Can you drift a quattro?

It's a drizzly morning at the Phillip Island GP circuit -- usually a good excuse to stay indoors and chat about past triumphs.

But this time I'm not perturbed by the damp track. That's because every car I'm about to drive is equipped with quattro all-wheel drive.

More grip, less slip, right? Well, it depends on what 'exercise' you're participating in.

Audi invited a large media contingent to 'The Island' as part of the official launch of Audi Sport, the new sub-brand encompassing its rip-snorting RS and R8 vehicles, which is soon to include the RS 3 hot hatch.

The Audi Driving Experience and the new Audi Sport sub-brand go hand in hand, the vehicles and event conspiring to expose the astonishing capability of Audi's best and brightest, in an environment where speed limits and traffic are removed from the equation.

But where an Audi RS car will generally set you back more than $100,000, you can drive one – with instructor supervision – from under $1000 with these courses.

Audi provides the cars, helmets, professional instructors, food and even transport and accommodation if required.

And if you're really keen you can pay up to $6000 for the full race car involvement, which includes driving a wicked R8 GT3 with enough downforce to make the earth's gravitational pull feel wan and pallid in comparison.

We participated in the $3300 level three Audi Sportscar Experience, which usually requires the completion of the previous two tiers.

The day starts in RS Q3 and RS 4 cars, with the instructors – all of them talented V8 Supercar drivers including Luke Youlden, Dean Canto and Steven Johnson to name a few, with 64 Bathurst 1000 races between them – piping up on the radio every now and then to give you guidance on your corner entry and exit.

The system works well as it allows you to focus on what you're intending to do without the physical (and sometimes intimidating) presence of a professional race driver next to you.

"Trust the car -- you can brake a little later through the corner on the next lap," is the sort of feedback coming through the walkie-talkie.

The day also involves driving the RS 6 Avant, RS 7 Sportback and R8 V10 Coupe around the track for several hot laps. This is hugely entertaining and while the Audi R8 is clearly a more agile vehicle than its passenger car-based siblings and scythes through corners with significantly more alacrity (and less weight), the RS 6 and RS 7 are not slow, easily topping 240km/h on the main straight.

It boggles the mind how much power these twin-turbo V8s belt out, and with quattro all-wheel drive frequently pushing engine output towards the rear axle, it's easy (and hugely rewarding) to wag the tail out of Phillip Island's tighter two corners.

At lunch Audi Australia managing director Andrew Doyle tells me the high-octane events, which have been running since 2012, are open to the public – you don't need to be an Audi owner to participate – and  crucial to selling the Audi Sport brand.

"The most important part at the end of the day is the product, the RS and R8 range – Audi Sport. These models do represent the pinnacle of Audi, the best of what we know, the best of what we've learned from motor racing and luxury car making," he said.

More than 4000 guests have come through the program and he notes "we've sold over 150 cars as a direct result of participation in this course".

"To grab the attention of an enthusiast it has to be an emotional experience. A loud, muscular engine, incredible dynamics and styling that commands attention and respect – all of our RS and R8 models provide this.

"It turns prospects into customers," he observes.

After a nourishing lunch of lamb shanks, it's time to put an urban myth to bed and answer a commonly asked question: can you drift a quattro car?

Audi Driving Experience chief instructor Steve Pizzati agrees to ride with me. The cameras are rolling, adding even more pressure, but it's time to shine! Or fade away into ignominious silence...

Enjoy the video.