Audi launches DTM doppelganger
Newswheel staff :: 04 May 2005 :: Filed under Saloon, Audi, Audi A4, Europe & UK
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The German Touring Car Masters racing series (aka DTM) is a pretty serious business. For sure, you wouldn’t find the likes of former F1 pilots Mika Hakkinen and Jean Alesi tearing round in any old tin-top series. So, it’s no surprise to see Audi cashing in on its across-the-board crushing of the opposition in the 2004 DTM with this tweaked and chintzed commemorative-edition A4.
Based on the 2.0T FSI model, the 220PS/217bhp A4 DTM Special Edition packs an extra 20 ponies from the ubiquitous 2-litre turbo VW-group powerplant. Chassis upgrades are limited to a Sportline setup with massaged spring and damper settings and a set of bling 18-inch alloys. Whether the aggressive new front air dam, sill extensions and rear diffuser deliver function as well as form, we dare not speculate. Likewise, we doubt the DTM heritage, a few more horses and some chopped springs will transform the A4 into a finely-honed driver’s tool. That would probably require more serious surgery – like all A4s, the engine location, slung well out ahead of the front axle, is not exactly ideal.
What’s more, the A4 DTM is no bargain, weighing in at around €40,650 on the continent or £29,980 in Blighty (that’s in Quattro four-wheel-drive trim - continental Europe will also be offered a cheaper front-drive version). That’s a 20 per cent premium over a standard 2.0T FSI Quattro more than a 250bhp+ 3.2 Quattro Sportline. Ouch.
Linkage:
Audi press release
Posted 01 April 2007, by Cristopher