Car Throttle

The satisfaction to be derived from driving down a twisty, curvy road cannot be understated. If you're a car person (and I'm assuming you are, since you're reading this) you have probably done just that before, and for no other reason than it's fun.  But you must keep something in mind - not all the good roads necessarily have pavement.  Because while flying down the blacktop balancing adhesion with inertia is fun, it can be more fun with less inertia - and less adhesion! Oh yes, dirt roads: Here's my good friend Patrick at the wheel, trying his hand at some low-adhesion driving.  This particular 70° corner was perfect for getting the Haldex all-wheel-drive to shuffle some torque to the back end.  See below:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kntjvnmGUGA

Sometimes when there's nothing else to do, the best thing to do is get in the car and drive. So yesterday, myself and a group of car buddies went and did just that... Step one, meet up at a local burger joint and talk smack for a while: On the left is Patrick's Audi TT 1.8T Quattro with modifications, to the right is John's Nissan (S14) 240SX with a Skyline GT-T motor swap (for real!), and on the right is Brandon's Volkswagen GTI VR6.  Not pictured: my Saab. Here we are departing town, headed out to where the nice roads are.  And look!  The Saab hasn't even broken down yet! Another shot from inside John's car of us getting into traffic on I-98.  The weather was just

U.S Audi fans rejoice! Fellow CarThrottle writer James mused in his Audi TT-RS article about what would be a big mistake not bringing this car to the U.S. Looks like the TT-RS might be coming to the U.S after all, James! Over at MotorTrend, they've published a report a few weeks ago stating their expectation to see the TT range-topper RS making it Stateside. Audi sources tell them the chances are highly likely of it happening. I was waiting to see if there was any other follow ups on this article from either Motor Trend or some other sources, but that hasn't proved to be the case. As per usual, these rumors fly right in the face of Audi's official position regarding the model. Even if they were absolutely certain of it's launch,

That was fast! Some media outlets just can't hold their proverbial horses, and this time CarScoop let the cat out of the bag on the 2010 Audi TT-RS, which will be debuting next month at the Geneva Auto Show.  The TT-RS will be the fastest production TT since the curvaceous sports car's launch in 1999.  The TT-RS will feature a totally new engine, exterior and interior upgrades, reworked suspension, and some massive brakes. Under the hood is a 2.5L, direct-injected turbocharged 20v inline-five cylinder.  It's safe to assume this motor is a derivative of the 2.5L port-injected motor used in the US market VW Jettas and Rabbits (which makes 170bhp), but Audi has turned the wick up just a notch.  This turbo 5-banger, in the

It's been a long time coming, but Audi is finally releasing an RS variant of their popular TT coupe. Imaginatively named the TT-RS (what else where they gonna call it? TRTS?), this latest performance offering from Audi will be faster, harder, lighter, and more powerful than the already well-bestowed TT-S coupe. In a return to tradition, the TT RS will reportedly be powered by a direct-injection, 2.5L turbocharged inline-five cylinder engine.  This engine, based on the port-injected naturally aspirated engine in the US-market Rabbits and Jettas (like mine, presumably) will produce well north of 300 horsepower, a whole plateful of torque, and some lovely sounds.  If you haven't heard what an uncorked VW 2.5L I5 sounds like...

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeplW7wdIt0

now just imagine that, but with more turbo overlayed