Category: Builds

Tastefully Modified Audi A8 Classes Up Aussie Burnout Competition

Modified Audi A8

There are loads of modified Audi vehicles in the world. But this wild burnout machine looks to be one of a kind.

With it’s stately styling, sure-footed quattro all-wheel drive, and luxurious cabin environs, the Audi A8 is practically a synonym for understated executive transport. Or, at least most of them are. This example — as savvy automotive enthusiasts might already have noticed — has been slightly modified. And when I say slightly modified? I mean totally transformed by a unhinged gearhead who exists about as far from the big sedan’s target market as Ingolstadt is from the Crab Nebula.

Now, if you’re familiar burnouts contests, you have to know that the Australians do them bigger and badder than anyone else. So if you’re guessing this was built for a burnout competition Down Under? You’d be right. Unfortunately, for those looking to mimic this build for their daily driver, there’s precious little info on the specs here. What we do know that its owned by one Peter Mountain, it’s both supercharged and turbocharged, and the monster mill looks to be at least two feet taller than the car’s roof.

Thanks to the description, we also know that top of the intake is made of carbon fiber, presumably to, you know, keep the weight down. It’s also worth noting that while Audi hasn’t sold a vehicle with a carburetor in three decades, this machine is still decidedly old-school when it comes to fuel delivery. That old-school fuel delivery setup is said to be behind the stalling we see on both runs captured in this video, which makes sense, given that the huge engine likely needs fire-hose grade pressure to keep running.

Given the nature of the contest, the famously capable quattro system has been plucked from the chassis, and when the engine is able to keep making power, the fat rear meats don’t stand a chance. That said, this video just went up, and it’s likely Mountain saw these as shakedown runs, so I think we’ll see more of this bad boy in the near future. Maybe he’ll even upgrade the fuel delivery system, so we can see the car completely enveloped in smoke. Boy, do those Aussies every know how to party or what? Enjoy the video!

Photos: YouTube

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Wicked Audi R8 Hillclimb Car has 2.0-Liter Engine

Audi R8 Hillclimb Car

Adding displacement is great. But as Lotus founder Colin Chapman knew, subtracting weight can be an equally potent trick.

In American enthusiast circles, it’s popular to talk about how there’s no replacement for displacement. And while Ma Mopar has basically made an entire company based around jamming the biggest engine possible into everything it makes, displacement isn’t the only way to make speed. As Lotus founder Colin Chapman knew, subtracting weight can be an equally potently recipe. That’s the strategy Keith Murray employed with his Audi R8 hillclimb car — and the results are nothing short of spectacular.

In place of the the eight or ten pot Ingolstadt installed at the factory, in this featherweight, power comes from a heinously stoked 2.0-liter mill. As the description on YouTube states, the unit is “sort of an hybrid between the 2.0 L ALT 20v aluminum block with a 16v ABF head from a Mk3 Golf,” and thanks to a Garret HTA turbo, the force-fed engine is producing a whopping 650 horsepower. For the record, that’s about 50 more than any flavor of the R8 pumps out in factory spec, even if the engine note isn’t as robust.

The best part of the engine swap, of course, is the weight savings, and as you’d expect, it was tremendous. All told, this purpose-built beast tips the scales at just over 2,100 pounds, which is crazy considering that stock versions of the supercar range from 3,594 to 3,913 pounds. Having driven the R8, and experienced warp speed of launch control, I can’t even fathom have frightfully quick this machine must feel, and watching Murray rip up the circuit at Osnabruck Bergrennen is pure joy. This baby looks like a slot car!

Of course, the dyno runs at the start of the clip are there own flavor of awesome, and it’s wild to see just how little room that 2.0-liter motor takes up in the engine bay. Unfortunately, this car hasn’t raced since 2019, but given the amount of work that went into the build, and the fact that the world — knock on wood — seems to be getting somewhat back to normal, I’d expect we’ll see lots more of it in the future. So what do you think? Is swapped R8 a sacrilege or a masterpiece. Hit me up and let me know!

Photos: YouTube

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Pacific German and VF Engineering Build Monster RS6 Avant

Audi RS6 Avant

A slew of wicked RS6 Avant builds have appeared since the weapons-grade wagon debuted. This might be the quickest yet.

Along with Rule 34, Betteridge’s law of headlines is one of my favorite internet maxims. To refresh your memory, it states: “Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no.” And while my experience has found it to be spookily accurate, this recent video from our friends over at Auditography make me think it might not be infallible. Because the title of this video asks whether this weapons-grade Audi RS6 Avant is the world’s fastest. And with a blistering zero-to-60 time of 2.7 seconds? The answer could very well be yes.

Built as a collaboration between Pacific German and VF Engineering, this one-of-one monster is packing a laundry list of performance upgrades. Most notably, the factory snails have been swapped for a pair of fat TTE turbos, the ECU has been treated to a Stage 3 upgrade from VF Engineering,  and upgraded intercoolers  come courtesy of the frosty folks over at CSF Racing. According to the video, that means this vicious longroof is good for a whopping 1,000-plus horsepower and earth-twisting 750 lb-ft of torque.

Keep your foot buried, and all that poke is said to translate to a top speed north of 210 mph. But thanks to a body kit from Maxton Design, a slick red, white and black  livery, and bespoke 22-inch brushed bronze wheels, this RS6 Avant looks the business even if it’s standing still. Everything under the hood looks quite tidy as well, and unless you’re an accomplished Audi mechanic, you might think this baby remained just as Ingolstadt intended. Given that my mechanical exploits have gone over about as well as a fork in a microwave, the details are lost on me.

As to the claim that this is the fasted example of Audi’s luxury longroof on the planet, however, I can make a more knowledgeable assessment. Because I’ve been following the news on the RS6 Avant since long before they started turning up wrecked, and while I’ve seen several red-hot examples, this does seem to outshine them. ABT-Sportline’s version is good for 740 horsepower and a 3.2 second zero to 60 time, this 900-horsepower model is said to be just shy of the three-second mark, and even the mighty MTM Stage 4 project — with its insane 1,001 and 921 lb-ft of torque — is said to hit 60 in 2.8 seconds. So enjoy the video — and if you find a faster Audi RS6 Avant hit me up! 

Image Source: YouTube

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Monster Audi 80 Quattro Build Packs 610 Horses of S2 Thunder!

1984 Audi 80

Bought for around $775 USD in 2014, Audi 80 combines quattro with turbocharged S2 lightning to light up England’s motorways like no other.

The second-gen Audi 80, built between 1978 and 1986, received the quattro system in 1983. Though it didn’t have the ur-Quattro’s power or the 100’s lower price, it did hold the road as well as its Group B siblings. It also helped cement Audi’s place in the public eye through the parts bin, and its quattro-enhanced abilities.

The Audi 80 also makes for a perfect foundation to build madness upon. One such example lives at Paul’s Classic Car Restorations in Mansfield, England, and is the personal car of the shop’s owner. Ricky of LivingLifeFast paid a visit to Paul’s shop to check out this monster in sheep’s clothing.

1984 Audi 80

“Early 80 Audi Quattro. Built 1983, brought to U.K. ’84, registered ’84,” said Paul. “I bought it in 2014 completely rotten. Engine wouldn’t turn over. First idea, we had the original engine rebuilt. Drove that for a bit and got bored.”

The $775 USD (in 2014 dollars) Audi 80 soon woke up, though, thanks to Paul’s friend, Brian Thomsey, turning him on to S2 engines. Upon purchasing one from said friend, the old Audi slowly turned into the 610-horsepower beast it is now. Linking the S2 to the corners is a five-speed gearbox from a U.S. Audi 200, one left completely stock.

1984 Audi 80

“You gotta understand the power-to-weight,” said Ricky. “I mean, 610 horsepower is ridiculous. But, it’s [2,200 pounds], you understand this?”

With the light body and the S2’s big power, Paul says his Audi 80 has the same power-to-weight ratio as a Pagani Zonda. In a 37-year-old car! As Paul demonstrates on the motorways and roads around Mansfield, this boxy boy don’t mess around, sliding across lanes with all wheels engaged, its turbo popping with every gear shift.

1984 Audi 80

“This is what the new cars are trying to emulate,” said Ricky. “These newer cars – I’m not anti-new car. I love new cars, by the way, for anything thinking that I’m some hater. But when you jump into some of these new, all-wheel drive cars, it’s like completing a game overnight. It’s so easy to extract its performance.”

Meanwhile, the Audi 80 build isn’t wanting for anything. All anyone needs is a strong grip on the wheel, and bravery to ride the lightning to Valhalla.

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Cameron Aubernon’s path to automotive journalism began in the early New ’10s. Back then, a friend of hers thought she was an independent fashion blogger.

Aubernon wasn’t, so she became one, covering fashion in her own way for the next few years.

From there, she’s written for: Louisville.com/Louisville Magazine, Insider Louisville, The Voice-Tribune/The Voice, TOPS Louisville, Jeffersontown Magazine, Dispatches Europe, The Truth About Cars, Automotive News, Yahoo Autos, RideApart, Hagerty, and Street Trucks.

Aubernon also served as the editor-in-chief of a short-lived online society publication in Louisville, Kentucky, interned at the city’s NPR affiliate, WFPL-FM, and was the de facto publicist-in-residence for a communal art space near the University of Louisville.

Aubernon is a member of the International Motor Press Association, and the Washington Automotive Press Association.

Built for the Track: Insane Audi 90 Quattro

Audi 90 Quattro Track Car

A Bosch Motorsport engineer went to town on this Audi 90 Quattro — and turned it into a track-day terror.

As the most famous car YouTuber on the planet, it was smart that Doug DeMuro used his popularity to launch his own automotive site. And so far, I’ve had a lot of fun cruising his auction site. But this hyper-customized 1990 Audi 90 was the first listing on Cars & Bids I wanted to post about for AudiWorld. I mean, just look at this beast. Over the course of 15 years, a Bosch Motorsport engineer went to town on it, and turned it into a fire-breathing track-day terror.

Of course, eagle-eyed folks are going to spot plenty of obvious mods, like the side-exit exhaust, carbon fiber hood, and massive intercooler. But the further you dig into the build of this baby the crazier it gets. For starters, the 2.2-liter turbo five-cylinder has been stoked to produce an astonishing 516 horsepower and 375 lb-ft of twist — in the lowest tune parameter. The higher one raises those already-lofty figures to 617 horsepower and 463 lb-ft. Because of course it does.

According to the listing, the mighty mill started as a long block built by California’s Four Ring Performance, and has been fortified with a ported head, a BorgWarner EFR8374 turbo and a TiAL wastegate. As you’d expect given the builder’s day job, there’s plenty of go-fast Bosch kit on board, including a Bosch 80mm electronic throttle body, Bosch Motorsport MS6.1 ECU and PBX90 power distribution module, and a Bosch Motorsport DDU7 driver’s display. A mil-spec harness connects all the dots.

All told, the body is about the only factory bit left here, and it’s been gutted of anything extraneous, and fitted with a custom full cage. In looking over the-crazy long build sheet, I found it particularly interesting to see what parts the builder cribbed from other cars. For example, the front brakes are from a Porsche 928 S, while the rear units previously saw service on a Cayman. The electric power steering comes courtesy of a Toyota MR2. Not to lean too lean to hard on the old “too much to list” trope, but if that phrase applies to any vehicle I’ve written about in the past year, it’s this one.

So I’d highly encourage you to head over and check out the build sheet — because it’s bonkers. Just listen to it wail on the dyno! At the close of the auction, this went for just $23,000 which given all the time and money that went into building it, has to mean pennies on the dollar. But given how far this is from factory, not to mention the whole “buying someone else’s project thing,” you’d have to be a mechanical savant to even know where to start if something goes wrong.

Photos: Cars & Bids

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