Another week of wheels, this time some more rarities. I love the polished look of narrow Fuchs wheels on early 911s. MOMO 5-spoke wheels were some of the best in the early 1980s, and these would be a nice alternative to the normal ATS/Ronal “Penta” wheels that often adorn early 80s Benz models. How about those great Hartge wheels, seeing that we’ve had two Hartge cars this week? Rather have something a bit more stock? How about the Audi Coupe-spec 15″ Speedline wheels complete with track rubber? Or if you’re into Volkswagens, we have a nice set of the early Corrado “Sebring” wheels too – what’s your favorite?
Category: Audi
Time for another parts roundup, and today I’m focusing on some aftermarket and rare parts. There are some really desirable pieces here, and some pretty horrible looks (I’m looking at you, Kamei). What’s your favorite, what would you like on your ride or what would you like to see?
CLICK FOR DETAILS: Momo Porsche steering wheel on eBay
Comments closedWell, I hope this will stir some interest, as I think this is a bit of an interesting comparison. What level of performance can you buy for $10,000 (give or take) these days? Surprisingly, there are a lot of options – and those options vary pretty seriously in their execution and packages; there’s a wagon and a sports car, two sedan-based coupes and a hatchback. Engines range from a 2 liter turbo to a V8, with a bit of everything in between. Yet, what appears to be a very strange comparison linked only by price is revealed to be much closer when you look at performance figures:
E36 M3: 240 hp, 0-60 6.0 seconds, 3,200 lbs
944 Turbo: 220 hp, 0-60 5.9 seconds, 2,900 lbs
CLK500: 302 hp, 0-60 5.7 seconds, 3,800 lbs
S4 Avant: 250 hp, 0-60 5.6 seconds, 3,700 lbs
GTi: 200 hp, 0-60 6.6 seconds, 3,200 lbs
The range is much closer than you’d expect – especially when you consider that these figures could easily be equaled in margin of error, driver skill and reaction time. In the twisties, the lower powered cars like the GTi catch up to the higher power CLK and S4. All are, in one way or another, practical choices. Some are destined (or already) classics, while others will likely fade away. So what would be your choice? Let’s start with an M3 we’ve already seen:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1999 BMW M3 on eBay
13 CommentsUp until the early 2000s, Audi always did things a little differently than its countrymen. Critics and enthusiasts have sometimes criticized the designs for not being optimal, overly complicated or ill-timed. But get into a RS car – any RS car – and it’s hard not to be completely thrilled. Audi certainly pulled out the stops for it’s top of the line, quattro GmbH assembled super-sedans and avants; the great details abound. Subtly flared fenders, special bumpers, larger wheels and massive brakes, lowered ride height and signature twin exhaust became the blueprint for the RS4 and RS5 to follow and hinted at the new bar that Audi set, but under the hood lurked something special in the RS6. Like the S6 the power was derived from a V8, but in the RS6 two turbochargers boosted performance to 440 horsepower with torque to match. The power was seamless and unabated; more a freight train that never let up than a rush of power. This car is deceptively fast, so quiet and unassuming it really was the ultimate Q-ship of its time. I was lucky enough to push one of these cars to its limit when new around Le Circuit Mont Tremblant, and while it’s no lightweight sports car, the amount of speed and grip it generates is otherworldly, and it can easily keep up with many cars that should be quicker. Inside you were bathed in luxury; soft touch plastics, warm colors on the dashboard, excellent seats that managed to both be supportive and comfortable. There were small details too that helped to make the RS6 feel even more exclusive; the Alcantara headliner, alternating color piping on the leather, rich wood accents and carbon fiber details that were sprinkled in just the right proportions to make this car the ultimate Autobahn weapon:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2003 Audi RS6 at Sun Valley Auto Club
Comments closedIn the high performance, exclusive world of Audi’s RS models, most enthusiasts believe they never got it quite as right as they did with the original model. Sure, the RS4s, RS6s, RS5s and TTRSs are impressive, fast and luxurious. They’ll all decimate the roads on the way to your destination, with little regard for supposedly faster marque’s badges. But there was something that was extra special and just a bit more magical about the original RS2; the first of the super wagons, the splashes of red and RS blue were like a poison dart frog – a warning to the rest of the big boys that this little wagon meant business. Packed with a special 311 horsepower Porsche-messaged version of the venerable 20 valve turbocharged inline-5, the RS2 was very special indeed. Power made it to the ground through all four wheels mated to a 6-speed manual transmission with Brembo brakes and Porsche wheels; the small chassis Audi could break 5 seconds in a 0-60 sprint and was good for over 160 m.p.h. making it one of the fastest road cars in the 1990s. About 3,000 of these cars were made, making them not quite as rare as one would expect given how infrequently we see them for sale – but there’s a stunning low mile example today on VW Vortex: