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Tag: Turbo

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1991 Audi 80 quattro RS2-spec

Published December 12, 2014 by Carter

In the realm of German cars, Audi seems to be the unappreciated marque when you go back a few generations. But even then, amongst the leper colony of Audi products that no one wants, the Audi 80 quattro is close to King. I say close to King, because truth be told I think there are even less appreciated products from this time – the front drive Audi 100, for example. But go to 1991, and within Audi all enthusiasts are generally interested in is the 200 20V quattro, the Coupe quattro, and occasionally someone will mention the V8 quattro 5-speed. The 80 quattro, though, was one of the smartest options if you wanted a robust, small all-wheel drive sedan. True, the switch from B2 to B3 gained a fair amount of weight and not much more power from the NG 2.3 liter inline-5. It felt, if anything, a bit slower off the line than the 4000 quattro had been – a car not noted for it’s straight line dominance. But its unpopularity ironically made it quite popular as a tuning platform; after all, it does share some DNA with the much loved RS2. In this case, the builder of this car has thoroughly upgraded this B3 to new levels of power and performance:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1991 Audi 80 quattro on Classic-Audi.co.uk

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Tuner Tuesday Turbo Quattro Coupes: 2004 TT 3.2 quattro HPA Turbo and 2009 R8 4.2 Heffner Twin Turbo

Published December 2, 2014 by Carter

When they launched the original Quattro, Audi redefined how performance could be packaged. With supercar performance but day to day practicality, the Quattro established a niche that made Audi unique amongst not only German manufacturers, but indeed the automotive world. Since then, however, the idea of all-wheel drive and turbocharged platforms have spread not only to sister companies Porsche and Volkswagen, but indeed to Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche, Opel and even outside Germany to Japan. So Audi once again redefined its packaging; in the case of the TT, they brought expensive styling to the masses, and in the case of the R8, they brought supercar performance and packaging to a 911 budget. But it’s not just Audi that has raised its game; tuning firms are held to much higher standards then they were in the 1980s. Go back and look at some early Callaway turbo setups, for example, and you’ll see what was cutting edge in the 1980s – levels of fit and finish that just aren’t acceptable today, along with driving characteristics not suitable to most owners. Computerized engine management has transformed what is possible in the tuning world to the point where today’s packages often retain OEM-levels of driveability with otherworldly performance on tap. Two great examples of this can be found in HPA’s turbocharged Audi TT and Heffner’s twin-turbocharged Audi R8:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2004 Audi TT 3.2 quattro HPA Turbo on eBay

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2004 Saab 9-5 Aero SportCombi

Published December 1, 2014 by Paul

$_57 (1)

When I first moved to Boston for grad school, I was certain that you got three things upon moving to New England: a pair of Birkenstocks, an LL Bean credit card and the keys to one of three cars: a Saab, Volvo or Subaru Outback. Perhaps I have a tendency towards simplifying semiotics, but it seemed like there was one of these cars on every corner, and if not, wagons with all-wheel drive and a manual gearbox ruled the day. So this Saab 9-5 Aero equipped with the 5-speed manual is pretty much a New Englander’s dream. It even has a little more German DNA underneath than one might suspect, as it shares some of its underpinnings with the Opel Vectra.

Click for details: 2004 Saab 9-5 Aero SportCombi on Boston’s Craigslist

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Rare Wasser Porsches: 1982 924 Turbo and 1988 924SE

Published December 1, 2014 by Carter

If for some time the Porsche 944 is one of the most under appreciated cars in the 1980s German car world, the 924 is even the more red-headed stepchild. But get past the stigma of the 924 as the “poor man’s Porsche”, and the details are quite good. They’re nice looking, aerodynamic coupes that are rear drive for enthusiasts. Like the rest of the Porsche lineup from the late 1970s and 1980s, they had great build quality overall and were solid products. Many of the “big brother” 944 items work on the 924, too – especially true in the later 924S models, so they can be updated and modified just like the 944s. They enjoyed a rich racing history in both naturally aspirated and turbocharged variants, with the first “Carrera GT” being a 924 model. Plus, the 924 was the development model which resulted in the much more prized 944 and 944 Turbo. And within the lineup, there are really some great hidden gems of classic cars that can be had on a budget. Today I have two nice examples of some of the rarer models of the 924; a late run 924 Turbo and a last of the breed 924S Special Edition:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1982 Porsche 924 Turbo on eBay

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Tuner Tuesday: 1995 Ruf BTR

Published November 25, 2014 by Carter

From a poorly represented backyard creation of a tuned E28 BMW we’re heading for probably the most respected and coveted tuner in the world. Ruf cars are legendary and have been since new – grabbing headlines and turning heads wherever they go. By the 1990s, though, Ruf had some serious competition from within Porsche itself. Porsche not only had the monstrous 400 horsepower, all-wheel drive spiritual successor to the 959 in the Turbo, but it also had a stripped and widened GT2 model homologated for racing. Adding power was good, but Ruf really needed to set itself apart. The result was the wild CTR, probably the most famous of which I wrote up about a year ago. But behind the big splashing headlines of the power figures of the CTR was the successor to the Yellowbird – the BTR:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1995 Ruf BTR on eBay

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