Today

Audi RS4 (B7) | Spotted

Not the best colour perhaps - but in terrific condition and apparently with fate on its side...

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You just know OEMs are missing a trick with manual gearboxes when an innovator like Ferrari has gone to the trouble of painstakingly engineering a fake three-pedal solution for the 12Cilindri. Simply put, it was the number one thing that high-end Ferrari buyers requested. And if the people who can buy anything want one, it stands to reason that those of us with much shallower pockets wouldn’t mind the option of DIY gear ratios. 

Of course, there are many valid technical reasons why this isn’t occurring. Efficiency for one thing, both in terms of manufacturing (because every additional hardware option adds complexity) and the ever-tightening noose of emissions legislation. Moreover, while many of us claim to favour a manual in our heads, the reality of running a car - especially if you haven’t got the luxury of owning more than one - tends to favour the convenience of an automatic.

It is partly for these reasons that the Ferrari ‘box is a clever piece of theatre. Or that genuine manual transmissions, like the Mustang’s or the 911 T’s, tend to exist only in low-volume niches. So unless you’re enamoured with the idea of owning an MX-5, or patiently waiting for a GR Yaris to turn up, it is to the classifieds you must turn. And thank goodness for them when they spit out ready-made fixes like the B7 RS4. 

Combining any V8 with a proper gear lever is a decent recipe for physical pleasure, although when the former is a 4.2-litre naturally aspirated unit that revs beyond 8,000rpm, you really can’t go wrong. Obviously it helped that with the B7, Audi took the revolutionary step of not mounting said V8 a millimetre from the front bumper - but even if it had done, you’d still get the deep, sugary satisfaction that comes with working it hard through six ratios. 

In fact, you needn’t work it hard at all. One of the oft-forgotten delights of a manual is that you choose your level of intent - and Audi’s 32-valver will indulge all manner of pottering about the place. Especially when it’s only suffered 32,820 miles of previous use. This one looks as box-fresh as that distance suggests (we’ve seldom seen the RS4’s wingback seats in better nick), having spent the last few years lounging about in a collection.

Its condition helps account for the cost. You can buy a decent-looking B7 for half the £39,950 asking price, even allowing for the fact that this one has the added attraction of KW coilovers in place of the potentially troublesome DRC. But the manual RS4 has increasing scarcity in its favour - not to mention the fact that its maker abandoned its transmission in the subsequent generations - and, given the evidence all around us, its sustained cult following stands every chance of snowballing in the long run-up to 2035. Why wait?

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SPECIFICATION | AUDI RS4 (B7) 

Engine: 4,163cc V8,
Transmission: Six-speed manual, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 420@7,800rpm
Torque (lb ft): 317@5,500rpm
MPG: 20.9
CO2: 322g/km
First registered: 2006
Recorded mileage: 32,820
Price new: £50,730
Yours for: £39,950

See the original advert

[Motormouth88]

I remember these when they were cheap, even low mileage ones, only going one way these days. Give it 10 years and a low mileage one like this will be 100k. I always loved the silver myself, smart looking.

[Twinair]

What do you think of the price folks?

My Discovery 5 was just totalled by a loonatic - we are all safe and unharmed - thankfully

Have a stack of cash in my hand - so this is a serious question on price and where the value might go with light use?

[Dave Hedgehog]

Jayemm had problems getting parts for his, gave the impression audi have abandoned them parts wise

[b14]

Dave Hedgehog said:

Jayemm had problems getting parts for his, gave the impression audi have abandoned them parts wise

This is the problem with these older Audis now - amazing cars but they are old, and to an extent were built down to a price (not like today, but still true) meaning plastic parts, seals etc fail even on low mileage cars. But Audi has discontinued a lot of parts, meaning they are harder and harder to run. See the C6 RS6 for another example, lots of NLA in the parts catalogue for that car too.

I wonder if this will hold their values down simply because they are impractical from an ownership perspective going forward.

[fantheman80]

Always has been a dream car for me, and if my numbers come in, a blue one will be purchased, nut and bolt restoration, taken to MRC to get everything Jayem had done. Parts do seem a nightmare though

[Firebobby]

20 year old Audi, £40k. Nice enough car but way too much IMHO. Ved could be up there too not that I've checked ;(

[cerb4.5lee]

I've always liked these, and I remember having a bit of fun with one in the Cerbera. I had to work hard to get past him too, and it make a lovely noise as well I thought.

[phast]

Had one of these when they were cheap, ran it for a couple of years and was an absolutely brilliant car but the running costs were very very high... everything was expensive. It was very much worth it.

I had my fun and sold it before the really big bills came… but if I'd known it would be worth £40k less than 10 years later would I probably parked it up somewhere and waited.

[andypiggins]

Is it just me, or do the shutlines at the front look a bit off? My initial thought was that the bonnet wasn't quite closed properly, but it seems to be in line with the front wings.

[Leins]

phast said:

Had one of these when they were cheap, ran it for a couple of years and was an absolutely brilliant car but the running costs were very very high... everything was expensive. It was very much worth it.

I had my fun and sold it before the really big bills came but if I'd known it would be worth £40k less than 10 years later would I probably parked it up somewhere and waited.

I think it’s a big ask to get £40k for this, even with the lowish mileage. I went B5 instead of B7, loved it but was a worry to keep running with the Audi parts supply headache

[Wab1974uk]

Dave Hedgehog said:

Jayemm had problems getting parts for his, gave the impression audi have abandoned them parts wise

Have always hankered after a B7 RS4. My old man had one new back in the day. Such damn nice cars.

But yeah, Jayemm's video about parts is rather off-putting.

Probably why Collecting cars always have B7 RS4's in the auction. People getting rid due to part shortages.

[jeremyc]

andypiggins said:

Is it just me, or do the shutlines at the front look a bit off? My initial thought was that the bonnet wasn't quite closed properly, but it seems to be in line with the front wings.

Looks normal to me, possibly not helped by the light colour.

[mjspencer348]

Firebobby said:

20 year old Audi, £40k. Nice enough car but way too much IMHO. Ved could be up there too not that I've checked ;(

On VED, I'm afraid the news isn't good. 2006 was the first year of emissions-based banding and the RS4 Avant was in the highest one, £790pa...

[ChrisCh86]

That's a crazy price. Great car, but you'd be better off with a newer model for the same amount of money.