In the end the complete RS4 bodywork, consisting of front fenders, front bumper, brushed aluminum mirrors, side skirts, rear doors and rear quarter panels, made the trip across the Atlantic to find their way onto Paul's silver '01 sedan. The standard hood was ditched in favor of a lightweight carbon fiber piece, which was color-matched rather than being left raw carbon.
The stock RS4 xenon headlamps, featuring clear corner markers and city lights replace the standard S4 headlights, while a pair of Supreme Power Parts foglights add to the illumination.
Extra power was a real concern as Paul decided the standard 375hp from the stock RS4 motor wasn't enough, and made some strategic upgrades before installing the mechanical parts into his freshly widened Audi.
"Champion Motorsports did a bottom end for me. I then installed Innovative K04/K16 hybrid turbos," Paul mentioned.
With upgraded rods and pistons inside the motor, Paul swapped the stock RS4 camshafts for a set from the naturally-aspirated 2.8 V6 sticks. These are perhaps an unusual choice, but one that paid off."I actually gained an extra 45hp over the stock cams," Paul enthused.
The vast majority of the remaining RS4 parts found their way under the hood as well, including both intercoolers, the fuel and ignition systems as well as the motor and transmission mounts. However, there were plenty of aftermarket parts as well, such as the 60 lb Siemens injectors, Evo Motorsport cold-air intake and custom 90mm MAF housing from Autospeed.
Paul was reluctant to rely on exhaust components off the shelf, so the civil engineer designed his own. "Normally I run all pipe - no mufflers, no resonators, nothing, just straight pipe all the way out. So this is my own downpipe and exhaust design," he said.
Working with Kooks Custom Headers, a local shop better known for drag racing and muscle cars, Paul came up with his requirements and owner George Kook finished them off.
Once everything was bolted together, Paul turned to Tony Chick at European Performance Labs to create a custom map for the tuned 30v V6. "I work on my motor and do everything myself, but I can't do the tuning," Paul said. However, Tony had no trouble producing a pump gas-friendly 25psi. With this boost, the freshly built RS4 lump made 478whp, enough to scoot the car to a respectable 11.33sec quarter-mile at 129mph, "with a full interior, and full stereo with the music going," Paul laughed.
To ensure the motor wouldn't end up as an expensive experiment in performance tuning, the self-confessed lead-foot installed an alcohol injection system for an extra margin of safety. "It's tapped into the intake manifold and is activated on boost. It has different boost settings and is more of a fail-safe. It pretty much cools down the entire engine very quickly, so we decided it was the way to go. I actually gained 10 or 15hp from it, which was an added bonus."
All the extra power is channeled through a stock RS4 six-speed transmission, running the stock clutch plus an AWE flywheel. "Surprisingly, the clutch has held up, but don't ask how it's survived," he said.