Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Okay, I got the memo. You didn’t like earlier’s Tuner S4. And while I think it’s pretty silly to discount the car completely because of some fairly easily changeable interior pieces, I also had issue with the car as honestly I’d prefer an Avant if I was going the S4 route. What’s a guy to do? Well, lucky for us there’s an equally awesome, equally Imola Avant in our Self Service Classifieds:
When they were first released, I personally thought that the B5 S4 was a bit disappointing. After all, it was basically only producing a few more horsepower than the revered outgoing turbocharged inline-5 had produced, and indeed produced less power than the S6+ and S6 V8 models produced. Like the E36 M3, the styling was conservative and understated but handsome, but the performance was also on par with the M3 which had just gone out of production. It really seemed like Audi was behind a few steps. Since then, the appeal of the B5 to me has increased a bit; as a package capable of both driving all year and turning some incredible numbers on the dyno there are few that can match it. My view started to change when I got a ride in an Imola Yellow S4 Avant that was built to RS4 specs – on the front straight at Lime Rock Park, the car easily accelerated from 80 to 120mph before the start/finish line. The acceleration was brutal and instant; not what you’d expect from a heavy turbocharged car – and a reminder of how much the Audi engineers left in that motor. It’s further interesting to me that after abandoning turbocharging in favor of naturally aspirated V8s, Audi and other manufacturers have been forced to reevaluate and include forced induction in their performance models. Today, you can get a very nice example of a B5 S4 for under $10,000 – but if you want one that’s a turn-key bullet, you’ll have to shell out a bit more for one like today’s lower mile Imola Yellow S4 sedan:
Okay, so this isn’t the first time I’ve written up a S4 face-off, but it’s an interesting question to me. That’s because right now, clean examples of the C4 S4 are on their way up, while prices of the B5 S4 have come down and stabilized at levels that seem to be very reasonable. Compared to their equivelants from both Mercedes-Benz and BMW, both are priced very reasonably and you get a lot of performance value for your money. You also get all-wheel drive capability, a luxurious and quiet highway cruiser, a car capable of carrying 4 adults, and both a near limitless tuning potential; both are certainly capable of 600 to 1,000 horsepower, if you’re willing to foot the bills. So which would you rather have? The two in question today are quite different; a turned up C4 S4 versus a 1 owner, all original B5 – let’s start with the C4:
Production numbers. They are just one of those things that people like to keep in their back pocket; a trump card to make your mass-produced automobile feel a little bit less mass-produced. It’s amazing, because along with a general love of cars, it is one of the few things that unite different brands, countries, makes, models and categories – everyone wants to tout how special or unique their particular model is. Of course, some of those cars are, in fact, quite rare; Ferrari 250 GTOs, Bentley 4.5 Supercharged Open Touring Le Mans bodies, Bugatti Type 57s. Yes, if you claim you’ve got one of x number of those, you’re talking very, very special. When we get to the 1960s and production assembly lines really heated up, and especially into the 1990s where even some of the “special” cars such as BMW’s M-division ceased being hand-built, then it’s really a matter of taste and preference, in my opinion. What annoys me about these production numbers is that they’re often misquoted, built on internet legend, and can be manipulated in just about any fashion. But here we are, with an already pretty neat Audi S4 Avant; made more rare by being a 2002, then made more rare by being Pearlesant White Metallic, and even more rare with black leather. I bet it was made on Tuesday, too – that’s a rarity as well. A claimed one of three, what matters to enthusiasts is that twin-turbo V6 in the classic Avant package with a 6-speed manual:
Okay, so you can’t get the Euro-spec C4 Audi S6 here in the U.S. yet. That means the awesome 6-speed, interiors, V8 engine options, better bumpers and wheel packages remain across the pond, just out of reach of enthusiasts. Bummer, right? Well, don’t forget that nearly the same version of the Euro-spec car came here for 3 short years in the form of the S4/S6, long a popular favorite in the Audi tuning crowd. Capable of monstrous levels of power, the snap of torque in chipped versions of the 3B/AAN motor is downright addictive. You’ll quickly find your self repeatedly slowing down, a gear up from where high-revving BMWs would be calling, and planting your foot deep into the carpet to ride a giant wave of torque to illegal speeds. But the C4 is also a comfortable cruiser capable of tackling long trips with luggage for the family in any weather. It is, simply put, one of the best packages Audi has ever produced – and they don’t get much better than this one: