plant—one of many development initiatives of the time, the most ambitious of which
was Brasilia, the new capital that rose up out of nowhere
deep in the interior of this vast nation. In 1964, a coup resulted in a military regime that suppressed democracy for
two decades. “Twenty years ago,” says Helio Marques, “the
062 / move / Audi magazine
streets here were still pretty empty.” Marques, a doctor, inventor and businessman, lives in Niterói. Here, with a view
of Sugar Loaf across the bay, he had a shelter built to park
his private DKW-VEMAG collection. Decades ago, when he
got married, he chose a white Belcar as his wedding car.
The marriage didn’t last, but his love for the German-Brazilian cars did. Today, Marques is the proud owner of a fleet
of some 30 two-stroke models.
Plenty of Brazilians adore the Belcar. Football legend Pelé, for example, first got his driver’s license in one,
like so many of his countrymen. And Emerson Fittipaldi,
who went on to win the Formula One World Championship
twice, is said to have got into deep trouble with his father
at the age of twelve, when he “borrowed” his parents’
Belcar to race it wildly around the beach. Even those who
DKW in Brazil
Back home in Germany, hardly anyone is aware of the dazzling
career DKW once made in Brazil: In 1956, the Belcar was created
based on the Auto Union 1000 S. The model series also included a
station wagon called the Vemaguet and an open off-road vehicle
known locally as the Candango (not Munga). A chic coupé with a
fiberglass body was dubbed the Malzoni, and the Fissore with its
modern styling completed the lineup in 1963. Production ceased
in 1967. Today, the Audi Tradition collection boasts not only a
Malzoni but also a Belcar and a Fissore, representatives of the last
models of the DKW passenger car era.
You can find Audi Tradition services such as spare parts
and accessories at www.audi.de/tradition.
Video material on Audi Tradition, such as the August
Horch Museum in Zwickau, Germany, or the last Horch
classic in the U.S., can be found at www.audi.tv.
couldn’t afford a car of their own often rode in Belcars, as
they were commonly in use as taxis. In the early 1960s,
VEMAG really took off. Its legacy can be observed in the
second green DKW, the luxury model of its day. The Brazilians had put in a special request with Fissore, the ambitious chassis specialists from Savigliano, near Turin, and
the Italians reinterpreted the somewhat baroque Belcar
with a contemporary, comfortable design. Fissore shipped
a prototype to South America in 1962. The newcomer was
universally applauded for its clear, finely balanced lines.
Its elegant roof pillars and bright interior reflected the
modern image of Brazil perfectly.
The brochures lauded it as the “logical car for
the modern driver of today.” But reality didn’t look nearly so bright: Rampant inflation, in combination with the
difficult political situation, thwarted the success of the
Fissore. It remained the exclusive vehicle for a small elite
class. When production ceased in December 1967, a mere
2,492 customers had been able to purchase one. That
makes the cars rare today. Even the cleverest of car connoisseurs can seldom identify them, despite—or maybe because of—the well-known four rings on the hood. “I doubt
more than 200 Fissore cars have survived,” estimates
DKW fan Marques, “and maybe 500 Belcars.” The collector from Niterói recently turned over one of each model to
Audi Tradition. They will, or so he promised, bring echoes
of samba to Ingolstadt, and maybe a little sand from the
Copacabana. Here they even wrote the closing chapter
in two-stroke engine history: The two Brazilians are the
very last DKW passenger car models to have rolled off the
//
assembly lines anywhere in the world. You can find additional images of the DKW in
the Audi magazine iPad App.
Audi magazine / 063
Power Wagon
Space meets pace in the Audi RS 4 Avant, which offers up an unforgettable
experience whether on road or track, or simply in everyday living.
By Ben Chia (copy) & Audi AG (photos)
064 / move / Audi magazine
High-performance wagons have long been an Audi
strong point. Indeed, Audi pioneered the genre when it debuted the venerable Audi RS 2 Avant in 1994, kick-starting
the haloed RS line that crowns Audi’s greatest performance
models today.
Successive Audi RS models have only added to the
RS legacy combining progressive technology, impeccable
style and everyday practicality. Indeed, the idea of rocketing across countries with your holiday bags in tow certainly
has its own unique appeal, and Audi’s power wagons have
captured the imagination of many over the years.
The Audi RS 4 Avant in particular has carved itself a reputation for being not just a practical family wagon,
but also one that can match the fastest sports cars on the
roads. The original RS 4 Avant, a limited-run model available during the early years of the 21st century, was available
exclusively as an Avant, and featured a 2.7-liter biturbo V6
that could rival many high-performance cars in its day.
The latest Audi RS 4 Avant harks back to those
roots, and its availability as an Avant-only body style is a
nod to the origins of the RS name and what it stands for. It
essentially epitomizes the term “everyday supercar”, such
is its perfect blend of performance and usability.
Under the bonnet lies a naturally-aspirated 4.2-liter FSI V8 that churns out 450 horsepower, enabling the RS
4 Avant to go from 0-100 kilometers per hour in a scant 4.7
seconds. Top speed is capped at 250 kilometers per hour,
but can be raised to 280 kilometers per hour if requested.
The Audi RS 4 Avant features the latest evolution
of Audi’s quattro all-wheel-drive system which uses a selflocking crown-gear center differential to transfer power
between the front and back wheels to optimize traction.
The default setting is a 40:60 rear bias, but the system can
send up to 70 percent of power to the front if necessary.
Audi magazine / 065
Additionally, the Audi RS 4 Avant is equipped with
a brand-new power steering system and cross-linked dampers set up for more dynamic handling. Applying the Audi
ultra philosophy of intelligent lightweight design, the suspension has been constructed primarily out of aluminum
for reduced unsprung mass while the body shell has been
strengthened for added rigidity.
Standard on the Audi RS 4 Avant is the Audi drive
select system, which offers four driving modes; comfort,
auto, dynamic, and an individual setting that allows the
driver to personalize his perfect setting. The system adjusts
the steering variability, throttle and transmission response, the engine’s throttle valves, and even the sound of the
exhaust.
066 / move / Audi magazine
The Audi RS 4 Avant can be specified with Dynamic
Ride Control (DRC) as an option. DRC reduces body movements on the go thanks to a hydraulic system filling the
shock absorbers with oil to counter lateral tilt and body roll
during hard cornering. The car also sits 20 millimeters lower than a standard Audi A4 Avant.
Behind the 19-inch forged aluminum alloy rims
are a set of lightweight, vented ‘wave’ disc brakes with sixpiston calipers. These provide the Audi RS 4 Avant with astonishing stopping power, while at the same time also helping to reduce weight with its ceramic construction some
4.5 kilograms lighter than a steel equivalent.
The interior of the Audi RS 4 Avant is similarly
sports-themed, with a black interior decked with carbon
fiber inlays and brushed matte aluminum. Audi offers a
series of equipment options all designed to cater to the
driver, with heated front sport seats available in a variety
of materials. Also included is a driver information display
that incorporates a special RS menu, in which drivers can
select a lap timer and an oil temperature gauge, among
other displays.
The new Audi RS 4 Avant offers the best of both
worlds, being both a high-performance supercar, as well as
a docile family wagon. It continues the RS brand’s legacy
of offering ultimate performance mated with everyday usa-
Audi RS 4 Avant
Engine
Audi RS 4 Avant 4.2 FSI V8 (450 hp)
The new Audi RS 4 Avant
offers the best of both worlds,
being both a high-performance
s u p e r c a r, a s w e l l a s a d o c i l e
family wagon.
Drive/Transmission
quattro permanent all-wheel drive, seven-speed S tronic
Standard equipment
Includes electrically adjustable S sports seats with integrated head restraints, Audi
drive select, MMI navigation plus, Xenon plus headlights with LED daytime running
lights and LED rear lights, 19-inch forged aluminum alloy wheels
Optional extras
Includes dynamic steering, carbon fiber ceramic disc brakes, sports suspension plus
with Dynamic Ride Control
Fuel consumption urban/extra-urban/combined (in l/100 km)
14.6/8.5/10.7
CO2 emissions combined (in g/km)
249
Audi magazine / 067
inspire
068 / inspire / Audi magazine
People and ideas that inspire us.
Audi Fashion Festival 2013. 70
The fabric of success with Audi Star Creation award winner Roderic Wong. 76
Three times a lady: Claressa Monteiro. 80
The fashion event of the year returns to Singapore in May.
Audi magazine / 069
Printed Dress - Maria Grachvogel
Belt - Givency
Skull box clutch - Alexander McQueen
Style
Council
The Audi Fashion Festival is back and this time around,
t h e t h e m e i s ‘ C r a f t i n g t h e F u t u r e ’. A n d t h e r e ’ s c e r t a i n l y
no shor tage of craftsmanship and elegance in these pages,
which feature up-and-coming model Vivien Ong, who will
be fronting the Audi Fashion Festival 2013, alongside the
majestic Audi A8 L.
M o d e l : V i v i e n O n g / C a l - C a r r i e s
P h o t o g r a p h e r : A l b e r t Ta n
S t y l i s t : R a n d o l p h Ta n
Styling Assistant: Sophie Shinkarenko
M a k e - u p & H a i r : S h a S h a m s i u s i n g C h a n e l
Venue: The Sentosa Singapore, Spa Botanica
070 / inspire / Audi magazine
Audi magazine / 071
Coat - Etro
Dress - Christophe Josse
Sling Clutch - Christian Louboutin
Shoes - Pedder Red
072 / inspire / Audi magazine
Audi A8 L
The Audi A8 is Audi’s flagship limousine and the Audi A8 L scales the
exclusivity quotient up a notch. For starters, it is a noticeably bigger
car. The A8 L is 130 millimeters longer (overall length is now at 5.26
meters) than the standard A8 and this translates into more leg room
and even more passenger comfort. Indeed, the sheer spaciousness of
the interior is bordering on excessive. The two passenger seats feature electrical adjustment of fore/aft positions and pneumatic lumbar support. Large doors enable easy access into the cars and once
inside, the panoramic glass roof infuses the interior with plenty of
ambient light. This version of the A8 L is powered by a 4.0-liter V8
TFSI engine that puts out 420 horsepower even as it returns a combined fuel economy of 9.4 liters per 100 kilometers and an CO2 emissions figure of 219 grams per kilometer.
To learn more about the Audi A8 L, go to www.audi.com.sg.
Audi magazine / 073
074 / inspire / Audi magazine
Suit - Etro
Bow Shirt - Lanvin
Heels - Christian Louboutin
Shades - Miu Miu
Ear Cuffs - Givenchy
To g a - L a n v i n
Audi magazine / 075
Fabric of
Success
It ’s been a year since Roderic Wong
w o n t h e A u d i S t a r C r e a t i o n ’ s Yo u n g
Designer Award and walked away with a
$10,000 cash prize and a year ’s internship
at FJ Benjamin. Audi magazine meets up
with the talented young designer for a chat.
B y E L i s s a L o i ( c o p y ) & A l b e r t Ta n ( p h o t o s )
What is Roderic Wong involved in at this moment?
I’m currently attached to Raoul as part of my internship at FJ Benjamin, and participate in every step of
its design development and sampling process. This experience has taught me a lot about managing and designing
for a fashion label. At the same time, I’m also working
hard on the capsule collection that will be launched at the
Audi Fashion Festival 2013.
Tell us more about your capsule collection
In the initial design stage, many designers start
with something abstract. What I hope to do is the complete opposite. I want to start with a solid shape that is extremely precise, even mathematical, before the structure
becomes more fluid and sentimental. It’s similar to ‘Tissue
of Being’ (for which Roderic won the Audi Young Designer
Award) in that it’ll feature many different textures but I’ll
be using a fabric altered by processes that are different and
exploring various construction techniques.
Describe your sense of design and style?
I would spend an extraordinary amount of time
designing a jacket that looks plain on the outside but has
interesting details inside. I believe there are people who
076 / inspire / Audi magazine
appreciate that, and they are whom I want to design for –
those who look beyond fashion’s surface.
Audi’s design spirit is one of innovation, technology and
progression. Of these qualities, which do you identify
with most?
All of them. I try to ensure my designs capture
these qualities. It would be easier to design in line with
current trends and produce something that’s marketable.
That’s easy money and how most fast fashion companies
work. But I like to raise the bar with each collection I design, and set myself new challenges. As a designer I have
two goals: to be innovative and to never compromise on
my designs.
You studied computing. Do you think it will ever come in
handy in your design future?
Yes, in the sense that I know how technology can
be harnessed in fashion design. Technology has actually
brought great change to the fashion landscape; digital
textile printing and laser cutting are very popular right
now, and 3D prints and electronic textiles (clothing with
LED lights sewn into them) are gaining popularity on the
runway. If I ever decide to draw on these techniques in my
collections, my technical background will certainly help.
“I would spend an extraordinary amount
of time designing a jacket that looks
plain on the outside but has interesting
details inside. I believe there are people
w h o a p p r e c i a t e t h a t …”
Moving away from the details, what are you inspired by?
Many different things. For ‘Tissue of Being’, I
chanced upon a book on human anatomy and developed
a fascination with the intricacies of human tissue. While
there is absolutely nothing wrong with making a nice dress
from a mass-produced fabric, I wanted to challenge myself
to create something unique. I did some research, experimented with a felting technique I once read about before
and eventually came up with the white fabric that I used
in ‘Tissue of Being’. There are actually more ways to treat
the fabric further, and I plan to explore that down the line.
It could potentially spawn an entire line, much like Issey
Miyake’s ‘Pleats Please’.
Any advice for this year’s Audi Young Designer Award
hopefuls?
The judges want to see something that is new and
fresh, so give it your best shot and surprise them. Secondly, the finishing touches on a garment are extremely
important, so pay attention to every last detail. Also, rest
well before the competition. Good luck!
Audi Star Creation 2013
Now into its fourth year, the Audi Star Creation 2013 is a regional
fashion design competition that aims to discover Asia’s up-and-coming fashion design talent, and to provide them with the opportunity
to develop into the top fashion designers of tomorrow. As the title
sponsor, Audi prides itself on once again being in the driver’s seat
when it comes to identifying and nurturing the region’s most talented young designers.
A total of 355 submissions from 16 countries were received for the
Audi Star Creation 2013. This is higher than the 255 entries from 13
countries last year and includes first-time participants from Cambodia, Iraq and Mongolia. From the large number of entries, 12 will
eventually make it to Singapore where they face off on the runway
during the Audi Star Creation show.
In the finals, there will be not one but three winners and each gets a
S$10,000 cash prize and a one-year internship with F J Benjamin. Of
the three winners, the one that best reflects Audi’s values of innovation, technology and design receives the Audi Young Designer Award
(AYDA) – an additional S$10,000 cash prize. During their year at F J
Benjamin, the three winners get to further refine their personal collection and launch them at the following year’s Audi Star Creation.
Audi magazine / 077
 Off the deep end. 
It’s 15,661 kilometers as the crow flies
from Brussels to the Pacific atoll of Bora
Bora—John Beernaerts’ favorite diving
spot. Since this distance makes digging
out his scuba gear on a daily basis impossible, the Belgian professional diver
decided to recreate a piece of his island
paradise in his home town. Nemo 33 has
the world’s deepest indoor swimming
pool. Water lovers can dive to a depth
of 35 meters. Simulated caves and 2.5
million liters of spring water ensure that
this extraordinary diving center offers
a breathtaking underwater experience.
www.nemo33.com
The ten
The best products and ideas
to turn you green with envious delight.
078 / inspire / Audi magazine
 Northern lights. 
Inspired by the vast Norwegian forests, designer Caroline Olsson created the Skog series of lamps in different
shapes, sizes and colors. Clustered together, they form
a mini forest of lights, but even just one will brighten up
your life.
www.carolineolsson.no
 Bon voyage. 
Paris? Been there, done that. Or have
you? Instead of the city of love, see a
different side of the French capital in
the new year. With a copy of the 2013
Paris Design Guide, published by intramuros, you can discover Paris as a design hub teeming with inspiring sights
far from the Eiffel Tower and ChampsÉlysées. The guide provides hot tips on
architecture, contemporary art, fashion and food.
www.intramuros.fr
Photos: Robert Grischek, PR (9)
 Hedonist hotel. 
Housed in a historic building
in the French harbor city of
La Rochelle, the La Monnaie
Art & Spa boutique hotel is
the perfect port of call for
art, fine dining and wellness.
The reception area serves as
a gallery space for contemporary art, while in the café
gourmet delights created by
World Pastry Champion Pascal Caffet entice. Plus you
can round out the intoxicating sensory pleasures on offer with a treatment at the
in-house spa.
www.hotelmonnaie.com
 Focus follows photo. 
Not focused enough on your
photography during all the
holiday fun? U.S. company
Lytro has a fix-it-after-thefact solution—the first consumer camera to capture
the entire light field. This
compact device allows you to
refocus a picture even after
snapping it.
www.lytro.com
 Hot on the scent. 
As the name suggests,
Avant Garde by Lanvin is a
fragrance that represents
a modern interpretation of
masculinity. The top notes
combine Italian bergamot,
Madagascar pepper and
juniper, while the heart is
composed of lavender, nutmeg, cardamom and beeswax. Smells like male spirit.
www.lanvin.com
 Status Plo. 
Les Frères Plo, which translates as the Plo brothers, are
adaptable sorts—they can
serve as display cases or side
tables. The four Plo siblings
differ only in shape and color.
Aside from the version in petrol shown here, there are also
units in yellow, pink and white.
www.gaspardgraulich.com
 Sight for sore eyes. 
Inuit tribes traditionally wore sunglasses made of ivory with
slits in them to protect their eyes from the blinding light reflected off snow. Part of the Mykita and Bernhard Willhelm
fall/winter collection, the Rosi model serves the same purpose—only the design and target group are a little different.
www.mykita.com
 Stick around. 
The funnel-shaped Barnacle from
iLoveHandles is a real suck-up with
a soft spot for your iPhone. Attach
one suction cup to your mobile and
the other to any convenient surface,
such as your dashboard or desk.
You’ll find that this multipurpose
attachment lives up to its name
when it comes to clinging on.
www.ilovehandles.net
 Fresh mesh. 
Available in a variety of colors, arkys is a comfy wraparound chair formed by a metal mesh
shell. The interchangeable metal supporting
structure can be combined with a different
color seat, so you don’t have to go for the
monochrome look shown here.
www.eumenes.it, www.manufactum.co.uk
Audi magazine / 079
me & my Audi
Three Times
A Lady
E n t r e p r e n e u r, i n t e r n a t i o n a l r e c o r d i n g a r t i s t e ,
m u s i c p r o d u c e r, m a s t e r o f c e r e m o n i e s , a n d r a d i o
presenter – Claressa Monteiro has done it all, and
is a wife and mother to boot. We find out what
keeps this car enthusiast ’s motor running.
B y M e l v i n Ta n g ( c o p y ) & A l b e r t Ta n ( p h o t o s )
So what’s keeping you busy these days, Claressa?
That’s actually hard to answer. I wear
quite a few hats and that constantly keeps me
busy, but in a shifting sort of way. Sometimes
it’s radio, sometimes it’s business, but I guess
right now it’s the business of making music
that is occupying most of my time.
You’ve tasted success in many fields – what role
do you enjoy most?
Everything that I’ve ever done has been
in pursuance of a dream. Singing, songwriting,
and producing all evolved from a basic
childhood dream of wanting to be able to do
what I loved, which was music. My work on
radio came from a teenaged dream to connect
with people and I guess I could have just as
easily chosen to become a psychologist, but
radio gives me the opportunity to put both
dreams together. Radio is fabulous! To speak
from a room by myself and yet connect with
hundreds of thousands of people on a daily
basis is such a unique and yet frightening
thing. Frightening because it comes with a
responsibility. I’ve also started teaching at
the Australian International School last year,
and continue to do it because it’s exceptionally
fulfilling to guide young talent, even for just a
while, on their journey of discovery in music.
080 / inspire / Audi magazine
Audi magazine / 081
me & my Audi
“She’s totally me except that she’s
prettier” - Claressa on why she chose
the Audi RS 4
Many local artistes have commented on the lack of local
support. Yet this did not stop you from getting an album
out
A long time ago I read one of those soundbites
that changed my life. The quote was, “Luck is the
residue of design.” Now when people comment on how
lucky I am, I smile. There’s always an element of luck
in everything we do. A little serendipity as well – and
I’ve been blessed with both – but most of all it’s about
being too stubborn or too stupid to take, “No, that can’t
be done,” as the final word. Yes, there’s still more that
can be done as support for local talent here and now,
but there was a lot less of that when I was starting
out. You just keep trying, really. I can’t be sure why my
music has received such a warm reception both locally
and overseas, but I’d like to believe that at some level
it’s because I really do love the music, and everyone
who works with me on my albums and on the shows
shares the simple common goal of wanting to make the
best music we are capable of. In a way, it’s a lot like
Audi’s RS range. I’ve been an RS owner for years now,
and it’s hard not to notice the passion and dedication
that drives the engineers. It’s so evident in these cars.
Any other reasons that drew you to Audi?
A lot of cars look good but have no “go”. Some
have looks and performance yet still lack that thrill
factor. Audi combined a phenomenal driving experience
with a beautiful face and a price tag that didn’t have
me clutching my chest in terror. Or maybe I was just so
exhilarated from the driving experience that I just had
to have her at any cost.
Ever feel that an Audi RS 4 packs too much performance?
Hmm…I think people who know me would be
surprised if I didn’t have an RS 4. I love that she is
totally understated. If you don’t know cars you would
think that she was just a nicely built saloon. Yet she is so
much more. I also love a manual gearbox, and the ease
of shifting on the RS 4 was the thing that really made
me sit up and pay more attention on the test drive. I
love performance and handling, and don’t even get me
started on the need for speed. The RS 4 just checked
all the boxes for me. She’s totally me except that she’s
prettier.
082 / inspire / Audi magazine
Every review I’ve ever read talks about the
superb handling of the Audi RS 4, but I got to experience
it myself the first time I drove her to Kuala Lumpur. The
drive back was in blinding, pouring rain that started at
the hotel as I departed, and never let up even after I
crossed back into Singapore. At the start of the drive
I kept it real slow, but getting stuck behind trucks and
the splash that situation creates was just making it an
awfully tedious drive. So after half an hour of that and
as soon as I cleared the first toll, I kicked her out into
the fast lane and let her go. At speed she just stuck to
the road. The rain didn’t seem to make any difference to
the car’s ability. The hardest part of the drive was the
poor visibility which is where the brakes came in, and oh,
what brakes they were! Either my guardian angel was on
overdrive that day or this car is the best driving machine
I have ever had the pleasure of driving, bar none. So I’d
have to say she’s more than just a pretty face, although
she is pretty, and that V8 4.2 liter engine does give her
legs, but it’s her handling and the precision with which
she responds where she truly shines.
Do you have your eye on any new Audis?
I’m a woman so I always have my eye on
something else! I really enjoyed the Audi RS 5; she
behaves like a well brought-up lady in city traffic
but nudge her on a highway and she flies. This one’s
certainly a temptress.