Top 10 Greatest Audis

-Chris-

I was looking at The History Of Audi on MSN cars when I came across The Top 10 Greatest Audis.

I love this kind of stuff, but I'm wondering - of MSN's Top 10 Greatest Audis, which would you choose?


Edit: I've added a poll - if you have a favorite, or an Audi you think is most significant, take your pick!
P.S. If you don't like Audi or if you think some of the descriptions by MSN are a bit fanboy-ish, leave it outside - we can start a separate BMW thread if you like... :D

Nforce

I'd have chosen the old 80's Group B Quattro as my #1.:cool:

Tropheus

I would agree with most of them. The A2 definitely as it was well ahead of its time.

I wouldn't agree with the original TT as it was flawed, very flawed.

I would include the original S8 and the current RS6 aswell. The current RS4 is also worth a mention.

The original Quattro is my No. 1 from a pure technology perspective.

peasant

To a real petrolhead there is only one answer and that is quattro

Nonetheless, I'd like to have an honorary mention of my childhood dream car please, the Audi 100 coupe



sorry (not really:D) about the biiig picture

crosstownk

Ur Quattro....all the way!

homer90

For me (IMO) the Audi quattro put them on the map.

cianclarke

As much as I *love* the R8, it's still gotta be the quattro...

-Chris-

ksimpson wrote: »

I would agree with most of them. The A2 definitely as it was well ahead of its time.

Definitely - the concept was brilliant, the car itself was kinda soul-less. Pity really...

ksimpson wrote: »

I wouldn't agree with the original TT as it was flawed, very flawed.

Mechanically/dynamically it wasn't up to snuff - a tarted up Golf. In terms of design though, it was fantastic - what else was out there like the TT at the time. And when you consider how little it differed from the original concept car you realise that it truely was a design-led exercise.

ksimpson wrote: »

I would include the original S8 and the current RS6 aswell. The current RS4 is also worth a mention.

I like the S8 and I think the RS4 is pretty cool - the RS6 is probably more about Top Trumps kinda figures than a realistic car, although it's one of the few recent cars that have made me speechless in person (including Astons & Ferraris).

ksimpson wrote: »

The original Quattro is my No. 1 from a pure technology perspective.

Good Choice!

crosstownk

From a sick technological point of view the NSU Ro80 is worth a mention..........

cianclarke

I'm shocked to see there are some Quattro's still around, and at affordable money.. Wow
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/969860.htm

Patch123

is there a top 10 of Audis? okay if so the A2, then the Quattro, the a8, then eh.... the skoda octavia, vw golf, seat leon.. audi's at best seem pseud's cars. some exceptions to the rule (RS2, and R8 etc..) but in general Audi's status is exemplified by the current A4 and new A4 hatchback (a5 4dr coupe) whose look is rear-drive but who are mostly fwd. Just ask yourself, is there a mainstream car in their history with the kudos of the equivalent merc w123/4/6 or bmw? I'd say no . As against this, there are a few fine individual models in the range - aluminium A8 etc possibly TT tdi - a3 cabrio is okay... But it seems that in this country esp., 50% of Audis are 1.6s and the rest 1.9tdis. Why wouls you buy these over equivalent skoda except for snob value?

stratos

The one in Finglas.....Oh sorry I thought you said Aldis

B00MSTICK

quattro

Small q folks :pac:

peasant

crosstownk wrote: »

From a sick technological point of view the NSU Ro80 is worth a mention..........

Sorry to be pedantic here, but the RO80 (like the K70) is a NSU design. NSU never had anything to do with Audi until the day they were bought by VW, closed and "merged" with Audi.

The RO80 was released in 1967, the "fusion" with Audi happened in 1969

Alanstrainor

Has to be the quattro for me too. Great looking car.

Max_Damage

You missed one, the very-forgotten-about Audi V8. It's my favorite Audi (especially in manual form).



It was the predecessor to the A8.

HashSlinging

RS2 its a world away from everything else Audi has done including the R8.

peasant

There is however one Audi (well, it's three of them and they're Auto Union ) that will wipe the quattro from its throne with just one blip from the accelerator ...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=54611785&postcount=1

JHMEG

Wot, no RS4 1.9 TDI option? :D

peasant

JHMEG wrote: »

Wot, no RS4 1.9 TDI option? :D

the R10TDI isn't listed either and it ought to be

-Chris-

peasant wrote: »

There is however one Audi (well, it's three of them and they're Auto Union ) that will wipe the quattro from its throne with just one blip from the accelerator ...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=54611785&postcount=1

Meh, seen it!! :D:D

high horse

I voted for the quattro just for the sound of the thing. Proper "grunt"

VolvoMan

Surely it has to be the A4 1.9 TDi. Absolute mad yokes they are!:eek:

HashSlinging

Well it has to said they did catch on.

tossy

No B5 RS4?

I love the R8 but in the grander scheme of things i wouldn't rate it,its nothing but an Audi Gallardo,of course i'd love one though.

stratos

Why do Audi have the same sort of following as BMW Jaguar Lexus and Mercedes, to my mind people seem to put them in the same category. The Audi may have a beautifully engineered glove box but they sold out and went front wheel drive. Easy to manufacture torque steer oversteer, what gives. Okay they did good cars once but they sold out , yet somehow kept the sporting image. maybe it was the chrome gauge rings.:p

-Chris-

stratos wrote: »

Why do Audi have the same sort of following as BMW Jaguar Lexus and Mercedes, to my mind people seem to put them in the same category.

-Chris- wrote: »

P.S. If you don't like Audi or if you think some of the descriptions by MSN are a bit fanboy-ish, leave it outside - we can start a separate BMW thread if you like... :D

Covered in the OP. Start your own thread.

stratos wrote: »

The Audi may have a beautifully engineered glove box but they sold out and went front wheel drive.

They sold out back in 1933? Noice!

stratos

I actually do think some Audis look very nice.

Nforce

Nforce wrote: »

I'd have chosen the old 80's Group B Quattro as my #1.:cool:

Actually....if I couldn't have an original Group B monster.....


One of these would do

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46WpQMV7uA8

:cool:

VolvoMan

stratos wrote: »

The Audi may have a beautifully engineered glove box but they sold out and went front wheel drive.

Audi were always front-wheel-drive IIRC. The brand was basically revived by Volkswagen in the 1960's and used to badge what were essentially big versions of their cars.

peasant

VolvoMan wrote: »

Audi were always front-wheel-drive IIRC. The brand was basically revived by Volkswagen in the 1960's and used to badge what were essentially big versions of their cars.

Actually ...:D ...the story is a bit different.

VW, Audi and NSU all were in trouble.
VW had painted itself into a corner with outdated rear engined aircooled vehicles. Audi had the far more modern FWD down to a tee but were stuck with renngg-dengg-deng two strokes. NSU had vision and brilliant engineers, but a small market share, no money and the half cooked rotary concept broke their financial back.

So, VW killed NSU, gave all their assets to Audi and let them come up with the modern designs that they eventually pilfered and mass marketed in the Golf, Polo, Passat et all. That in turn created enough funds to build up Audi as the "upper class" arm of VW.

unkel

Max_Damage wrote: »

You missed one, the very-forgotten-about Audi V8.

Was gonna post the same as soon as I saw the list. Don't underestimate the importance of the V8. Without it, I don't believe Audi (VAG) would have gone as far upmarket as they have. No A8, no Bentley, no Lamborghini, no Le Mans...

peasant wrote: »

I'd like to have an honorary mention of my childhood dream car please, the Audi 100 coupe

Indeed. Absolutely beautiful car and one of my favourites at the time.

benj

cianclarke wrote: »

I'm shocked to see there are some Quattro's still around, and at affordable money.. Wow
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/969860.htm

thats one cool car,
engine like looking into a ditch though
are these expensive to import?

peasant

Here's an interesting bit of history about the Audi 100, it was developed in secret and against the wishes of the boss

The origins of the first Audi 100 have become legendary in Germany. When Volkswagen purchased Auto Union from Mercedes Benz in 1965, they seem to have been motivated by a desperate shortage of production capacity for their ’Beetle’ model which at that time was selling faster than the cars could be produced. The then nearly new Auto Union plant at Ingolstadt, built under Mercedes ownership and control, was quickly adapted for Beetle assembly: Volkswagen boss Heinrich Nordhoff, mindful of the poor sales record of the DKW F102, and at a time when the new Audi F103 had yet to prove itself in the market place, gave instructions that no further new Auto Union (including Audi) models should be developed.

However, it was not just the Ingolstadt manufacturing facility that Volkswagen acquired from Mercedes when they purchased the Auto Union business. Among the employees inherited from the Mercedes era was engineer Ludwig Kraus. Kraus did not share Nordhoff’s apparent conviction that demand for the Beetle would remain insatiable for ever, and it was Kraus who developed the Audi 100, in direct contravention of instructions from Volkswagen management, and in secret. The first Nordhoff knew of the project was when he was presented with a production ready prototype. It is to Nordhoff’s credit that he changed his mind and gave the car the green light. The Audi 100 would be a commercial success, but it would also be the first of a series of front engined water cooled Audi based designs from the Volkswagen group that would, starting with the first Passat in 1973, enable the group to survive and flourish once the European and US markets began to lose their appetites for rear engined air cooled models.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_100

didn't know this myself

groupb

stratos wrote: »

The one in Finglas.....Oh sorry I thought you said Aldis

Thats generally where you see audis , mostly in black with blacked out windows.
As i have an interest in cars , Audis generally don't do anything for me but I have to admit that the group b quattro was nice.

bazz26

The Quattro for me. It was conceived with this man in mind.

copacetic

has to be the quattro but I love the RS2 also.

Terrontress

Very few cars ever built have met their brief so effectively as the A2.

Chris, I have to disagree about them being soulless. The look of an SE on six spoke alloys never fails to make me smile. The 3 cylinder TDi 90 has a lovely rattle to it and can get to 60 in ten seconds. The 3l could do in excess of 100mpg. All of them could fit four adults in extreme comfort. The panoramic glass roof option is only catching on in larger cars now. And there were few luxury options not available in the A2 that were in the A8! The car also had a wheel at each corner and a low centre of gravity so was a hoot to drive.

The problems? Firstly the price. The expensive aluminium pushed them above the price of an A class. Secondly the name. Bigger inside than an A3 and more expensive as well. But the car buying public thought "A3 must be 1 better than A2".

Audi made an absolute gem but didn't have the balls to see it through. The car will be a future classic whereas 6 year old A3s look so, so tired.

My vote goes to the A2.

colm_mcm

I'd say the original Quattro was the most important as it boosted the image of Audi, with advanced 4WD technology and turbocharged engines, ir remains the iconic Audi.

My favourite Audi would have to be the 80, such an elegant design, and way ahead of its time.

From an Irish perspective, the A4 TDI was oficially the fastest car on sale for a few years, and became the chariot of choice for rich farmers and builders alike.

Cosmo K

The 1989 Audi 100 TDI is also missing, 2.5 l 5 cyl-115bhp and the first "modern" diesel car.

maidhc

The MSN poll is mixed up between the "greatest" and "most important" Audis.

The greatest is to my mind the ur-quattro followed a very close second by the A2.

The most important is the 1995 A4 without a shadow of a doubt. The a4 really brought Audi away from the image of being a "poor mans BMW" to a credible alternative to the 3 series. Even though people scoff at the 1.9TDI now, in 1995 BMWs alternative was the really vile 318tds, while mercedes had an even worse normally aspirated lump that had a 0-60 measured in days.

Jayob10

Have an Audi 200 Avant Quattro Turbo / 2226cc with genuine low mileage. will be looking to sell it soon.
Have a mechanic servicing it as we speak.

quattro777

A few of my favorites not on the list. I voted for the ur quattro.

Audi 90


Audi 200 5t type 43

Audi 200 quattro


Audi Sport quattro

JHMEG

peasant wrote: »

the Audi 100, it was developed in secret and against the wishes of the boss

This bit confuses me. How can it be against the wishes of the boss if he didn't know?

Or was he heard to be muttering "those fúckers better not be developing an Audi 100 - I won't stand for it"

JHMEG

maidhc wrote: »

The most important is the 1995 A4 without a shadow of a doubt. The a4 really brought Audi away from the image of being a "poor mans BMW" to a credible alternative to the 3 series.

The 80 really did that. Ironically the A4 was seen as a pile o shite by a lot of people, and not half the car the 80 was.

peasant

JHMEG wrote: »

This bit confuses me. How can it be against the wishes of the boss if he didn't know?

Or was he heard to be muttering "those fúckers better not be developing an Audi 100 - I won't stand for it"

As it says in the wiki text:
Volkswagen boss Heinrich Nordhoff, ... gave instructions that no further new Auto Union (including Audi) models should be developed.

unkel

JHMEG wrote: »

The 80 really did that.

Agreed. More specifically the last generation 80. The first generation A4 looked good but wasn't a major step forward from the 80 in any significant way imho.

VolvoMan

unkel wrote: »

Agreed. More specifically the last generation 80. The first generation A4 looked good but wasn't a major step forward from the 80 in any significant way imho.

The 80 was their first stab at the big players in the prestige market. The B5 A4 continued what the 80 had started but wasn't the mould breaker that its successor was. For some reason as well the first generation A4 didn't have a particularly long shelf life, it only lasted for about 5 years and a bit.

robtri

looks like the quatro is running away with it

Terrontress

robtri wrote: »

looks like the quatro is running away with it

I don't think my impassioned post about the A2 had much impact although based on other posts it has got a few second places.

But you can't argue with the quattro either.

The Audi 50 deserves an honourable mention as well, given the success it then became as the Polo.

VeVeX

-Chris- wrote: »

Mechanically/dynamically it wasn't up to snuff - a tarted up Golf.

Mechanically what does the TT share with a Golf?