A5/S5/RS5 STaSIS Signature Series Audi S5 Challenge Edition: First Drive

STaSIS offers the Challenge Edition through Audi dealers for $13,995, and the idea is that you'll get a daily driver that can also serve as a serious track-day car. Upgrades include the monstrously huge Alcon Mono6 370mm brakes that saved me from disaster at Infineon, 20" STaSIS wheels, fatter sway bars, Torsen center differential, and exhaust and ECU upgrades that boost engine power to 364 horses (versus the stock 352). As I learned, it definitely gets the job done on the track; the braking capacity is the most obvious improvement over the factory S5, but it was clear that the suspension voodoo was quite effective as well. With me driving, the car got around the track pretty well, staying flat in the turns and keeping things sane with its unobtrusive stability control; with STaSIS president and chief test driver, Paul Lambert, behind the wheel… well, let's just say I became quite skeptical of the ability of a car this fast to cope with real-world driving situations without driving its occupants absolutely insane. So I took it for a little drive around Sonoma.

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