The RS models from Audi Sport GmbH are the dynamic spearheads of their respective product lines. They have a strong character that consists of distinct design differentiation, full everyday usability, effortless top performance, and a thrilling driving experience. This results from a relentless focus on minute details by the designers and development and test engineers, and it is perfected over numerous test drives around the world. This is a behind-the-scenes look at development work.
The North Loop (Nordschleife) of the Nürburgring is a legend among race tracks:
The 20.832-kilometre course is among the most challenging worldwide. And every single metre is truly a tough challenge: the compression at the Fuchsröhre, the kickbacks at the Karussell, or the jump at the Pflanzgarten. More than 80 percent of the course is driven with full power. With maximum load applied in fast motion, every kilometre on this course equates to multiple kilometres of regular road operation. 8,000 kilometres of endurance testing on the North Loop easily equates to a car’s entire lifetime. With its high demands, the North Loop is the benchmark for every performance car. If you can survive here, you can survive on the world’s roads.
The North Loop can also tell a knowledgeable driver a lot about an automobile: Its strengths and weaknesses, precise handling to achieve fast lap times, easy controllability at the limit and, most of all, solid quality even in the most challenging conditions. This is why the North Loop is one of the fixed stars in the cosmos of vehicle development and testing at Audi Sport GmbH.
A North Loop expert working for Audi Sport: Frank Stippler
Frank Stippler is one of the people who know the “Green Hell” best. The 45-year-old was born in Cologne and lives in the Eifel region. He is connected with the history of Audi Sport like no other racing driver. His greatest accomplishments include winning the 24 Hours races of Spa in 2012 and the Nürburgring (2012 and 2019). Stippler was part of the team right from the start, when the GT3 racing car Audi R8 LMS debuted in 2009.
Aside from his skills as a driver, he also contributed his engineering expertise. Ever since then, it has been hard to imagine the development of customer sport racing cars and even performance road models without him. This applies to the RS models as well as the R8 supercar, which was extensively updated at the beginning of 2019 - as a Coupé, as Spyder, and as an R8 V10 RWD with rear-wheel drive.
Stippler’s latest coup is a lap record on the North Loop, which he set with an RS Q8 in the autumn of 2019. The clock stopped after 7 minutes and 42.253 seconds - attested by a notary - and the racing professional from Cologne had beaten the former best time for standard SUVs by twelve seconds. While the new record was not the aim of the development work, it is nevertheless clear proof of the immense dynamism that Audi’s most dynamic Q model has to offer.
Oliver Hoffmann: “The North Loop is the ultimate endurance test”
“The North Loop represents the ultimate endurance test in our development and coordination work,” explains Oliver Hoffmann, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH. “Every RS model undergoes at least 8,000 kilometres of testing here. The track provides us with detailed information about the durability of our parts under extreme conditions and specifics about the suspension. With the RS Q8, our main focus was on the setup of the springs, dampers, and the ESP as well as the performance characteristics of the roll stabilisation and the sport differential.”
What distinguishes the character of Audi’s fastest SUV? “The RS Q8 combines outstanding performance and extraordinary design along with the power and versatility of an SUV and our extensive quality standards,” Hoffmann explains. “RS vehicles have a strong and unique character: spontaneous maximum performance wherever and whenever desired, and effortless performance on long journeys.” This is important, as many RS drivers use their car every day for business trips and running errands and rack up a lot of kilometres. “An RS is a true Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It is important for every kilometre, no matter how it is driven, to be an experience. This is achieved thanks to breathtaking design, high-end look and feel, and outstanding quality,” says Oliver Hoffmann, who is also responsible for Technical Development at the Neckarsulm site.
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