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2000 Rl I OR • 8,000 kms. ABS, Windscreen 2000 F650ST • 1.000 km. City Bags 1999 K1200LT • New. Highline 1999 Rl I QOS * 18,000 kms, Red in 1999 RII00GS • 7,000 kms. Case Bags 1999 R1100RT « 4i00 kms,Top Case 1998 RIIOORT -21,000 kms mmnm\â€" 1998 RI200C • 3 to choose, Cruiser nw$m 1998 K1200RS • 632 kms. Dolphin Blue 1996 Kl I00LT • 2 to choose K 1200 LT $15,900 $8,900 $26,900 $15,900 $14,900 $19,500 $17^00 $15,900 $!8y500 2400 South Service Road (905) 845-3577 www.buddsbmw.com TDI Mileage 4.41/100km Highway What high gas prices? Volkswagen's advanced TDI engine can go over 1,000 kilometres on a single tank of diesel fuel.* (Other nice advances in diesel science include quieter engines and higher power.) Test drive a Jetta TDI today. Right on past a city's worth of gas stations. S’Receive 200 LITRES; â„¢ of Fuel on purchase of any Car Drivers Wanted, with a copy of this aa. Offer valid orrtil August 31 /00 •Transport Canada estimated fuel mileage: 4.41/100 Km highway. 5.61/100 km city tof a Jetta TDI with manual transmission. Estimated highway range of 1250 km based on 55 litre fuel tank capacity. Your mileage may vary. ©2000 Volkswagen Oakville Volkswagen 557 Kerr Street, Oakville (905) 844-3285 CZS3CCCC3 QZEEESZu IPS CALL L SOUTH EAST Anne Phillips 842-2385 2. SOUTH WEST Carol Hagen 338-3456 3. NORTH EAST Pat Fairfield 842-1560 4. GLEN ABBEY Cathy Woloschuk 847-9157 * Lifetime guarantee on most mufflers • 1 year on all pipes m Budds’ BMW THE ULTIMATE RIDING EXPERIENCE Walker Advantage_______ Exhaust Systems J^j= fill 6XHMJST PARTS 573 Chartwell Rd. OAKVILLE (905) 844-9641 Drive Repair Accredited Repair Facility THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday July 26,2000 AUDI TT QUATTRO Classy ride has lots of guts Ha. Filling stations! I mock you. NEW BABY? For free information and gifts... Or call toll free: 1-800-301-1104 Toronto Area; (416) 497-8111 Internet: www.welcomewagon.ca r V s m ELCOME'^pt’ A Neighbourhood AGON ltd. Tradition Since 1930 Since 1930 By Jim Robinson SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Over the past 100 years there have be a handful of automakers who have built a car to make a statement. The Bugatti 35, Chrysler Airflow, Jaguar XK-120 and Lamborghini Miura come to mind as vehicles that left convention behind in pursuit of pure form and function. In a world of emission laws, safety laws and the law of consumerism in a designer age, trying to be radically different usually results in bankruptcy. That may explain why all minivans look alike and we have more front-drive V6 luxury sedans to choose from in 1999 than economy cars. He who follows the herd sells cars. If you don’t build a vehicle that stands up well in the focus groups, you might as well forget it. So how do you explain the Audi TT? It looks like a silvery turtle shell and is just about as hard to get into. It is a triumph of design over the bean counters. At this writing I have no idea what the Audi TT Quattro as tested here costs and neither does Audi Canada. It appears in no real huriy to set a price but would rather let people absorb what it has wrought in the TT. The genus of the TT comes from the pre-war “Silver Arrows" era when Audi (an amalgamation of four German car makers thus the four rings) built a nocompromises racing car that was radically different from the norm as exemplified by the Mercedes-Benz no-compromise racers that were front engined with rear drive. The Audi was mid-engined and it used the radical (this is the last time, I promise) swing axle suspension designed by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche who is still seen as creating the automotive DNA from which sprang Porsche, VW, and of course, Audi, in 1948. Outwardly the TT brings to mind a number of Stromlinenwagan (streamliners) Audi built to try and take the world speed record. The name “TT’ comes from the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy motorcycle race that to this day is considered the ultimate test of man and machine. Take that and the nice sound “TT’ has and you get a car that cannot be confused with any other on the road. The shape based on a series of wheelshaped circles from the pure round cutouts for the wheels, to the fenders to the roofline. To make the form as pure as possible in the Bauhaus tradition, nothing is allowed to clutter the exterior unless is it absolutely needed. The various lights are all encased in windcheat-ing panels while wonderful retro cues like the metal surround with exposed Allen screws for the fill cap make it look like it just came off Nuvolari’s C-Type Silver Arrow. Inside you won’t find plastic seats and wanning wood trim. It’s all black leather, brushed aluminum and glistening chrome. This is the concept of having only what’s necessary. But don’t let your eyes fool you. Leading-edge materials, many chosen for their tactile quality, abound. Touch the large, brushed aluminum panel on the dash and it swings up to reveal a supertech looking sound/ventilation system control module. The shifter is capped by an all-aluminum knob, dimpled like a golf ball. The ring surrounds on the air vents are dimpled too, and swing through an arc to increase/restrict air flow. The seats are very seriously bolstered and infinitely adjustable. You’re going to need those seats too because power comes from Audi’s proven 20-valve, 180 hp tumbocharged and intercooled inline four that starts delivering its 173 ft/lb of torque as low as 1950 rpm. The only transmission is a five-speed manual. Tested here is the next step, the TT with Audi’s superlative Quattro drive system. If there is a better AWD configuration in the world, please show it to me. The TT is 159.1 inches (4041 mm) long with a wheelbase of 95.4 inches (2422 mm) making overhang nearly non-existent The wheels are pushed out at the four comers to 60 inches front/59.5 inches rear. Next the metal skin is stretched over the chassis like latex. The unusually low roof and the rest of the elliptical lines make this an extremely slippery shape. Even the bottom of the . car has been optimized for air flow. The Quattro will move from rest-80 kmh in 5.5 seconds and 0-100 kmh in only 7.4 kmh. JUST MOVB>?