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RS2 6 years on
 Now
that the brilliant RS4 has finally taken to
British roads, how does the original Audi RS
shape up to it's spiritual successor?
We drive the
legendry RS2 and find out what owning a 6 year
old example is like.
Back in 1993, when Audi
and Porsche first got together to develop the RS2
Avant, estate cars were a very different form of
transport. The thought of Volvos, Labradors and
antique dealers were readily conjured up.
However, those clever Porsche chaps set about to
change all that. Their collaboration with Audi
spawned a whole family of super load luggers from
other manufacturers, but none came close to the
RS2's raw appeal.
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 Essentially, the RS2 was
a limited edition model based on the S2 Avant
body and mechanicals, at that time the fastest
Audi in production with an impressive 230BHP from
it's 5 cylinder engine. The Porsche team's brief
was to increase that power by at least 30% with
handling, braking and styling to match. The body
shell and other Audi components were sent to the
Stuttgart factory where the Porsche team set
about creating their monster. Firstly, to
increase the power of Audi's bullet proof turbo 5
pot required a massive increase in the air flow
and so Porsche cast a new front bumper with huge
air dams to drive that air to the turbo charger.
The intercooler, pipes and the turbo charger
itself were changed for larger specimens to cope
with that extra air. Other major modifications
included a revised exhaust camshaft and manifold
and larger bore exhaust system with metal
catalysts. The injection and cooling system were
also enlarged to cope with the extra muscle. In
short, Porsche's brief was to make it bigger. It
certainly worked. Power up by a whopping 37% to
315BHP with maximum torque of 3021b at 3000 rpm,
an increase of 17%. That power was applied
through the standard Audi quattro system and 6
speed gearbox, the only modification was to
strengthen the gear cogs. Traction control was
already an Audi standard at that time, using
their familiar torson centre diff to regulate
slip by transferring power between front and rear
wheels. Once that power could be applied to the
tarmac, it became a handling and braking issue.
The already sporty S2 suspension was not
considered man enough for this level of power and
was stiffened using modified dampers and anti
roll bars. Finally, massive Porsche brakes
completed the picture. Only 180 RS2s were ever produced
for the UK market making this model extremely
rare.
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