Audi a4 Avant b7 accessories

Image: Performance Audi

Audi a4 Avant b7 accessories
The less-is-more approach may sound like a bit of a misnomer when you’re talking about a B7 RS4. After all, this is a car whereby the very concept of ‘more’ was presumably scrawled in huge red letters at the top of every flipchart throughout the entire design process. We’ve grown used to Avants with massive power these days as Audi has mastered and refined the craft to staggering effect, but it’s worth taking a step back and considering just how brilliantly ludicrous an idea it is to take a family estate car and shoehorn a 4.2-liter V8 under the bonnet. There’s absolutely no need for this car to exist, objectively at least, and that’s exactly why it does... and why it’s been winning hearts the world over for several model-generations. To enthusiasts who grew up playing Top Trumps in the school playground and marveling over the vital statistics of sports cars and supercars, the very idea of buying a sensible and practical automobile that also boasts those old-school supercar numbers is very attractive indeed. It’s a sports car that you can justify to your spouse as a level-headed Ikea express, and yet on the right road with the right hands on the wheel, a Ferrari F430 or what-have-you wouldn’t see which way you went.

With all this in mind, the less-is-more modifying angle actually makes perfect sense. Yes, you might argue that this particular RS4 is one of the less modified cars o feature in these pages, but the length of the spec list isn’t the point at all, it’s not a contest. Aside from the fact that the RS4 was built from the off by Audi to follow bonkers more-is-more protocols, Ian Wood’s approach with this fabulous Mugello Blue example has been to augment and accentuate rather than radically rework. After all, the meat of the good work’s already been done in factory-warranty spec, so the sensible thing here has been to artfully personalize instead of going back to the drawing board.

See, there we go throwing around the word ‘sensible’ again. This isn’t a sensible car. It’s a Quattro-toting brute packing 420bhp. So, let’s see just how this mighty bruiser fits into Ian’s lifestyle, shall we?
“For me the B7 RS4 was my dream car, ever since seeing Jeremy Clarkson driving one on Top Gear, racing against the free climbers,” he explains. “The idea of Audi fitting a family estate car with a V8 is madness, but amazing! It’s a very comfortable cruiser and a sports car in one.

“I’ve always modified all my cars and vans,” he continues, “right back to my first Dove Grey Mk3 Escort five-door 1.3L with XR3 alloys, bumpers, and spoilers in 1988! I then went on to various Mk3 and Mk4 Escort vans made to look like RS Turbos; today I’m running a 2013 VW Transporter T5 with 19” banded sheets of steel and air-ride as a works van.”

A strong precedent then, and of all the RS models it’s a great choice to opt for the B7; after all, if ever there can be said to be an underdog in this stellar model line, this is it. The original B5 RS4 had gone out of production in 2001, instantly becoming an icon as much for its abilities as the fact that it wasn’t replaced on the B6 platform. When the covers came off the B7 RS4 in 2006, it was welcomed by the faithful with open arms, employing the existing 4.2-liter V8 from the old B6 S4 but radically reimagining it with a reconfigured block, ba™  ed sump, bespoke VVT quad-cam setup and various other tricks to furnish it with a 0-62mph time of just 4.8-seconds. Much like the B5, the B7 only ran for two years, ensuring a frisson of obscurity in the annals of history; somewhat unexpectedly it was also offered as a saloon and a Cabrio, although Ian’s kept it old-school in opting for the wagon. Nobody does hot estates like Audi.

“After looking at Auto Trader and scouring the internet for ages trying to find the right car, I found this one for sale in Surrey,” says Ian. “It was the guy’s daily driver; he’d had it for two years and his boss owned it for five years before him. Mechanically it was 100% sound, and of course, it’s the best color! With good service history and a few of the common issues already sorted, it was definitely a good buy. The paintwork was showing signs of age, with a few scratches and loads of stone chips on the front end, but this has now been sorted thanks to Dave at Hybrid Paintworks – who’s turned out to be a great friend now.”

Image: Performance Audi

The interior was also not wearing its years particularly well, but Ian saw this as an opportunity rather than a point of concern, and his solution evolved into arguably the coolest part of the car so far. He took the RS4 down to B-Trim in Brimsdown, where they chewed over a few ideas and ended up retrimming the seats in sumptuous Rolls-Royce leather, the White Linen color beautifully complementing the carbon fiber seatbacks and interior accents. There are some tasteful custom tweaks in the retrim that only the fervent RS spotter would notice too, such as the fact that the RS4 seat logos are slightly smaller in B5 style, and joined by fitting Recaro emblems.

“One of the first things I did was to give it a decent dyno run,” Ian assures us, “followed by a proper carbon clean, another dyno run, then a map and final dyno to see the increase in power from stock. This was all done by Perfect Touch Performance in Waltham Abbey. It went from 370bhp, which isn’t bad for a standard setup, to 420bhp – which makes it drive like a totally different car!” Understandably so, that’s quite a percentage increase and put the Avant above the factory claimed.
Source: Performance Audi