[astra]

Originally Posted by Sparky66

I'll be going to the new Audi Dealership at Five Dock. It looks huge, very modern and the building purposely built looks very space age.
Going for a test drive(2 hours)just for kicks in a S5 with no dealer present. Should be fun !!!

Is that the one near Zetland? Or is it the same place... Was pretty small the last time I went past

[Husky]

Found an affordable second hand R8 that should sell for less than a 3 series for any one who wants to make the change http://www.autounleashed.com/creepy-...eet-in-germany

[BMW //MPOWER]

Originally Posted by Husky

Found an affordable second hand R8 that should sell for less than a 3 series for any one who wants to make the change http://www.autounleashed.com/creepy-...eet-in-germany

Dang! That's nasty.
I hope the driver had enough time to get out of it!

[Sparky66]

Originally Posted by astra

Is that the one near Zetland? Or is it the same place... Was pretty small the last time I went past

No where near Zetland. Between Croydon and Haberfield at the corner of Great North Rd and Parramatta Rd. Questionably the largest and newest Audi dealer around.





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[astra]

Originally Posted by Sparky66

No where near Zetland. Between Croydon and Haberfield at the corner of Great North Rd and Parramatta Rd. Questionably the largest and newest Audi dealer around.

Ahhh, ok gotcha

[JamieA]

Originally Posted by Ninja333

i thought audi owns Lambroghini anyway..practical the same sh&t.

Yes they do. VW owns Audi, and it looks like soon Porsche will own the lot, at the moment I think they at least have a controlling interest.

[JamieA]

Originally Posted by BMW //MPOWER

True, but it's really just a Lamborghini Gallardo in a different shell, either way (oh it pains me to say it, but) i guess they're all just glorified VW's these days.

Not really.

The VW Group have 4 platforms.

The Golf platform (transverse engine) does the Golf (duh!) Passat, A3, TT and all variants there of for Seat and Skoda

The MDS platform (longitudinal engine) was developed by Audi and is for the A4, A5, A6, and probably A8 plus variants of the A8 being Phaeton and Bentley Conti GT

There is a mid engined platform for R8, upcoming R4, Porsche products - Boxter, Cayman and potentially Lamborghini and Bugatti products

Then there is a smaller platform for rear engined small cars - like VW's reborn Beetle concept.

So as you can see, though VW own it all, they aren't developing all the platforms. The Passat and A4 split to different branches of the family tree with the arrival of the B6 model Audi A4.

It remains to be seen if this 4 platform strategy will work, but if it does it will give the VW group significant cost advantages.

[BMW //MPOWER]

Originally Posted by JamieA

Not really.

The VW Group have 4 platforms.

The Golf platform (transverse engine) does the Golf (duh!) Passat, A3, TT and all variants there of for Seat and Skoda

The MDS platform (longitudinal engine) was developed by Audi and is for the A4, A5, A6, and probably A8 plus variants of the A8 being Phaeton and Bentley Conti GT

There is a mid engined platform for R8, upcoming R4, Porsche products - Boxter, Cayman and potentially Lamborghini and Bugatti products

Then there is a smaller platform for rear engined small cars - like VW's reborn Beetle concept.

So as you can see, though VW own it all, they aren't developing all the platforms. The Passat and A4 split to different branches of the family tree with the arrival of the B6 model Audi A4.

It remains to be seen if this 4 platform strategy will work, but if it does it will give the VW group significant cost advantages.

Yes & No...
I recently heard the R4 was canned due to Porsche pushing them not to do it.
There was also recent news regarding potential future joint development of the next generation boxsters are TT's.
As for the family tree and the development split between audi & vw, yes they are separate, however ultimately the whole company is VW so audi ultimately is just a small divison of VW (Like Lexus is a sub-div of Toyota). I guess the odd part is with Porsche taking such a large stake in VW, the only conclusion i can come to is that it is a sneaky way for Porsche to get through the new emissions regulations whilst still producing cars of the same quality without having to cut their emissions.

[JamieA]

Originally Posted by BMW //MPOWER

Yes & No...
I recently heard the R4 was canned due to Porsche pushing them not to do it.
There was also recent news regarding potential future joint development of the next generation boxsters are TT's.
As for the family tree and the development split between audi & vw, yes they are separate, however ultimately the whole company is VW so audi ultimately is just a small divison of VW (Like Lexus is a sub-div of Toyota). I guess the odd part is with Porsche taking such a large stake in VW, the only conclusion i can come to is that it is a sneaky way for Porsche to get through the new emissions regulations whilst still producing cars of the same quality without having to cut their emissions.

hmmm... Boxter and TT sharing the same platform would make life interesting. One of the TT's biggest problems/hurdles is the Golf platform.

Yes about the R4 - it wouldn't be the first time Porsche has asked VW/Audi to pull their horns in.

The thing about Audi, is that for a while it was the only division making profit. VW themselves have been in a bit of financial poop, hence the platform rationalisation and the bringing forward of the Golf platform update.

But yes you are right, the tangled web of modern car companies and bastardised DNA make it all hard to unwind sometimes. I am glad that a BMW is a BMW is a BMW and there is none of this speculation, and that the cars are true to their heritage. There is a lot than can be said for pedigree

[BMW //MPOWER]

Originally Posted by JamieA

hmmm... Boxter and TT sharing the same platform would make life interesting. One of the TT's biggest problems/hurdles is the Golf platform.

Yes about the R4 - it wouldn't be the first time Porsche has asked VW/Audi to pull their horns in.

The thing about Audi, is that for a while it was the only division making profit. VW themselves have been in a bit of financial poop, hence the platform rationalisation and the bringing forward of the Golf platform update.

But yes you are right, the tangled web of modern car companies and bastardised DNA make it all hard to unwind sometimes. I am glad that a BMW is a BMW is a BMW and there is none of this speculation, and that the cars are true to their heritage. There is a lot than can be said for pedigree

I couldn't agree more.

[eml]

Originally Posted by JamieA

One of the TT's biggest problems/hurdles is the Golf platform.

is this still the case with the new TT?

[BMW //MPOWER]

Originally Posted by eml

is this still the case with the new TT?

I was under the impression that the new TT was no longer built off the gold platform. As it had an alloy space frame chassis. Whereas the old tt, was pretty much a golf in a different shell.

[JamieA]

Yes, as far as I am aware, it is still built off the Golf platform... it is transverse engine, all Audi's native platforms are longitudinal. They have put trick suspension bits into it, but it is still transverse engine, haldex AWD (from Golf, Audi quattro uses Torsen) and DSG from Golf.

Audi only recently developed a DSG for longitudinal engines, and that was only recently shown on the S5, the TT had the VW one long ago.

If you look in the cabin, there are echoes of Golf everywhere...

[eml]

oh ok ... i just heard sometime back (forget now from where) that the move out of the golf platform was one of the significant differences/changes of the new TT ... but i could have been drunk then ...

[JamieA]

I have been doing further research to double check things. I can't find anything conclusive, but I would say that the Haldex, DSG and Transverse engine all stack up as enough evidence for me.

I know Audi have evolved it - Magnetic suspensions and aluminium, but isn't this more like a Golf with the lot platform?

I have read that the next one won't be because it will be shared with the Boxter, and this makes sense because the TT, like all Audi cars really needs to move beyond image and into substance.

Take it the other way. What other platform could it be? It wouldn't be the A4 because they knew they were releasing the MDS platform, and it can't be anything further up the tree like the old A6 platform because that was too expensive. The A3 is a golf in a dinner suit, so if it isn't another Golf variant, what is it?

Happy to be proven wrong... just thinking aloud