This is a different kind of “Featured Ride” post than I’ve done in the past, but it’s a real treat nonetheless; a fan of my blog on Facebook, who goes by BIBENDUM on the web, posted pictures of his B5 RS4 Avants (the silver and red ones in this post), as well as other cool Audis he’s come across in his days (the orange, yellow and black ones), and I wanted to share them here. He’s had the fortune of owning several B5 RS4s in his life, and even gotten some quality track time in each. To say I’m super jealous is an understatement. The silver RS4 also has an MTM big brake kit and a set of track tires, which is what’s going on in the top picture if you were wondering!
If you are a reader/fan of this blog and have any cool pics you want featured here, drop me a line on Facebook – and thanks again to BIBENDUM/Lionel!
The B5 Audi RS4 Avant is one of the holy grails for Audi lovers. The OEM widebody work is just as stunning now as it was over 10 years ago when first introduced. The avant variant makes it even more special, as us Audi folks have always had a thing for our speed wagons…the red RS4 above was formerly BIBENDUM’s car before it was stolen out of his garage. I can’t imagine how painful it would have been to have such a beauty stolen, but luckily he was able to replace it with the Avus Silver one pictured at the top of this post (and several times again below).
The car was only sold in Europe, parts of Asia and some Latin American countries, but the body parts (and often, the entire cars themselves) have been imported to the States. Some folks have even gone as far as to retrofit the body work on a sedan, as evidenced by the fine example in orange you see above, featuring BBS CH wheels. While the paint color is loud, I’d rock that out in a heart beat…even better, it has a full roll cage:
Speaking of loud colors, here’s another B5 RS4 Avant he sent over, this time in yellow, prepped to be a safety car at a track in France:
If you haven’t had enough pictures of the RS4 yet (is there even such a thing?) then you are in luck, as BIBENDUM sent a few more for us to enjoy of his car. Thanks for the submissions, Lionel!
Thanks again for sharing, Lionel!
Is this the one from Layer Cake?
Nope, Layer Cake has a C5 RS6 Avant. Very close though…and I love that movie!
Is/were your s4/a4 lowered?
@Ilya – yes, both were. The A4 was on Koni Coilovers and my S4 is on STaSIS Ohlins SL coilovers. The Konis were great for daily driving but a little too soft for the track. The STaSIS are good all around but maybe a little rougher than the Konis for daily driving.
Toronto has crappy roads. How much rougher than standard were Koni coilovers on your a4? I have b7 avant.
@Ilya I thought the Konis were almost smoother than the stock “sport” suspension to be honest. They’d be a great choice if you’re concerned about ride quality…
Nice gallery!
Thanks Josh!
Im having a little argument with a friend, i was wondering if you can help since you know more about the b5 rs4s. How many b5 rs4s do you think are in the US?
Anton – that’s a really good question. If I had to guess – and this is only a guess – I’d say maybe a dozen at most of real-deal RS4s that were imported in to the United States. This article in Quattroworld (http://www.quattroholic.com/2011/01/rare-us-legal-b5-audi-rs4-avant-listed.html) says only 4 were imported, but I bet the number has grown since then…
If you were to consider B5 A4/S4s that have been converted to run RS4 body work there is probably another 25-50, but keep in mind that the body work involved in this change would set you back an easy $25-30k, so I would guess very, very few people have taken the plunge (I can think of several very fine examples however).
Thanks for the response. That is just about the number i had in mind. I own a b5 s4 and i did consider to do the rs4 widebody, but its my daily driver and i really dont know where to get the parts for cheap, because for that kind of money $25k, i would get a real rs4 shipped here. Again, thanks for your help!
Loved the pics!