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Long Term Tests

Audi RS4

By Chee-Chiu Lee

August 2006

Barker's on holiday? Check. Tickets for Le Mans booked? Check. Keys to RS4 in pocket? Check. Washer fluid? Check. Oil level? Oh dear... It's at the minimum. Strange, as I'm sure Andy Morgan had topped it up when he borrowed the car only two weeks earlier. A flick through the handbook revealed that the RS4 should only be fed 'Long Life' oil if we're to take advantage of the variable service intervals, and the local Shell garage relieved me of £16.99 for a litre of the special stuff. Ouch.


	The RS4 felt rock steady on the autoroute at 140mph, but with gendarmes and speed traps littering the roads, we settled for a gentle cruise

This was the first time my mates and I had been to Le Mans, and our excitement for the trip wasn't even dented by the 3.45am start. Three-up and with a bootful of camping gear squishing the suspension down by an inch or so, the gleaming red RS4 looked the business, its fat wheelarches wrapped tightly around the massive 255/35 ZR 19 P Zeros. As we closed in on Le Mans and eventually our campsite, it attracted as much attention from the gathering of petrolheads as any Ferrari.

Ray Mears-style self-sufficiency extended to putting up our tents and navigating our way to the Audi hospitality centre, where we bravely pulled our own beers, sat down with a plateful of food and, later, had a nice warm shower. It's the only way to enjoy Le Mans if, like me, you detest queuing and you're a bit of a fan of personal hygiene.

Staying up till the early hours watching the race was truly awesome, and the diesel-powered Audi R10s sounded eerily futuristic. While the other cars sounded as though they were creating as much noise as power, the much quieter R10s seemed as if they were sucking in the cool night air and spitting it out the back for propulsion.

A hectic work schedule meant we had to leave before the end of the race in the hope of catching an early ferry. Burbling along the now empty streets of Le Mans and being able to hear the screams of Corvettes and Panozes was a surreal experience.

The RS4 felt rock steady on the autoroute at 140mph, but with gendarmes and speed traps littering the roads, we settled for a gentle cruise, enjoying the enthusiastic French who had turned out on the bridges that cross over the autoroutes to wave at their favourite cars. Some were even set-up for the evening with patio furniture!

The only blot on a superb trip was that we burnt another half-litre of that frighteningly expensive oil. The R10's victory was impressive, but I'd rather the RS4 wasn't showing signs of being an oil burner too.

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