Catch it while you can: Audi RS2

It's the car that launched the Audi RS legend, and now available for less than you'd think

Seeing the news that Audi's launched a sporting A1 gets my mind into overdrive about the good - and bad - quick cars to comes out of Ingolstadt during past 20 years or so. They're calling it the new car the S1 - a name, which to me will always be forever associated with Walter Rohrl, Hannu Mikkola and the bonkers Group B short-wheelbase Quattro. With that in the back catalogue, the new one has a lot to live up to.

RS2 is 20 years old this year

Go-faster Audis have been a bit hit and miss over the years, but we'll gloss over the imperfect ones. Instead we'll pause for a moment to celebrate the RS2 - one of the best cars ever to wear four rings. This prime slice of performance car genius was a collaborative effort between Porsche and Audi, which took the S2 Avant and turned it up amusingly into what is arguably the world's first superwagon.

Porsche installed a bigger KKK24 turbo, and boosted the lovely 20-valve turbocharged inline five's maximum power from 230 to 315hp. It had a six-speed manual driving four wheels through Audi's tough Quattro drivetrain, and a sprinkling of special parts, such as the Cup alloys and 968 brakes served notice that it was very much a thoroughbred product from Porsche's Zuffenhausen factory.

It's an 80 Avant to the untrained eye...

On the road, it didn't disappoint. Acceleration was vivid, and now legendary. In its 1994 road test Autocar cracked 0-30mph in 1.5 seconds and 60 in 4.8, aided by brilliant traction - and that's still pretty fast today. Yet for those not in the know, the RS2 looked like any other top-end Audi 80 Avant. The big wheels, Porsche mirrors and red reflector panel were subtle tell-tales, but in reality, this mid-sized estate passed by most people, and was capable of giving a stealthy kicking to some pretty serious machinery.

As Q-cars go, this was a good as it got back in the '90s. And I've wanted an RS2 badly ever since one gave me a drubbing while driving a Ford Focus RS at Mont Ventoux few years back. The Frenchman came from behind, caught me napping, nailed me exiting in a corner, and by the time my Ford spooled up in readiness to catch him, he was gone. I'd been mugged. All I could do was watch him pull decisively away and into the clouds.

315hp and 4WD meant 0-62 in 4.8 seconds

Back then, good ones were still around £20,000, but that didn't stop me trying one out, such was my desire to own one. My memories of driving one are crystal sharp and dominated by the explosive acceleration once the turbo was spinning, hard-edged five-pot warble baying its accompaniment, and an almost maniacal desire to bang into the rev limiter thrown in for good effect. Then there was grip. Oh my goodness, the grip. Catapulting out of bends, or from hooning from toll booths, it went like a kicked cat.

I wasn't the only one who saw the RS2's potential as the ultimate Q-car. Back in 2006, H&H Auctions had an RS2 for sale, with a curiously low estimate, looking good in Nogaro Blue - definite bidding fodder. But the car had a story. It had originally been stolen from an Audi dealership before being converted into the ultimate getaway car by a gang of bank robbers. They disguised it as an 80 TDI Avant by changing its chassis plate, interior, bumpers, tailgate, and wheels - including the fitment of plastic wheel trims. The real shame is that the seller put it back to standard, and what's not recorded is whether the criminals got away or not. But it's a good bet the car would have had little trouble outpacing plod's Vauxhall Omegas.

And not an MMI dial in sight!

If you want an Audi RS2 today, you won't need to resort to stealing one - but they are rare and getting harder to find by the day. But values have softened over the past four years, and if you can find an RS2, you'll find it's now temptingly affordable - with a perfectly usable example in your grasp from around £10,000. Trouble is, most owners love them, and won't sell unless they have to.

There are currently a couple in the PH classified ads, but it's the 1995 example in Warwickshire that tips the scales at £11,000, and ticks the understated Q-car box very effectively. It's leggy at 194,000 miles, but with tons of history, and uprated brakes, it has to be worth a look. We're down to 81 taxed and 37 on SORN'd examples left in the UK as of the end of 2013, so if you've found yourself hankering after an RS2, now's as good a time as any to pounce. Don't say I didn't tell you.

OP Posts Only

Prev 2 3...6 7 Next

OP Posts Only

Author

Discussion

BlackCup

Original Poster

1,235 posts

204 months