The moment an old 5-cylinder snarls to life, the air crackles – and suddenly you’re not driving, you’re time-travelling. The Audi RS2 Avant drips nostalgia. It has turbo boost and Porsche character in spades. But how did the famous two letters come to life? Well, like all perfect things, it was with the help of Porsche. Much to the dismay of avid Audi fanboys, the RS brand is one with a deep story and with a helping hand from Stuttgart. In return, they gifted the world a rare and utterly spectacular wagon which started it all, the RS2, and I managed to drive one.
Audi’s 80s exploits are a story told time and time again. It showed the world the power of AWD in the dirt with its fire-breathing Quattro monster. Group B rally racing was hot, and the Quattro was a hit overnight, setting the benchmark for all-wheel-drive performance. But 1986 proved to be a devastating year for rally fans, as Group B was scrapped due to its dangerous, boundary-pushing nature. It didn’t really come as a shock, especially for the Audi team, after the devastating events that played out at the 1986 Portuguese Rally. They went from a brand famous for its brutal machines dressed in yellow and white to a company that doesn’t even make a sportscar. It didn’t look good until the S2 arrived.
As the 90s crept in, Audi itched to return to the performance scene, but not the messy kind. It needed a vehicle that was both practical and usable, while also serving as a successor to the Quattro. Audi felt left out as its German compatriots were dominating the roads with new performance badges, like the M and AMG. The S2 arrived, and to little surprise, it gunned for BMW and Mercedes. Only this wasn’t an earth-tearing rally rocket like the Quatro but more civil in nature. It proved to be a weapon on the highway, yet it didn’t have the crowd-rattling roar of the rally-bred specimen of old.
Yet it had a few familiar rallying traits. A turbocharged 2.2-litre inline-5 with permanent quattro AWD, it was a familiar formula, only one destined for the road, but they wanted something more. More mad, more aggressive, something just different. Audi approached Porsche due to a lack of expertise in producing physics-defining road cars, and Porsche, at the time, could use some financial assistance. Only Porsche didn’t want to outperform their own crazy models, so it was agreed. They would combine forces to create an unassuming monster out of the B4 Audi 80 Avant.
No, this wasn’t the first performance wagon of its time. In fact, Volvo beat them to the punch by a year with the 240 Turbo. But Porsche had a hand in this one. Starting with the exterior, Porsche designed the front and rear bumpers to give it a sportier look. The mirrors were found in a Porsche 911 parts bin. The wheels, Carrera Cup, the front indicator and fog lights, as well as the full-width rear light bar and reflector panel – you guessed it, 911. But it keeps going. The Brembo brakes were worked by Porsche with Porsche branding. Porsche even lowered the body and flared the fenders.
So it certainly looks the part, but that’s just aesthetics since under the bonnet it received a similar treatment. A larger KKK K24 turbocharger was fitted that pushed 1.4 bar with a bigger intercooler and bigger injectors. To help the engine breathe better, a new induction system was added along with a better exhaust, and to top it off, an uprated ECU was used to make it all communicate. Once they were finished, they had upped the power output from 164kW in the S2 to 235kW. To handle it all, they added an electronically locking rear diff to the quattro AWD system that could be manually engaged. It did a 0-100km/h time of 4.8 seconds, which is brutal even by today’s standards, and its top speed of 260km/h made it the fastest production wagon ever.
Enough of the nitty-gritty, does it still awaken awe in the here and now? Hubert is as petrolhead as they come with a keen eye for detail. For him the RS2 is purity at its finest, and his unit is exquisite, with just the right amount of road rash to show that it’s not a garage queen. It is the epitome of the legend, with almost everything in an original state. Yes, this motor has seen some improvements with a Wagner RS2 intercooler, a Wagner turbo manifold, a slightly larger 76mm exhaust which provides the perfect amount of roar without overdoing it in the slightest, a Wagner ECU tune, and a KKK 26/27 hybrid turbo. Effectively it’s what Porsche would have done if they made this car half a decade later; only now it makes around 330kW and offers a tested top speed of 303km/h, which is utter madness. Especially considering the engine has never been opened.
Settling inside felt like stepping back in time. The authentic leather seats still have that whiff of a 90s German aroma, and the pressure gauges were poised perfectly in the centre of the console, hinting at the Porsche within. The old-school diff controls gave me a sense of rallying in my father’s day, and it was a place you could bask in. Only when it started did the gentle rock of a real 5-cylinder reveal this personality, one that was authentically and sensibly German, despite a turbo flutter that suggested otherwise.
On the road, I realised how far we have moved away from real, raw performance in the new age. It launched like a bat out of hell, without even a thought for losing traction. It glued to the road like it was on slicks, linearly forcing me into the leather and only giving me a break when it came to a gear change. It was exceptional and smooth. No odd rattles or vibrations, just G-force, turbo noise and exhaust wailing. Then you lift off, wait for the turbos to complete their fluttery orchestra, and then return to power.
But then came a corner. Hubert obviously knows his car much better than I do, as he loaded up the outside tyres with more confidence than I would in a new performance car. Again the RS2 provides no drama, no tyre screaming, just grip and poise. I was impressed, so impressed in fact that I still believe this was the greatest car I have ever experienced. It’s engineering at its finest, perfected by the best in the game.
I now understand why the RS brand came to be. With a start this perfect, how could you end there? The RS2 was the start of what we still gawk over 30 years later. It’s a good car, made into a great car, which was then further perfected. It’s an unassuming sleeper and one you can only truly comprehend by through actual, bum-in-seat experience. Nowadays, the Audi RS6 is the wagon to own because of its distinctive style and raw power, but I now know that its grandfather had the best story of all.
