{"id":81358,"date":"2013-10-07T19:51:52","date_gmt":"2013-10-07T17:51:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gtspirit.com\/?p=81358"},"modified":"2013-10-07T19:51:52","modified_gmt":"2013-10-07T17:51:52","slug":"special-report-audi-land-of-quattro-alpen-tour-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gtspirit.com\/2013\/10\/07\/special-report-audi-land-of-quattro-alpen-tour-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"Special Report: Audi Land of Quattro Alpen Tour 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Audi Quattro, Four RS Models, 4,400 km, 44 passes and twelve stages from Klagenfurt to Monaco and back. That’s what the 4th Audi Tour, the Land of Quattro, is all about. We joined the last two stages from Innsbruck via Kitzb\u00fchel to Klagenfurt and had the opportunity to drive four different Audi Quattro cars across some of the most stunning roads in Austria and Italy. <\/p>\n

The Land of Quattro Alpen Tour follows three previous tours; an efficiency challenge in the United States in 2008, a European Tour in 2009 and a Audi Q3 Trans China Tour in 2011. The theme for this year was centered around Audi Quattro and the RS creations of Quattro GmbH. The lineup of vehicles includes the brand new Audi RS Q3, Audi RS5 Cabriolet, Audi RS6 and Audi RS7. Audi Tradition also brought along a few classic Audi Ur Quattros and an Audi Sport Quattro that achieved legendary status with their Quattro AWD and many rally successes in the 1980s. <\/p>\n

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The Tour started on the 23rd of September in Klagenfurt, Austria. From there the daily stages crossed the Alps via Kitzb\u00fchel, Innsbruck, Meran (Italy), Interlaken (Switzerland), Megeve (France) until they reached the mid-way point in Monaco. From there the tour continued back the same way it came. The Land of Quattro Alpen Tour conquered many well-known and lesser known passes from the Grossglockner, St Gotthard and Brenner Pass to the Julier Pass and Col de Turini.<\/p>\n

Innsbruck to Kitzb\u00fchel<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Our Land of Quattro Alpen Tour experience started with a flight to Innsbruck, the spectacular approach to the airport alone is worth a trip to this city in Austria. The stunning view of this part of the Alps, with our flight path running through a valley with 2,500m peaks on either side of the plane, was the ultimate warm-up for the Alpen Tour. From Innsbruck airport it was only a short shuttle drive to the Interalpen Hotel where we were greeted by as many Audi RS models as one could wish for. <\/p>\n

The Interalpen hotel is build by Liebherr, the manufacturing and mining company. It has a spectacular feat where you can drive your car upon arrival or departure more or less into the lobby at the heart of the hotels massive structure. This allows that you can load and unload your car in pleasant temperatures in winter. Here at the lobby of the Interalpen hotel we can chose the four cars we would like to drive over the next two days. <\/p>\n

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Our first choice is the Audi Ur Quattro. Build since 1980 it was the first car to feature Audi’s quattro permanent four-wheel drive system and the first car to mate four-wheel drive with a turbocharged engine. The Audi Quattro came with a 2.1 liter 5-inline 10 valve SOHC, with a turbocharger and intercooler. It produced 200hp and torque of 285 Nm at 3500 rpm; taking the Quattro from 0 to 100 km\/h in 7.1 seconds and reaching a top speed of over 220 km\/h. <\/p>\n

Our particular Audi Quattro was build in 1988 and despite its age of 25 years already included many modern gadgets like air-conditioning, electric windows, electronic engine management and LCD displays. In 1988 the Audi Quattro left the factory with a 2.2 liter 5-inline engine that still produced 200hp but had the peak torque available lower in the rev range. Getting behind the wheel of the Audi Quattro provides a great reference for what has changed in the last 25 years.<\/p>\n

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