Reviews & Road Tests
4 Season Test: 2007 S4 Sedan - Report 3: 12 Hours to Sebring
By by: George Achorn and Anthony Garbis, photos by: George Achorn
Apr 4, 2007, 13:50

There are rights of passage and passage that’s simply right. The 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race is a little bit of each. Part spring break, part backwater hooliganism that makes belching big-bellied hillbillies in a NASCAR infield blush and twelve parts of hard driving by cars like Audi’s silent-running R10 TDI make it a must see, and a worthy baptism into the world of racing.

Sebring loomed on the calendar - an event not to miss, while at the same time our 4 Season 2007 S4 sedan beckoned from the garage. Driving there would take the better part of a day from points north of the Mason Dixon, an endurance race on its own and a prospect too too inviting to pass up.

First, we’d need a plan. Though the drive can be done in a day, it’d be no fun to go alone. DC-based contributor Anthony Garbis thought he might be able to clear a day or two out of his schedule to make the run. Mapquest estimated16 hours from our Pennsylvania office to our planned hotel in Celebration, Florida. More manageable, the website projected the trip of 14 hours from Anthony’s home in Northern Virginia, just off the Dulles Toll Road. Mapquest is always conservative though, so the obvious challenge would be to try to make the trip in 12 hours flat.

Race passes would be necessary (media for us, as we’d be covering the event), and of course a pass for the always-entertaining Audi owners’ Corral. Run for a number of years by the Audi Club, Audi of America’s hospitality staff have joined in the planning, making this gathering a feature of the twelve hour race not to miss. Refreshments, a dry spot to stand, a television, autograph sessions with the Audi team drivers, and a field of Audis to chew the fat talking about are just a few reasons that the Audi Corral is something you you need to add to your itinerary if you’re planning to attend.

3264 Miles

With just over 3,000 miles on our S4, the trip to Sebring and back would put us right at the point of the car’s first oil change. Still, a set of H&R lowering springs had just arrived via the Tire Rack, and we wanted the S4 to show well in the Sebring corral, so some quick calls were made to dealerships. Our local dealer, Autohaus Lancaster, was booked and couldn’t fit us in at such late notice. Calling the previous dealership we’ve used, Rockville Audi in Rockville, Maryland, we found an opening.

Rockville said they’d be able to fit the S4 in on Wednesday, the day before our departure. Back-on went our OZ Superturismos and we headed to Maryland for the appointment with Rockville.

Once installed, we were surprised at the aggressive drop of the H&R Sport Springs. Previous installs of the springs looked to be roughly the ride-height we thought a car “should be” from the factory. When the tech at Rockville pulled the car around, the S4 was decidedly lowered – mildly slammed even. The look was amazing, though I worried about rubbing with the ET35 19x8” OZs with their 245/35 ZR 19 sized Avon tires as the H&R engineers probably planned the lowering to work with more narrow factory-sized rubber.

Driving to our Northern Virginia starting point from which we’d leave the next morning, we did hear a singular scuffing/rubbing sound on a tight radius offramp.

3374 Miles, 6:35 AM, 0:00 Elapsed

As DC commuters were just beginning their morning travel, we hit the road wearily. We we’re still weary by Richmond, VA and its morning traffic – so weary in fact, that we sit behind an unmarked state trooper for a while, then forget and begin to pass. The trooper throws on his lights as we pull next to him, and we back off. He leaves us alone.

Our navigation says 888 miles to destination.



3496 Miles, 8:40 AM, 2:05 Elapsed

We duck off of I-95 near Petersburg, VA for our first pit stop. Pulling into a Wawa (Philly-based convenience store chain), we top off the 93 Octane in the S4 and opt for a low-carb ultra-healthy (not) convenience store breakfast to save time.

35754 Miles, 9:32 AM, 2:57 Elapsed

We’ve just crossed into North Carolina and seem to be making good time. We’re motivated though to pick up the pace, as an arid smell has us accusing each other. Rolling down the windows just makes the smell more intense.

Chain gangs are also an apparently common feature on North Carolina highways, complete with rifle-toting guards – a great way to give off that down home folksy feeling.



3657 Miles, 10:40 AM, 3:05 Elapsed

Just as unexpected pit stops happen at Sebring, we make an unplanned stop at Exit 97 just out of Selma, NC. J.R.’s Cigarette Outlet is a local staple, and a great place to gear up for disguises to use over in the race’s racier Green Park. My copilot opts for a “Hemi” trucker hat and we also pick up a Bass Masters T-shirt for a friend who works PR for Audi. Since neither of us smoke or have an addictive habit of buying chotchkeys, much of the magic of J.R.’s is lost on us.



3758 Miles, 12:34 PM, 5:59 Elapsed

Not a good sign. Our pit stops have relegated us to just eight minutes ahead of MapQuest’s best estimates. The S4’s in need of gasoline, but we’ve crossed into South Carolina.

You’d have to be asleep at the wheel heading south on I-95 not to see the mile-after-mile array of signs for South of the Border – one of the kitschiest roadside rest stops anywhere on the entire length of I-95. We duck in for gas and drinks, along with the gratuitous picture of the S4 underneath the giant Pedro sign welcoming folks to South Carolina.

We need to pick up the pace. Pedro’s Mini Golf is out, and hard hours flirting with southern speed traps is the name of the game.



4034 Miles, 4:45 PM, 10:10 Elapsed

The S4 again needs gas, so we stop for a fill up. The extremely talkative lady at the convenience store where we procure some fuel thinks our buying some Iced Tea with Ginseng is hilarious. “What’s Ginseng,” she asks after informing us she can’t drink soda because it gives her kidney stones.

We would suspect “sweet” and “iced” is the only way they drink their tea around here, but the store was stocking the stuff. We have no idea on how long it had been sitting on the shelf though.

A quick stop into Arby’s for some Market Fresh fast food nourishment and we’re back on the road.

You can tell we’re getting punchy, as we fail to log the burg where this all transpires. Maybe we dreamed it.



4108 Miles, ?:00 PM, ?:00 Elapsed

The notebook is becoming less and less detailed as we grow more and more stir crazy and are falling into a Sirius Satellite Radio-induced trance.

We’re outside Jacksonville, FL and, while that seems close, traffic is not working for us. An accident up ahead and a quick downpour of rain have slowed the road to an occasional crawl. Our firey hopes of doing this in 12 hours are being doused just like road around us. The automatic wipers whip-whap across the windshield at a fierce rate.

We consider using the nav and ducking off of the highway, but it’s rush hour and we’re in a major city. Sirius’ own traffic station for Jacksonville tells us what we can see with our own eyes. The entire city is seemingly one big jam. And, oh yeah, it’s raining.



4260 Miles, 8:05 PM, 13:30 Elapsed

We pull wearily into our hotel’s front parking lot in the center of Celebration and flip the keys to the valet. We’ve missed our mark by an hour and thirty minutes and we’re incredibly tired.

By now, the rain has let up and its’ a beautiful and warm Florida evening, but we just want to go grab a bite with some friends from Audi and then hit the hay.

The S4 held up remarkably well. Sure, the big V8 swilled gas like a Sebring infielder with a sippy helmet sporting dual cans of Milwaukee’s Be(a)st. Still, we made the trip in record time, with just a little bit of tire rubbing from the now-settling suspension. And, we never ached from too much time in the Recaro sport seats, even after 13+ hours of driving.

In the end, we think we might have made the 12-hour mark had we lessened the pit action. Arby’s was a luxury, while shopping at J.R.’s and hanging out with Pedro certainly didn’t help. Still, it was the latter, all-business, half of the trip that was least fun. And, having fun is as much part of the Sebring experience as the race. Just ask the frat guys swilling drinks and ogling hot “brand representatives” at the Bacardi tent just near Sebring’s front straight.



Of course, we’re not ready to go home. We’re ready to have more fun. The S4 awaits in the parking lot by the hotel and the 12 Hours of Sebring looms. Now, if only there weren’t a mandatory trackside meeting for photographers, at least an hour’s drive away, that’s set for O-Dark-Thirty. Yeesh.

RELATED LINKS:

J.R.'s Outlet South of the Border Wawa Convenience Stores Arby's American Le Mans Series Sebring Raceway Celebration Hotel Rockville Audi 4 Seasons S4 Main Page

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