On 09/21/2002 hopemell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> Fabulous entertainment.
> Thanks for getting this one started Brandy.
> Hope
> 
>> At 02:43 +0200 19/9/02, Edgar wrote:
>> 
>>> TT is actually short for "Tourist Trophy"...
>> 
>> Off topic, and entertaining breath of fresh air.
>> Makes you wonder who really is part of this list.
>> 
>> Cheers,
>> Marc

Well a few of us, Chuck Goolsbee absolutely included (since he got me into
this thread =), are bona fide car nuts--and TT fans. So here's a parting
shot of totally OT entertainment for this thread, with the catalyst being a
German magazine I bought yesterday called Auto Bild Test & Tuning (10/02).
It features a tuned TT-- but more about that in a moment, after a little
more "history"...

Around 1990 I got irritated at all the Porsche wannabes so I decided to
build a "sleeper" Porsche killer. I settled on an Audi Sport Quattro, one of
200 built for the Group "B" homologation for the World Rally Championships,
which I then proceeded to heavily modify everything, with emphasis on torque
and drivability. It's a 5cyl AWD, puts out about 480 bhp/ over 600 Nm
torque, does 0-60 in 3.6 sec, still can spin all 4 wheels in 3rd gear, and
just hits 300 kmh (because it's aerodynamically a brick) in the rain. In
full-bore competition form, these cars put out nearly 800 bhp from a 2.1L
engine in their last iteration. The "B" cars were banned by the WRC as too
powerful and uncontrollable because a WRC race will run for hours over 3-4
days or more at max attack, requiring unbelievable levels of concentration
and skill. For the American based history, the most famous was winning the
Pikes Peak Race 3 years in record setting succession in the mid-80's with
Michelle Mouton (finest woman driver ever--she won WRC races which is
roughly equivalent to a lady winning F1 or Indy 500), Bobby Unser and Walter
Rohrl. I had a young German engine tuner MTM, ex-Audi engineer, help me with
extensive engine and Motronic (computer) modifications, profiled to my
preferences. The car is a crazy combination of exotic materials and trick
parts, w/AC/PW & stereo to make life comfortable. Although it's
semi-retired, this is the car I'd use for the One Lap of America. Think of
it as the automotive analog to a G3-400 powered 2400--it's ultracompact and
does everything.

Its streetable spiritual successor is the Audi TT. Now, given the chance,
I'm pretty crazy (with tuning/driving cars), but MTM has just done a
(yellow) Audi TT project for the street that takes the cake. You will be
reading about it in Car & Driver or Road & Track in a few months. This is
the car Brandy should streak across NM/AZ/NV with. The 4-cyl has been tuned
from a stock 225 bhp to 370 bhp/475 Nm on 1.8L (not bad, eh?). BUT it has a
second identical engine stuffed in the back so it runs 740 bhp/950 Nm AWD-6
spd, at 0-100 kmh (62.5 mph) in 3.5 sec (it's about 200 kg heavier than my
SQ), AND RUNS 0-200 kmh in 9.9 sec, topping out at 332 kmh "stock"!!! There
is enough power to put in longer gears and special hard tires to reach 400
kmh (the next objective). I guess that would give blond and streaked hair an
altogether new meaning ;-)

Since the new TT model will come out next year with 6-cyl engines, it would
be really fun to have a "Bimoto" 12 cyl somewhere on the far side of 1000
bhp/1200 Nm if it doesn't snap drivetrains like matchsticks. Something akin
to a Pentium running 5 ghz (since PPC has hopelessly lost the speed race).

Anyway, I couldn't resist a final fling on this OT TT topic after reading
about a "upgraded", "overclocked" TT, and seeing a few testimonies to
"entertainment"--with apologies to all those not interested in the original
thread.

Sidney Ho


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