GoAutonews

John Mellor's
GoAuto news
SELL MORE by Improving Your Prospect Management Process
SUBSCRIBE FREE: www.mellor.net
A PRIL 16, 2008 Page 14
Audi ‘overtakes’ BMW
Engineer claims the A4
beats the 3 Series hands
down in ride and handling
By BYRON MATHIOUDAKIS
AUDI has revealed that achieving best-inclass
handling for its eighth-generation A4 was
matched by a desire to “out-ride” all its rivals
as well.
Speaking at the recent B8-series A4 launch
in Sydney, Audi AG’s project manager for
dynamic steering Wolfgang Dick told GoAuto
that Audi did not hold back in its development
of the all-new small-medium prestige car.
He said that having new components and
technology, a dedicated team of engineers
and a directive from the top echelons of Audi
to make the B8 A4 the best all-rounder in a
fi ercely competitive segment all combined
to make the A4 a much better vehicle than
initially imagined.
When development work commenced for
the latest A4 in the latter part of 2004, Audi
started by benchmarking what it believed to be
the “best-in-class” BMW E46 and subsequent
E90 3 Series for handling.
The original Lexus IS and Nissan’s Infi niti
were other yardsticks at the time. However, as
Mr Dick explained, this situation did not last
very long.
“We have not only reached the BMW, I believe
we have overtaken the BMW (in the area of
balance) … so fi rst it was a benchmark, but then
when we saw the potential of our car and were
given the opportunity to overtake it … from this
point on the BMW ‘3’ was not the benchmark but
as a pointer that we were on the right level.”
3 Series
Online Walk-in Phone-in
According to Mr Dick, changing the position
of the clutch and the gearbox in the new A4
was paramount in trying to achieve class-best
handling.
This was necessary as the B8’s Modular
Longitudinal Platform (MLP) includes a front
axle that is pushed signifi cantly further forward
than in previous Audis, a wider front and rear
track, and a longer wheelbase, for more even
weight distribution.
This means that the drivetrain had to be
mounted slightly more to the rear in the name
of balance as well as greater space utilisation
– Audi also claims that the A4 has
class-leading rear legroom and boot
space.
“It was hard work to change
every gearbox we had – manual …
automatic … the DSG that is coming
in the future … and it affected the
manufacturing line, as well as outside
suppliers,” Mr Dick said. “The agility
of the B7 A4 was not so bad, but it
was not as good as it now has to be.”
Mr Dick said the choices Audi made
for the outgoing A4 meant that it was infl icted
with harder suspension components that “were
not good for ride comfort”.
“So the second thing we did
was to design a completely
new front axle – to take the
steering from the back and
upper part of the axle (and
reposition it) down to the front
of the axle and at wheel level,” he said. “Doing
this also provides additional stiffness … as
well as comfort and agility of the car.
“The third thing we did was the rear axle – it
is not a new concept, but every part is new.”
Audi based the multi-link rear suspension on
the set-up employed by the current C6-series
A6 model, but with extensive modifi cation.
“This is good for future cars that come after
– the derivatives of the new A4 … like the
Cabrio and the Avant,” Mr Dick said. “It gives
us the possibilities to tune a completely new
set-up.”
According to Mr Dick, BMW’s
approach with the current (E90)
3 Series’ steering, while “quite
good” suffers from too many
compromises.
“BMW made a conceptual
mistake with the double planetary
gear, which has two main
disadvantages that you have to
prevent when you are designing
a steering system: one is friction,
Wolfgang Dick
which is totally bad for steering
feel and centre-point feel, and the second is
‘backlash’ or play,” he said.
Mr Dick said he and his team had support
from former Audi chairman Martin Winterkorn
– now heading up Volkswagen – who is an
engineer mindful of what needed to be done
for the A4 to become truly competitive with
BMW and others.
Continued next page
Manage ALL of your sales opportunities
in one, easy-to-use system.
Bulk email function: more sales
opportunities are just a click away.
Create and save your own email
templates or build on our collection.
Simple reports that:
• Identify key lead sources
• Identify the vehicles that generate
most enquiry
M TIVE
Call 1300 308 690 | email sales@datamotive.com.au | visit datamotive.com.au Proudly part of the Carsales Network
A4