The Audi 4000 Quattro has been on a fairly meteoric rise in value over the past few years, shadowing its original market competition E30 BMW. Granted, much as when new the Type 85 chassis hasn’t gained as much press as the E30 does, but we’ve recently seen $14,000 4000 Quattros – unthinkable even a year ago, and a signal that the strength of the 1980s market really has pulled up everything along with the big headlines of the 911 and M3. Of course, because they languished in value for so long, there just aren’t many mint condition 4000 Quattros remaining. Because they haven’t been valuable for a long time, and because of the robust nature of the drive train, the 4000 Quattro has been lurking for a long time as a popular tuning platform. Engine swaps abound; from 5000 Quattro spec 2.2 10v turbos through twin turbo 4.2 V8s and 1.8Ts, just about everything has found its way into the engine bay of the 4000; but by far, the one that most wish for is the 20 valve turbo version of the inline 5, with up to and above 1,000 horsepower possible and the Group B soundtrack. Today’s 4000 has just such a swap completed:
Category: Audi
Some time ago, I picked up a set of BBS RS wheels for my Audi Coupe GT. I’ve always been a big fan of BBS wheels, and of course by 1980s standards, the RS is the Holy Grail of road wheels. They have an accompanying price to go along with their desirability, however, as most clean sets will easily set you back over $1,000 dollars. When you factor in the number of sets that are available in the Audi Coupe’s 4x108mm bolt pattern, there just aren’t many options. However, SPG SAABS had the same bolt pattern and were available with 15×7 BBS RSs from the factory. What I was able to track down was a set of just those wheels, in original and un-modified shape. That was a plus to me, because I’m honestly not a fan of the overly polished or crazy colored BBSs, so finding an original set what great. Unfortunately, that meant they also had 25 years of wear on them, and in many areas – especially the center caps – they looked quite tired. I mulled over what to do for years, between sourcing replacements, having the wheels refinished, or just trying it myself. And to be honest, although there were many “DIY” BBS RS rebuild threads, I wanted to see if I could refresh these overall clean RSs that just needed some love without pulling them apart. So over the next few weeks I’ll do my best to chronicle the cleanup. I started with the center caps, replete with peeling, pitted and corroded clearcoat:
4 CommentsLast week, Paul wrote up a nice 2005 Audi S4 Avant, one of the few manual V8 wagon options ever offered to Americans. The package of the B6 and B7 Avant were certainly quite desirable and as Paul also noted, they developed quite an enthusiastic following. As they should have; as enthusiasts, we hear constant whining about all of the cars that aren’t offered to U.S. markets; yet when afforded the option to buy these cars, often the folks doing the complaining won’t ante up and buy them. Consequently, we’ve seen the S4 Avant model leave U.S. shores in favor of more and more “sport” utility vehicles. What are we to do as enthusiasts? Snap up the remaining clean examples of Avants, that’s what. And today, if you want to stand a bit apart from the crowd, there is one of the rarest color combination B6 Avants available:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2005 Audi S4 Avant on Craigslist
3 CommentsThe Audi B5 was really the first Audi chassis that gained mass appeal for modifications. Sure, the Quattro, 5000, 200, S4 and S6 all had crowds that followed them and modified them, but it was really the B5 that took the Audi tuning theme to the masses. Most of those masses focused on two models; if you were new to the brand you bought and modified the plentiful and relatively cheap 1.8T, and if you could swing the hefty payments you bought the twin-turbocharged S4. Both accepted increased levels of boost easily, making them a no brainer for the tuning crowd. But quickly forgotten in the mix was the silky-smooth 2.8 V6. Initially available in 12 valve form, in 1998 Audi upgraded to the 30V heads. For the first time, the Audi V6 produced power levels near its competition, and the smooth and responsive V6 was a nice match for the slick look of the A4. But easy to tune it wasn’t; you weren’t left with many options outside of exhaust and intake if you wanted to turn the wick up on your 2.8. Unless, of course, you turned to unnatural forms of aspiration – happily supplied by PES in the form of a supercharger: