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Federalized 2001 Audi RS 4 Avant Proves That Wagons Can Be Cool

Founded in 1983 as quattro GmbH, Audi Sport GmbH gave us the first RS-branded Audi in 1994 in the guise of the RS 2 Avant. And just like that, Audi - with a little bit of help from Porsche - made wagons very cool as increasingly more people were abandoning them for utility vehicles.
Federalized 2001 Audi RS 4 Avant 23 photos
Photo: Cars & Bids
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The Nogaro Blue-painted Audi RS 4 Avant we’re covering today also happens to be as cool as they come, more so because it’s considered the Holy Grail sports wagon of this era. Originally sold in France back in 2001, then imported to Japan, chassis number WUAZZZ8DZ1N902000 found its way to the United States where it’s been federalized to meet safety standards.

Still equipped with metric gauges for the instrument cluster, the corner-carving family car indicates merely 52,724 miles (84,851 kilometers) on the digital odometer. That’s nothing for the 2.7-liter V6 bi-turbo engine, which is connected to a proper manual transmission instead of a torque-converter automatic or a double-clutch box. The long-roofed model also flaunts the original 18-inch wheels, roof rails, fog lights, carbon-fiber interior trim, heated and power-adjustable bucket seats, Bose audio, and cassette player.

Modified with Aragosta coilovers and a ZEES EX.SYSTEM cat-back exhaust, the car is offered on Cars & Bids with service records that detail most of the maintenance and repairs performed since March 2002. Prior to the sale, the owner has replaced the coolant tank, thermostat, water pump, and timing belt in September 2021 at 52,589 miles (84,634 kilometers).

Originally rated at 375 horsepower and 325 pound-feet (440 Nm) of torque at 6,000 revolutions per minute, the RS 4 Avant features permanent all-wheel drive. The quattro system makes use of a Torsen T-1 ATB center differential with a 50:50 default bias whereas the final drive ratio is 4.111.

With six days of bidding left, this bad boy is now rocking a high bid of $56k. Whoever ends up buying the car will have to address the Michelin rubber shoes, first and foremost, because their date codes all read 2016.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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