Technical Features
Project DIY RS4 (B5): Introduction
By by: JJ Larson, photos by author
Mar 28, 2007, 19:12

The original B5 RS4 is a captivating car for Audi enthusiasts. Considering it was the most advanced and hardcore of the B5 S4 line, combined with the fact that it was never sold in the North America, these cars carry plenty of cache amongst those looking to build the ultimate Audi. A few have built their own Avant and even sedan examples, and even fewer have tried to import the cars outright – a costly process on either count. Still, the most driven will find a way, so when one of the most driven approached us about building one of his own as the subject of a project series, it was simply an offer that was too good to pass up.

JJ Larson is not new to the modified German car scene. He was also a co-founder of the well-known and well-respected New York-based DubAudi Gruppe. As a talented graphic designer and with a high-profile wide-body Volkswagen Jetta as one of the better known car-building notches on his belt, JJ’s attention to detail is both evident and understood. Stepping up his game with an extensive Audi build seemed a natural.

The clean lines of the B5-series A4, S4 and RS4 Audis had always been attractive to JJ. Add in Ingolstadt’s potent 2.7T engine and quattro all-wheel drive and the choice was that much more obvious to him. Even better, the B5 S4 has become a relative performance bargain in the marketplace – something that would help make the initial investment more affordable, leaving more of the budget on the table for the build process.



Lusting most heavily for the B5 RS4 and no stranger to extensive builds, the focus for this project has been to make a wide-bodied RS 4 Avant from day one. Knowing the extent of what would need to be done, this opened up the doors for JJ to consider more than just the most pristine examples to be found in online classifieds.

Eventually, a subject was located – a low-mileage S4 Avant in white with problematic engine, though unfortunately also a Tiptronic transmission. While some might see this particular car as a basket case, this graphic designer saw it as a blank canvas. It was an opportunity to build the car from the ground up. Since the motor had to be removed and he didn’t want the existing color, the S4 Avant will be stripped down to a shell in order to build it just the way he wants.

Since purchasing the car, JJ has sourced the necessary manual transmission parts to convert the S4 from Tiptronic to manual gearbox. In addition, all RS4 body panels have been acquired.



Fourtitude has always wanted to do a B5-based project car, and we know we’re not alone in this. Building your own RS4, or converting your B5 from Tiptronic to manual are just two facets of this build we believe most of our staff and our readers are quite curious to watch and learn from. Knowing JJ Larson’s attention to detail and seeing his quite-qualified resume in the form of his previous wide-body Jetta leave us even more curious to see watch how this car will turn out.

Larson tells us to expect nearly weekly updates to the rapid-yet-extensive build process. He intends to largely complete the car by this summer. As you can see from photos, the car is already off to the body shop to begin its visual RS 4 conversion. Notes in blue tape all over the car show just how specific he is going to be with this car. Look forward to an update very shortly, as progress on the car continues as you read these words.

MORE INFORMATION:

Project DIY RS4 Main Page

For more discussion on this story, click on the link to our discussion forums to the left.	For more photos of the car in this story, click on the link to our gallery at the right.

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