Weekends are spent mainly by everyone enjoying their family or me time. And 20th November was the same for me as well. Well, not really. It was a Sunday but not a regular one. I was psyched for 2 weeks for this day. It was Audi Sportscar Experience at BIC. Not only it was my first time driving a sportscar but my first time at the track as well. Yes, an Automotive Journalist with a little over 3 years of experience and it was my first time experiencing one of the best racetracks in the world.
I was invited by Audi India to drive the e-Tron, RS5 and the most menacing SUV in the market, the RSQ8. As much as I was excited to drive on the tracks, I was also having a calm mind listening to the instructors as to how to drive the cars safely and still, drive faster.
My first experience was with the Audi e-Tron. The all-electric SUV was there with us for the slalom run. For those wondering, the slalom test is performed by the car that engages itself in a series of turns where the driver has to drive the car at the maximum speed. Yes, as fast as the driver can.
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There were no brownie points but I wanted to do the run in the shortest time possible. The first round was given to be the sight run. Here, we can take our own sweet time and explore the track made by the Audi team. It was in the second run that I pedalled to the metal of the e-Tron and I did the run in just 48 seconds. Yes, it was fast.
The good thing was, there was no limit as to how many times we can do this test. I went in there again and to my surprise, I was 4 seconds faster than before. And boy, I was happy. Being an SUV, the e-Tron performed impressively at all the turns. The speeds were quite high at some turns but the bodyroll felt was minimal and that was the best part of it.
I was driving the e-Tron 50 which is powered by a 71 kWh battery. This one belts out 308 bhp of power with a peak torque of 540 Nm. 0 to 100 kmph sprint is observed in just 6.8 seconds and it gets a certified driving range of 379 km. The e-Tron was a win at the slalom run.
Next in line for me were the cars that I was dying to drive. Literally. As I said, Sundays are mostly spent by everyone with their family or loved ones. For me, I was happy being behind the wheel of the Audi RS5 at the BIC. It was a lucky day for me as I got the second car in the lineup. The first RS5 in red was driven by the instructor and the Turbo Blue coloured one was driven by me. I was behind the instructor.
The Audi RS5 is powered by a 2894cc, six-cylinder, turbocharged petrol engine pumping out 444 bhp of power with a peak torque of 600 Nm. This motor is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission and boy, the engine-to-gearbox combo is just WOW.
A total of 3 laps were given to me and other auto journalists and the first lap went by seeing the track at lower speeds. The instructor was guiding us on where we can speed up and where to brake so as to we don't end up in the ditch. Thankfully, no one made any mistakes.
It was for the second lap that the instructor said, fly away but always stay behind me. It was natural. And as predicted, he was damn fast. But I was not far behind him either. I clocked 241 kmph on the RS5 and to my surprise, the sportscar was just asking to be pushed more.
The car always felt in control even at the high-speed corners. The suspension of the RS5 is stiff so it just gave me the confidence to corner at high speeds. Moreover, the steering came with RS mode. And I activated that to get better steering feedback than the normal mode. It was worth it. Also, did I mention that the RS5 is an all-wheel drive sports car? Yes, the Quattro system offers a good grip and gives you the confidence to go faster.
Sadly, as I said, we were all given 3 laps by Audi India. And I didn't know how quickly the drive in the RS5 ended. But as they say, when one good thing ends, there's a better one waiting. And that was it for me. As I stepped outside the RS5, I was given the keys to the RSQ8.
And man o man. How could I not agree to drive an SUV, sorry, a performance-oriented SUV on the tracks? The V8 motor just felt amazing. Music to my ears to be honest. The fruity exhaust note and the menacing looks were for me. I was sold.
On paper, Audi RSQ8 gets a 4.0-litre, eight-cylinder, twin-turbocharged petrol engine. This one generates 591 bhp of power with a whopping 800 Nm of peak torque. Yes, 800 Nm of mighty torque. Again, I was asked by the instructor to be in second place and I just felt lucky.
This time there was no sightseeing of the track and we all were given the green signal to drive as fast as we can. But in a safe manner too. And there I went bananas on the RS Q8. This one felt quicker than the RS5. Well, technically too it is.
Like the RS5 which was asking for more, this too followed the same theme. Here, it screamed to be faster and more agile at corners. I was sceptical as to how it will perform at the high-speed turns and I was a little nervous too. But, it was also where I put my nervousness at the rear seat and test how the SUV felt at the corners.
To my surprise, it passes with flying colours. Yes, being an SUV, the body roll is definitely felt but it was the handling and the suspension for me that gave me the confidence to go even faster at the upcoming turns. And I did. And the SUV must've felt it too.
Forget about the performance for one second and the WOW factor is its ability to chase high-speed corners in a confident manner. The suspension felt a lot firmer giving the driver to push it more. In addition to this, the seats too of the RS Q8 is bolstered so well that it hugs the driver in an amazing manner. At corners where you expect some bodyroll, not only it corners easily at high-speed runs but also the driver sits comfortably in the seat. For me, this was the point where I felt that even SUVs can be fun too to drive. And that too on racetracks.
But the 3 laps ended too in the Audi RS Q8 soon and by the time I was out of the SUV, I was sweating. Yes, I had switched off the climate control and in the RSQ8, I even switched off the traction control for the last lap. So yeah, that was scary enough to give me goosebumps but I loved it.
Verdict
Audi Sportscar Experience was everything I needed to get going even on a Sunday. The enthusiasm, learning and pushing the cars to their limit was an absolute thrill and joy. Audi organises this experience for customers as well and you can get in touch with your dealerships for the same. What better way to spend a weekend than test the limit of your car, right? *wink wink*
