Autoblog Night Watch: Needell hints at Veyron 'vert, 5th Gear pegs Audi A5 vs. BMW 335i
We found a couple great Fifth Gear videos for you from the new season, so we decided to put both into one post. First (above), Vicky Butler-Henderson pits two of the hottest luxury sport coupes, the all-new Audi S5 and the BMW 335i. These two vehicles show just how far the sport coupe market has come in the past few years, and Vicky took both to the track to see which vehicle was quicker. The rear-drive Bimmer had it all over the S5 in the handling department while also weighing a few hundred pounds less, but the S5 used its over 50HP advantage courtesy of its brute-force V8 engine to even the score. Click play above to see who won the time trial by a minuscule .6 seconds.
Hit the jump to view the second Fifth Gear video, and see what could be a teaser of the Veyron cabrio.
[Source: YouTube]
Our good friend Tiff Needell always seems to get the best assignments, and in the following video, he was able to visit the Bugatti factory and take a Veyron for a spin. First he teases us by showing the "top speed" key, which is needed to hit the ridiculous 253 MPH top speed. While that makes for great TV, we're more interested in what Sir Tiff couldn't show us. It seems that there is more to the Bugatti brand, and at about 3:25 into the spot, the clever camera operator plays a little game we like to call "just the tip, just for a second." We can see just past the front wheel well of the front end of Bugatti's 1,001 HP beast. It's almost certainly another Veyron, so a drop top is the only option. For some reason, we don't think the engineers at Bugatti would let us hit 253 MPH with the top down, would they? Check out the video below.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Michael Crush World 11:23PM (9/05/2007)
That's .06 seconds.
Reply
J.Crew 11:24PM (9/05/2007)
I'll take all three for a ride!
Oh, and that difference could be made up on any given lap. Amazingly close by using two different methods of power delivery.
Reply
Eric 11:25PM (9/05/2007)
Title should be S5 vs. 335i...not A5
Reply
Ed 11:54PM (9/05/2007)
It should be noted that the entire point of that Fifth
Gear episodewas to provide filler until they got tothis (Tiff. Track. Veyron. Powersliding. 'nuff said.):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnAaKlWqTco
Reply
Peter 5:21AM (9/06/2007)
Yeeha.
C.G. 12:01AM (9/06/2007)
Shouldn't they compare the S5 to the M3?
Reply
TexRob 12:07AM (9/06/2007)
Yep, should be M3 vs S5 IMHO. It's good that the 335i won, but does anyone find it odd testing an AWD car on what looks to be a dirty, and more importantly, and wet track against a RWD car? In the dry, with a pro, I bet the BMW would have really blown the Audi away. I'd like to see that.
I just don't think of anything Audi as sports cars. They are more touring cars with performance, like Mercedes.
Reply
Preston M 12:13AM (9/06/2007)
I think S5 vs. 335i was fair. As far as the consumers prospective thats a somewhat direct comparison. I'm thinking M3=RS5 challenger. Although its hard to say, because anymore the lines are being blurred.
Toyota_Luver 12:45AM (9/06/2007)
If you call a measly 0.06 seconds a win... Come on. I'd much rather have the S5 all things considered. It's faster, looks better and obviously does about the same time around the track as the Bimmer. Audi has done well with this car.
MikeW 12:16AM (9/06/2007)
Tiff can find the ESP button, but he can't find the handling mode button?
Where's the wing?
http://www.bugatti-configurator.com/content/pdf/Veyron_en.pdf
'manually selectable for race tracks' That would include auto-x wouldn't it?
Car and Driver found it.
http://www.caranddriver.com/previews/10108/bugatti-veyron-164-page3.html
Reply
SOhp101 1:06AM (9/06/2007)
RS4/5 = M3
S4/5 = 335i
A4/5 3.2 = 328i
One good thing about Audi is that they offer the 2.0T which isn't much slower than the 3.2L... not to mention thousands cheaper. Nearly every reviewer that compares same models w/ 2.0T and 3.2L engines will recommend the 2.0T. Better bang for your buck.
Re: TexRob
It's difficult in England to predict a dry track day because it rains there a lot more often. The cost of the film crew/equipment and time constraints probably prevents them from waiting.
Reply
Laba 10:51AM (9/06/2007)
That "secret" Veyron looks like the Pegaso edition spotted in the Middle East. Rumors say it has 1200hp.
Reply
YouFaceTheTick 3:18AM (9/06/2007)
Quite simply, she's a bad driver. She's taking the corners incorrectly with that 3.
Reply
K 3:55AM (9/06/2007)
She's a professional racing driver. She is probably more qualified for this job than everyone on this site.
naggs 12:10PM (9/06/2007)
tick, uhm, just dont talk
YouFaceTheTick 12:30PM (9/06/2007)
I don't care if she's a pro...she was hitting those corners wrong. Maybe it's the way the video is shot but she's scrubbing off immense amounts of speed...
waiownsyou 4:20AM (9/06/2007)
LMAO @ that old lady drifting
Reply
solarV 5:31AM (9/06/2007)
WOWOW, n/c
--------------------------------
Erotyka.Youbi.pl - nowy wymiar piękna!
http://www.erotyka.youbi.pl
Reply
Ligor 8:52AM (9/06/2007)
so they have a wet track with dirtn on it and the RWD BMW 335i still manages to edge out the S5 quattro
take that battle to a better track with not loos dirt in a dry day and the 335i will take the S5 out for a lesson that Audi need to take to their next design and finally give us a real handling car w/ RWD and their fine V8
Reply
Jesse 8:54AM (9/06/2007)
I think it is interesting that BMW understates their own automobiles.
BMW on the website claims they get 300 bhp and torque. But when the car is put on the dyno it gets 275 rwhp and 300 rw torque. The hp and torque losses due to drive train are typically ~15hp & torque. Which would mean that BMW actually gets 317 bhp and 345 torque!
gotta love torque! go bimmer!
Reply