Albert Halim
'05 Audi A4 1.8T quattro Avant
Albert's 1.8T Avant is the wildest of the bunch. He currently co-owns The Wheel Supply in Walnut, CA. At TWS he spends most of his time building custom wheels and fine-tuning all types of cars, including his own Audi Avant and Porsche GT3. With its widebody conversion, enormous "dubs" and high-end stereo, Albert has built an unimaginable Avant for the street and show.
The project began when Albert imported rare Kerscher aerodynamics for his wagon. The bumpers and side skirts transformed the wagon's aesthetics into a menacing ghoul, with a large open-mouthed grin in the front and a sporty rear featuring dual exhaust openings. DTM Autohaus provided a boser carbon hood to complete the ruthless appearance.
At this stage, Albert felt his Avant wasn't quite unique enough. He wanted to blow people's minds even if they weren't European car enthusiasts. Autowerks Body & Paint in El Monte, CA answered the call by fabricating metal flares that are 1.5" wider front and rear. The fenders made ample room for the staggered "dubs" setup. Albert constructed his own wheels through his associates at DCR Forged. After experimenting to find the proper sizes, Albert concluded that 20x9" fronts and 20x11" rears would do the job. The enormous five-spoke wheels were finished with black chrome centers and chrome lips. Wrapped in Pirelli P Zero Nero tires, they measure 245/30 front and 285/25 rear.
The ludicrous wheels warranted stronger braking, so Albert fitted StopTech's big brake kits to satisfy the Avant's weakness.
To produce more ponies, Albert switched out the factory turbo with an ATP kit utilizing a Garret GT2871R turbo. With Bosch 440cc injectors installed, Revo and Eurocode Tuning programmed the ECU. Cooling the intake air heading into the turbo was a one-off front-mount intercooler fabricated by Evolution Racewerks from City of Industry, CA. Finally a custom exhaust was designed to match the Kerscher rear bumper.
With all the work done, we have to admit we were drooling when Albert pulled up at our photo shoot. Peering inside, the saliva continued to flow when we saw the Recaro SRD seats and panels were reupholstered in elegant red leather. Looking up at the roof, we caught sight of the suede headliner.
Complementing the interior was a unique audio system. Albert admitted he's always been a stereo junkie and he planned the sound to be better than most home theaters. A rare Panasonic vacuum-tube CD player gleams from the console. The head unit has old-fashioned VU meters instead of digital displays. Mounted on the dash are two Swans ribbon-tweeters with integrated mid-bass drivers. On the doors are Premier 6.75" mid-bass speakers and the rear doors house Vifa tweeters and 6.5" mid-bass. The sub-bass is mastered by two 10" Focal subs in the trunk. The rear also houses three JL amps decorating the rear enclosure. Finally, an Image Dynamics equalizer adjusts the settings accordingly to Albert's personal taste.
Albert lives and breathes wild European cars. His Avant is proof he and his shop will go the extra mile to build cars beyond the norm. Stay tuned for more projects from TWS.