New Zealanders, in case you hadn’t already guessed, don’t mind a quick car. In fact, we like them so much that Audi counts us globally as the most RS greedy.
Giltrap Audi general manager Gary Periam says that the brand in this country buys more of the ridiculously high-performance RS models than anywhere else in the world. A massive 12% of Audi’s local sales are RSs – which are more liberally spread across the brand range than they’ve ever been.
And we’ve got a big taste for the next step down the performance index as well – the S models. Last month alone, Periam says the high-end models were going well – two $225,000 RS7s, a trio of RS6s at around $200K and, just for good measure, a couple of the thunderous-yet-very-comfortable $250K S8+. Not a bad month to be an Audi dealer with a good range of rocketships in your showroom.
The Audi Sport Configurator is shown a code on each colour swatch, or leather sample and a virtual rendition of the car gradually appears until a finished version of your order is rendered in its full glory.
Audi Sport sales specialist and racing car driver Simon Evans admits it is quite easy to waste time making virtual dream cars – all in the name of ongoing product training and research, of course.
“It’s such a great way to show people what they’re actually getting,” says Evans, “rather than looking through a brochure and picking colours. Audi Spprt customers are obviously serious about cars – so they love it.”
When asked whether the ‘configurator’ was a useful way of guiding customers away from potentially making unforgivable design decisions, Evans went uncharacteristically quiet.
Those mere mortals shopping at the ‘A’ end of Audi’s brochure can also browse the Sport zone, picking the odd part that’ll slot on to their more sedate machines of choice.
But Periam is proud that Audi is able to offer the concept to New Zealand’s customers, and before Audi dealerships elsewhere.
“We’ve always loved Quattro in New Zealand – and that’s from those great rallying days with cars like the legendary S1 and drivers like Walter Rohrl,” he says. “And the fact of that matter is, Quattro is perfectly-suited to New Zealand’s conditions.”
