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Tag: B4

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1993 Audi S2

1993 Audi S2

Published January 3, 2016 by Carter

One of the most popular tuning swaps in the Audi world until quite recently was to slot a 3B/AAN turbocharged 20V motor into a B3 coupe. The “Ersatz” (replacement) S2 required a fair amount of custom engineering, but you got a sleeper package that was capable of some serious performance that the U.S. bound Coupe quattro with its normally aspirated 7A 20V inline-5 lacked. For an effectively an entire generation these custom turbocharged examples have held a special place in the market, worth more than generally every other Audi from the period, but that’s changing. Now it’s 2016 and the market has awoken to the original Quattro; really pristine examples have shot through the roof in terms of pricing. But the bigger thorn in the side for custom-made S2s is that the real factory built S2s are now importable to the U.S.. While that’s not the easiest road to travel, if you search around you can find some real budget examples of the real-deal original S2 for much less than the asking price of U.S. bound replica cars. While this 1993 is still a few years from legal importation, it certainly gets me thinking about what could be:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1993 Audi S2 on Classic Driver

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Motorsports Monday: 1992 Audi 80 quattro Supertourisme

Motorsports Monday: 1992 Audi 80 quattro Supertourisme

Published December 7, 2015 by Carter

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Audi seemed a bit lost in terms of direction of its motorsports programs. With the death of Group B following the development of the monster S1 E2 Quattro, Audi turned to the 200 to lead its racing brigade from Group A rally to the crazy Trans-Am effort. That would continue with the introduction of the V8 quattro, campaigned in the DTM in 1991 and 1992 before being banned. But focus would return to the smaller chassis cars in the early 1990s, with Audi introducing a line of Super Touring 80s and the most memorable of the bunch, the flame spitting Audi 90 IMSA GTO racers. Though few remember the 80 STW, it was run extensively in the DTM and Italian Super Touring series and paved the way for the later A4 STW that would dominate many international touring classes in 1996. But there was a lesser known development, that of the ROC engineered 80 quattro Supertourisme. Built by ROC in 1991 on behalf of Audi Sport for the French Super Touring class, it was unlike any of the super touring cars Audi produced:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1992 Audi 80 quattro Superturisme at Jean Lain Vintage

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1994 Audi RS2 Avant

1994 Audi RS2 Avant

Published September 12, 2015 by Carter

Why would anyone even contemplate paying $35,000 for a 21 year old, complicated and turbocharged Audi wagon that you can’t register in the U.S. for 4 more years? Because of the badge that adorns the front – the magical “Renn” added to the S2 badge, along with the legendary name Porsche scripted below. That meant that this relatively unassuming Audi 80 quattro Avant had been produced in Zuffenhausen rather than Ingolstadt and had added a healthy dose of even more “Sport” to the small chassis. Ostensibly, though the Sport Quattro was the first “RS” vehicle, the RS2 was the first to wear the badge which has become synonymous with Audi’s speed department. For many Audi aficionados, though the RS vehicles have become much faster and more luxurious, just like the 500E and the M3 Audi has never made a car better in its overall execution than the original. Not that it was slow by any means; Porsche’s massaging of the inline-5 resulted in 311 horsepower – even more than the Sport Quattro had from essentially a very similar motor – so despite being much heavier than the Sport had been, the RS2 wasn’t much slower; sub-5 seconds to 60 and a top speed north of 160 mph. Along the way, it was capable of bullying everything outside of a supercar; yet this car also established the move from Audi’s 2-door “halo” vehicle to a long line of fast five doors. Porsche also upgraded the brakes and wheels with Brembo units and 17″ “Cup 1” wheels creating a signature link. So, too, was the color signature; original called “RS Blue” rather than the color name it’s often mistaken for – the later Nogaro – the bright blue is still the go-to shade for Audi’s fastest. Even within its fast contemporaries, this car was legendary, and the upgrades to the motors and wheels spawned an entire generation of enthusiasts to turn up their inline-5s stateside. Of course, the RS2 wasn’t imported here – nor were any of the S2s for that matter, or even the 80 Avant. That makes seeing one in the U.S. exceptionally rare (and, currently illegal….):

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1994 Audi RS2 Avant on Rennlist

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1997 Audi Cabriolet

1997 Audi Cabriolet

Published September 5, 2015 by Carter

The Audi Cabriolet might be the least popular modern Audi made in the used market. Considering the number of unpopular, or at least notoriously unreliable (correctly or incorrectly) Audis out there, that’s saying something. For one, I think it’s unjust, but I think it’s understandable. First off, the B4 Cabriolet only came to the U.S. with one engine configuration; the venerable 2.8 V6. That’s not much of a surprise, though, since nearly every Audi sold between 1993 and 1997 had that motor. But there was no all-wheel drive option, unlike the two models that replaced it (The B6 cabriolet and the TT cabriolet) – nor was there a manual option, which at very least was available in the sportier TT. On top of that, the B4 chassis was quite old by 1995, and Audi decided to retire it. Though refreshed in 1992, it was ostensibly the same chassis that had been introduced in late 1986 in Europe with the B3. Despite that, and the introduction of the new B5 A4 model in 1996, Audi had the B4 Cabriolet soldier on until 1998 in the U.S. market. As such, it’s often discounted as a soft, unreliable and old package when there were newer, flashier – and importantly for some, faster options such as the BMW M3 convertible. Yet, every time I see an Audi Cabriolet, I can’t help but stare a bit. Just like the Audi 90CS quattro Sport I wrote up a few weeks ago, it’s a lovely design; handsome and striking, yet understated and special looking. That was especially true of the late run Cabriolets with the optional 16″ Speedline-made “Competition” wheels. Add the optional and additional cost Pearlescent White Metallic and select the Wine Red interior, and this is a rare – and classy – package on a budget:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1997 Audi Cabriolet on eBay

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1994 Audi 90CS quattro Sport

1994 Audi 90CS quattro Sport

Published August 22, 2015 by Carter

If you were looking for a sporty small executive sedan in 1994 and opted to buy an Audi 90, something was amiss. You would have waded through the miring scandal of “Accelerategate” and the media implication that your Ingolstadt-born all-wheel drive wonder would suddenly attempt to go full throttle (preferably, when your husband was opening the garage door….). Okay, so you must have had some understanding of physics, logic, spacial awareness and could differentiate a square pedal from a rectangular pedal and your left from right. That, in and of itself, isn’t all that odd. But then you still bypassed the BMW dealer to look at the Audi; a move which probably surprised even them. After all, in 1994 the E36 chassis was still relatively fresh and won nearly every magazine competition it was entered into. In comparison, 1994 was the penultimate year for the B4 quattro as the new A4 was already on the horizon, and though it had received a refresh in 1992 the now B4 chassis didn’t really offer much new technology or refinement over the outgoing B3. It was dressed up with some newer clothes, wheels, and a slightly more powerful motor, but it was still numerically at a disadvantage to the BMW on several fronts. The V6 produced 172 horsepower – about 17 less than the inline-6 in the E36. That V6 also hauled around more weight than the BMW did, so the Audi was predictably slower in every measure, too. The weight and larger displacement meant it got worse gas mileage. And for the pleasure of this slower, thirstier, older chassis, you paid less, right? No – walk into your dealer and select the 1994 90CS quattro Sport as shown here, and you were going to pay over $35,000 – about $5,000 more than the base price on a 325i sedan. Is it any wonder that Audi only shifted a reported 773 of them that year?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1994 Audi 90CS quattro Sport on Orange County Craigslist

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