8L S3 in EVO mags greatest 4x4 handling test!!

Biggied

Biggied

They called him mellow yellow.
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I have this copy of EVO magazine from sept 1999 & the cover story is The greatest 4x4 of all time, this consists of Lap times on the MIRA wet handling circuit & roadtests in the dry with a little write up on each of the 14 cars, 11 current models (of the time) & 3 past masters, the contenders are as follows,

8L Audi S3 210
225 Audi TT
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI RS sprint
Nissan Skyline R34 GTR
Nissan Skyline R34 GTR V-spec
Porsche Carrera 4
Subaru Impreza turbo
Subaru Impreza RB5
Subaru Impreza WRX STi V
Subaru Impreza 22B type UK
Audi quattro 20v
Ford escort RS Cosworth
Lancia Integrale Evo

So, anybody want to hazard a guess at how the S3 did against this fine collection of 4x4 wepons?

Cheers Ewan.
 
some pretty tasty cars in there! i reckon the s3 would have done pretty good though, some of the older cars would have been abit out dated i think!
 
I reckon it would have been near the bottom, most probably slower than the TT, as it's a 210model, but I think maybe quicker than the bottom three cars due to being more modern. I could be talking crap though. lol

Audi quattro 20v
Ford escort RS Cosworth
Lancia Integrale Evo
 
I think it did pretty well....Nearly at the top IIRC, only 2-3 cars were faster.
 
I don't think it would've done too well. Id be happy to be wrong though.

It seems there are 4 Imprezas and 2 Evos in that line up? Surely there should just be one iteration of each car?
 
jojo said:
Wow, you changed your mind quick! lol
Click to expand...
I remember when i bought my 8l, the seller was ranting on about this review..logically it would be near the bottom, but if its the same one i think it is it even beat the TT with a quicker engine, same suspension,more aerodynamic.
Must be a fix.
 
I think it would be middle of the field! Would like to see a scan of the article tho?
 
would be interested seeing an 8l with susspension brakes and a remapp against a std s3 too... but std trim its probably should have done quite poor, so if it done well then a well sorted s3 is proof of how much a weapon this audi model really can be.....
 
Yer it would be interesting to see how much quicker a remapped s3 with properly set suspension would be vs the standard one, and then where it would sit against the cars listed in the mag!
 
A brand new 8L S3 might have not have been too shabby on the handling front back in the day . Obviously most people on here will have S3 's with a fair amount of miles on them by now and standard suspension will be pretty tired. Mines just reached 80K and i bet new shocks would go a long way to sorting the handling.

I thought the Golf R32 would have been included in a test like that.
 
Last edited:
The R32 wasn't born when this test was done '1999'

Been doing some homework and it appears the S3 did pretty well !!
 
The R32 wasn't born when this test was done '1999'


Ah right i always thought the R32 came before for some reason !
 
I wonder if that Yellow S3 is the original presscar that was used for most car reviews? Chap called Ryan, who use to be on this forum purchased that car then slapped a Big Turbo on it! I wonder where the car is now?
 
Ok I was going to leave you all guessing a bit longer but heres the results of the wet laps in which the S3 did rather well in such company.

results.jpg


They then took the best 6 to North Wales & chucked them about some dry county roads, the top 6 wern't judged by there lap times more on how they behaved during the wet track test & the ones that the test drivers belived would be better on real roads & at real speeds. It wasn't narrowed down to a winner as such just the top 6 as follows.

Evo VI RS sprint
Carrera 4
Impreza 22B
Audi S3
Skyline GTR
Impreza RB5

I'll need to cut up my mag & scan it at work so I can post up the full test for all to read but the S3 was rated very highly & they felt it handled quite differant to the TT aswell but The S3 was running Michelin pilot SX & the TT Potenza RE040 both 225/45 ZR17 so the differance was probably in the rubber more than anything else.

Cheers Ewan.
 
Oh yea & the S3 being Imola yellow would have helped as its clearly the fastest colour! lol
 
that doesn't seem right... that gtr skyline is way too far down the list! I've been in one of them and there is no way a S3 could keep with one of them wet or dry!
 
Wow that's a good result! S3 is as we knew a good all rounder but there it is proven as a good performance car too putting many of the dedicated cars to shame! Good test, look forward to seeing the write up!
 
Dansmith said:
that doesn't seem right... that gtr skyline is way too far down the list! I've been in one of them and there is no way a S3 could keep with one of them wet or dry!
Click to expand...

Keeping up with is one thing, round a twisty wet handling circuit is completely different to 'normal' road driving
 
1. Both Skylines were running potenza tyres aswell.
2. S3 has 140bhp per ton, Skyline has 164bhp per ton so not that far apart.
3. Tracks to small for the Skyline to be really opened up & will favour a more nimble car.
4. It takes a long time to learn how to get the most from the skylines chassis where the S3 dosn't.

That may go some way to explaining why it "doesn't seem right". Truth be told with a seasoned kamakazi jap driver behind the wheel & on a differant track (like the ring) an R34 GTR would paste an S3 to the armco!

Ewan.
 
grathies said:
Keeping up with is one thing, round a twisty wet handling circuit is completely different to 'normal' road driving
Click to expand...

I guess but even still... them things are rapid and i always considered them to stick to the road like glue with all the computer gadgetry they have on board! ohh well some things supprise ya!
 
dont forget the skylines are twin turbo's, the rx7 i had was 310bhp but until the second turbo came in, it wasnt THAT quick, that track doesnt look that big so i bet they struggled to use that much of the skylines power
 
This has been bookmarked for down the pub showing off on my iPhone! Good work Ewan, the 8L S3 doesn't seem to be in the knowledge section of Evo...
 
Is there any other magasine write up or reviews for the 8L S3 i searched before and cant find anything, i wondered if it had ever been on top gear or fifth gear or anything, doesnt seem to have had a lot of coverage!
 
Sad as it may be I bought the mag off ebay just for that test. Like I said I'll cut the pages out n scan the hole thing, its bout 20 pages and is a very good read. I've never found a lot of press on the 8l either n trust me I've looked, best I found was the BMI(jap top gear but 100x better) video of the 8l vs a squad of differant typeR hondas, it ain't on youtube no more though. To be fair most press reviews of the 8l S3 just slated the understeer and driver feedback calling the car numb & unfullfilling as a drivers car which is a fair assesment compaired to some other cars imo.

Ewan.
 
I think i saw that video of the S3 vs a load of cars for some jap mag or something...
Also sure i read an article from clarkson thinking about it, either that or someone quoted it on here, he quite liked the S3 if i remember correctly only slating the ridiculous initial price tag
 
I have read a review from Clarkson from when he WAS a car jorno and he said the S3 was the best car Audi make at the time, and that does include the TT.

I dont believe the hype about most cars everyone bangs on about to be so fast anyway. Jap cars are so different to the way they deliver there power and the way they feel. They have such a raw driving experience which most people mistake for being faster.

Nathan

Nathan
 
i nearly bought that mag off ebay! ha. and just to clarify, those potenzas are crap in the wet, i got back from the ring on friday, my first lap was wet and i span, luckily didnt hit anything!
 
Biggied said:
Sad as it may be I bought the mag off ebay just for that test. Like I said I'll cut the pages out n scan the hole thing, its bout 20 pages and is a very good read. I've never found a lot of press on the 8l either n trust me I've looked, best I found was the BMI(jap top gear but 100x better) video of the 8l vs a squad of differant typeR hondas, it ain't on youtube no more though. To be fair most press reviews of the 8l S3 just slated the understeer and driver feedback calling the car numb & unfullfilling as a drivers car which is a fair assesment compaired to some other cars imo.

Ewan.
Click to expand...

Yeah I saw that vid on Youtube with the S3 8L against the Type R's etc it was a great vid love those jap videos but a lot seem to have disappeared. I favourited it one day then it was gone the next :( wish I had downloaded it!
 
Impreza RB5, awesome car owned no 083 for a few years. Fine example of how a car should perform from the factory.

G
 
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