She learned to drive stick at seven. That early obsession with driving would one day lead Rachel Beamer to track her own RS 3 and help build a community around the cars she loves. In this episode of All-Wheel Driven, Rachel and her partner William Hoey share how their shared passion for Audi not only brought them together, but also helped them find a tight-knit group of enthusiasts after relocating across the country. Hear how they approach modifying and tracking their cars, what Audi Club means to them, and why Rachel’s on a mission to get more women behind the wheel and into the driver’s seat of car culture.
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In the first episode of Audi Club North America's new podcast, All-Wheel Driven, we dive into all things Audi Forum with special guests from the Audi Club Chicagoland chapter. Plus, Executive Director Chris May shares his firsthand experience test-driving the 2025 Audi Q6 & SQ6 e-tron at an exclusive Audi of America press event. And of course, we couldn’t have a conversation without dreaming up our ultimate Audi garages. Expect some surprises along the way!
Thanks for tuning into this launch episode—there’s much more to come in Season 1 of All-Wheel Driven!
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Audi Club North America is excited to announce our podcast has evolved to become All-Wheel Driven, a brand-new, twice-monthly podcast where we'll cover everything Audi.
Driven by our passion for the brand and the incredible people who bring it to life, All-Wheel Driven dives into new models, performance innovations, motorsport, auction insights, and stories from our passionate community.
Whether you're a Club member, an Audi owner, or simply a fan of all-wheel drive, there’s something here for you. Be sure to subscribe and stay connected with us at audiclubna.org.
Walter De Silva is a legend in automotive design. As former design chief for Audi and eventually the Volkswagen Group the Italian design icon created the Audi Singleframe Grill an helped rocket the four rings to the forefront during the 2000s and 2010s with cars like the R8, Q7, Mk2 TT and eventually touched nearly every other Audi, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Bentley, Volkswagen, SEAT, Skoda and more. We caught up with Walter and his son Alexandre at Monterey Car Week to recount his career at Audi and the VW Group, chat about his book Il Codice De Silva and some of his other new ventures.
Steve Beddor doesn't just own a real Sport quattro with Audi Sport rally era upgrades, he's also selling another identical car that was his father. And his father wasn't just any father, but also the founder of Audi Club North America who imported no less than five of the short-wheelbase Group B homologation cars in period (1986). Steve covers all kinds of ground you won't want to miss, including tales of the missing fifth Sport quattro, watching Walter Röhrl compete at Pike's Peak, driving Ruf's prototype CTR1 Yellow Bird and competing himself at Pike's Peak. Check it out and also check out his dad's Sport quattro currently up for auction on Bring a Trailer. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1984-audi-sport-quattro/
Nish Pillai has become a notable expert on the RS 6 and the community around it. His Nogaro Blue Tribute has been on the cover of quattro Magazine, and he's an active leader on RS 6 owner group chats and Facebook Groups. We caught up with him to talk about the new RS 6 GT.
During Audi Club Nationals 2023 at Tail of the Dragon, we caught up with Charles Shackelford, the YouTuber known best as Humble Mechanic who was on location to take part in the event.
Freeman Thomas is best known in Audi circles as the designer behind the first-generation Audi TT. That car and its Bauhaus style simplicity influenced Audi design and that of the greater automotive industry for years to come. He also had a hand in cars like the Porsche 964, VW Concept 1, and stints at Ford and Chrysler before landing at his current role as partner in the rebirth of Meyers Manx. Freeman took a pause for a long chat on all of that, and of course we went super deep on the TT back story.
In the final podcast of our women takeover for the summer Q3_2023 issue of quattro Magazine, Lucy and Lia Block join Leanne Kopras and Mina Achorn to talk about rally from the perspective of a 16-year-old (Lia) and a mom (Lucy). They also chat about current projects including Lia's ur quattro restoration, Lucy's e-tron Sportback, Blockhouse Racing, American rally, taking on Pike's Peak and of course the 43 Institute that they've started to honor Ken Block.
Continuing in our women takeover series, Leanne Kopras catches up with Amie Palo to talk about her pursuit of drag-racing a forced induction R8, her move to upgrade to an R8 LMS GT4-based Build, plus being a woman and a mom in motorsport. Check out our feature about Amie in our Q3_2023 issue of quattro Magazine out in July 2023.
As we continue our women's takeover series to support the summer Q3_2023 issue of quattro Magazine, Talia Pakkala catches up with Montana Throne to discuss the role of women in STEM, the challenges of being a woman in the traditionally male-dominated auto industry, and digs into her projects at Integrated Engineering (IE), most notably their new app and how that will change the tuning experience for IE customers.
As a prominent European automotive parts distributor, FCP Euro is already a leader in the car parts business. That they're also a leader in employment diversity only makes them that much more impressive. Audi Club New Jersey's Louli Kourkounakis catches up with FCP's Nicole Batista, Andrea Penta and Christine Pfleckl (and also Nathan Brown) to catch up on FCP and also discuss the unique challenges of operating as a female in the often male-dominated automotive industry.
Erin Vogel is an Audi Club legacy. She started her performance driving hobby attending Audi Club Southern California High-Performance Driving Events (HPDEs) with her dad, and has quickly progressed from student, to instructor, to aspiring racecar driver. She's an example for ALL Audi Club North America members who may aspire to such a path, though she's especially relatable for women for whom she has made a conscious decision to help elevate. As part of the women's theme for the upcoming Q3_2023 issue of quattro Magazine, Audi Club staff members Leanne Kopras and Talia Pakkala catch up with Erin to cover all of that and more, plus things you might not expect such as airline perks and the relevance of band kids to racing.
When AJ Campo relocated from New York to North Carolina during the pandemic, she didn't really know anyone in her newly adopted home. Fortuitously, she'd meet Audi Club Carolinas' Jessica Ewing who approached Campo about her S3 at a cars and coffee. What resulted was a fast friendship, including trips to Tail of the Dragon, high-performance driver training, and further evolution for Campo as a driver and an enthusiast. Both are now in the leadership of Audi Club Carolinas, so they sat down to chat about AJ's Audi experience in that time, then cover various subjects from Audi Club Carolina's hosting of the Audi Club Nationals event at Tail of the Dragon this coming September, the offshoot sub-chapter Queens of quattro, and their own experience as women in the automotive space.
The upcoming Q3_2023 issue of quattro Magazine takes on a thematic focus on women members of Audi Club North America. Several key female members of the club have stepped in as hosts and guests of the Unfair Advantage Podcast. This is the first of that series, and it serves as the basis for a feature story about AJ and her experience in the pages of this summer's issue.
When George Achorn produced the latest issue of quattro Magazine with a heavy focus on electromobility, he thought he knew just about everything he needed to know. He's owned an e-tron since 2019. Even still, driving the new Q4 on the autobahn, the RS e-tron GT on Angeles Crest Highway, diving into the makings of Electrikhana with Hoonigan and real world experiences have opened his eyes to a lot. So what'd he learn and where does he stand? Listen and find out. It may surprise you.
When Marcus Holzinger revealed his new Elegend EL1, a modern and electric reinterpretation of the Audi Sport quattro, he turned a lot of heads. Initially, it was only going to be a promotional design to celebrate the 40th year of operation for Hote Design, a German design and modeling studio founded by his father who was a former designer at Audi. Hote had worked on the Sport quattro and many, many more Audis over the years, and the Sport quattro made for the perfect starting point for an idea that would eventually form to create a car company intent on reinterpeting iconic performance cars in a modern EV form. In October we visited the Hote studios and saw the car, which will be featured in the Q1_2023 issue of quattro Magazine. More recently, we caught up with Marcus to learn about the Elegend project, his studio, his family history and more.
When 034Motorsport's Nick Mercadante chatted us up at SEMA about his B9 Audi SQ5 and its capabilities at the track (10 second car at the drag strip, passing on the outside at Laguna Seca), we knew we wanted to get the story in quattro Magazine. And, like a lot of stories for the magazine, digging deeper and learning more also makes for a compelling podcast. Check out more on the SQ5 in the upcoming Q1_2023 issue of quattro Magazine sent exclusively to Audi Club members, and also check out more via 034 Motorsport.
Juha & Vesa Mikkola are the sons of Audi rally driving legend Hannu Mikkola. Recently, they had a chance to take part in the Olympia Revival Rally in Germany and at the wheel of an Audi ur quattro rally car prepared and supported by Audi Tradition. The Mikkola brothers caught up with us to talk about their father, his rally career, his family life, and their own backgrounds including the experience of the Olympia Revival. You can also follow their rally fun at @MikkolaRally on Instagram.
In the second part of our conversation with Javad Shadzi of 034Motorsport, he tells his back story, talks business and also about racing and the latest work coming out of his company.
Javad Shadzi built his reputation and his company 034Motorsport by bringing new and useful tech to the Audi I5 tuning space with his 034 EFI product. In this first part of our recent discussion with him, we first dive into EVs and what electrification will mean for owners, enthusiasts and tuners alike.
