Somehow I've found me slimyself trading cars for a few daze, my //S8 for another //Scar - seems fair and otherwise insignificant but...
...the trade is for a 1997 //S6Plus Avant - *the* only one in North America no less. Trade for a few? If you insist...
Being the first product of Audi's newly formed special interests arm Quattro GmbH, the //S6Plus is not insignificant. While an //S4 4.2 Avant had been produced since the car's debut in the early '90s, a Plus it was not with a 'mere' 290 neigh. While 290 'there' came @ 5800, 326 'here' wails out @ 6500. And although Mr. Torquey remains even @ 295 for each, the Plus twists it up for your amusement by 3500 vs. 4k. Produced for '97 only and effectively that chassis' Swan Song, 952 were assembled - 855 being Avants - and a total of 0 imported to North America.
After 5yrs & 80k in my former 22psi'd 6spd'd urS6, I'd garnered some steeped opinion on the mythos of 'this' car from the enthusiasts circles...
"It's just a C4 with a V8"
"So what"
...all resounded true - yep sure did
Until... that is... I racked me some WOT time in it. Muwhahahaaa. JNR.
Here's a case where the whole is _entirely_ greater than the sum of the parts. It just is. One plus one equals 3 see. Mmmya.
That svelte and now stalwart 4.2L motor completes the C4 chassis. Especially being an Avant - the balance is just 'there'. The color combo here - stellar and quintessential - silver over black gut with alcantara inserts and door cards, carbon fiber trim. The wheels - fook I like those! They really look kinda lame in pics, until they spoke to me the other night - freakin' gnarly lip'd awesomely spoked units with new 255 Pilot Sports - I likey. Threetwentysix horse - pulls 7k+ redline with aplomb. It's verymuch like a chipped i5t - results are the same just acheived through differing methods. It sorta sounds like a badass schoolbus @ the drags - if that makes any sense… and somehow that turns out to be good thing. Snicketysnick shifter is very unAudi in shortness, crispness, and weight, and grabs each gear with reward. All 6 gears summon Groundhog Day deja vu powerband, with 3-6 being particularly giddy. The Rancho suspension while appearing maybe somewhat too high (tho not nearly as abysmal as a regular //Scar) is a great match to the power / chassis / experience. The HP2 brakes surprsingly have decent feel and arrest quite effectively without the expected dive. Fender flair lip extensions front and rear - neato. Height adjustable Xenon lights... circa 1997??? Schwing! All the blacked out trim - against the silver / black gut… just spectacular.
Again, each item = so the F what. Stir them together and stand before it? I wouldn't change a thing. Nope. Not one. It's bonestock and it's downright cool. And there's certainly some goofy mystique factor having the only one 'here'. Entirely likeable entirely appealing.
My time exploiting its merrits and vetting the mythos ended and had me returning home in Alumibitch pondering the blur of what just happened. Some daze, I find myself pinching my arm or thigh just in case. This was one of those daze.
Should you be entranced by the Siren Song of that Bitchgoddess Quattro and have interest in seeingtouchingfeeling Her firsthand, find Her joining us @ //SFest www.sfest.com 8/29 here in sunny CT...