Swaps – Pulpaddict

This Audi A4 Avant S4 clone mimics something that wasn’t sold in the U.S., and the results are quite impressive.

It may seem hard for many of us to believe, but 2009 was a pretty long time ago at this point – 14 years, to be exact. That’s an eternity in the automotive world, when things change quickly and technology advances at a rapid rate. However, there’s still plenty to like about Audi vehicles produced during this era, with their simple, tasteful styling that’s held up nicely over the years, as well as some compelling performance models. However, there was one ride in particular that wasn’t sold in the U.S. – the B8 S4 Avant, so a fellow named Mark Jackson set out to create his own by starting out with a 2009 Audi A4 Avant, a build that was recently featured in a video from Deutsche Auto Parts.

This Audi A4 Avant came from the factory with a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four cylinder under the hood, which generates a reasonable 211 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. It’s a decent engine for this platform, but it’s no hot rod by any means, leaving enthusiasts like us – and Jackson – wanting more. Thus, he decided he was going to build his own version of the B8 S4 wagon that America didn’t get.

Jackson set out to find a suitable donor, and wound up doing just that in the form of a wrecked S4. He harvested that car’s supercharged 3.0-liter V6, six-speed manual transmission, and differential, but he didn’t just leave the new motor alone, either. Instead, he added some performance extras such as an Integrated Engineering Stage 2 Double Pulley tune, a smaller supercharger pulley to ramp up boost, and a CTS crank. The result, according to Jackson, is that his wagon now makes around double the horsepower of the engine that it replaced.

Amazingly, Jackson points out that this job was actually pretty simple and straightforward, given the fact that the A4 and S4 share so much in common. His goal here wasn’t just to make his wagon faster, however – rather, he wanted to ensure that the average person couldn’t tell that this isn’t a factory B8 S4 Avant, so he even went to the trouble of swapping over the entire interior and other bits and pieces. Needless to say, it’s an amazing finished product, and one that makes us want to go out and build our own hot rod wagon.

This Audi S8 makes far more power than the Golf R, but it also weighs more, resulting in one of the closest matchups we’ve seen.

Drag racing is a fascinating sport for a variety of reasons, but to us, one of the best things about it is getting to watch very different machines battle it out in a straight line. While many sports match up competitors based on skill or capability, that isn’t always the. case in drag racing, at least in the “run what you brung” sort of situation. That’s exactly what took place in this latest showdown conducted by the YouTube channel Officially Gassed, which pits a pair of modified German vehicles – an Audi S8 and Volkswagen Golf R – against each other.

However, these two cars do share one thing in common that most wouldn’t expect – an engine, or at least an engine from the same manufacturer. That’s because the Golf R seen here is packing the same 2.5-liter inline-five cylinder engine as the Audi RS3, and in this guise, it’s been boosted to around 520 horsepower thanks to a tune and a few other goodies. It also utilizes the RS3’s gearbox and rear end, and weighs in at around 3,300 pounds.

In the other corner, we have the Audi S8, which has received one big update for its twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 as well, giving it a substantial 770 horsepower to play around with. Amazingly enough, this car needs nothing more than just a tune to achieve that mark, but as one might imagine, it’s quite a bit heavier than the Golf R, tipping the scales at around 4,400 pounds.

The very first race between these two is conducted from a roll, and despite their many differences, it’s a shockingly close one, with the Golf R just barely taking the win. However, there was some controversy regarding the VW driver jumping early, and the next go-round, they seem to be too conservative, giving the S8 an easy win. Amazingly, the third race was so close that it’s impossible to call, so the team goes to the numbers to decide, which shows that the Audi was indeed quicker.

From a dig, the Audi S8 proves to be superior in the first-go round, though the second round produces another race that was essentially too close to call. Thus, the two line up for a third time yet again, and in another photo finish, the Golf R takes home the victory. After reviewing the footage later on, however, it appears that the S8 actually won the second match, but regardless, this is easily some of the best racing we’ve seen in a while, which means that we’re all winners for getting to watch it all take place.

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Tag: Swaps

B8 Audi A4 Avant Gets S4 Powertrain Swap for Max Performance

This Audi A4 Avant S4 clone mimics something that wasn’t sold in the U.S., and the results are quite impressive.

770 HP Audi S8 Battles RS3-Swapped Golf R in Ultra-Close Drag Race

This Audi S8 makes far more power than the Golf R, but it also weighs more, resulting in one of the closest matchups we’ve seen.