1999 Audi A4
Audi Most project cars with more than 190,000 miles on the odometer are busted and beaten. But Mike Huff's '99 Audi A4 1.8T is an anomaly. His menacing Audi racked up 19k miles a year on its 110-mile round trip to work each day. But despite the long process of building his A4, Mike has finally completed what is surely one of the most memorable Audi show cars in the Pacific Northwest.
Project cars are in Mike's blood, "ever since I was 16 and everybody else was excited about getting their license, I was excited about putting stuff on my car," he began. "The Audi is just one of 13 project cars I've built, from Japanese to Euro. I even dabbled in American cars back in the day."
Thirteen projects is a lot to grasp but Mike's completed some impressive transformations, such as a Mitsubishi Evo 4 and a Silvia S14 conversion. "I usually jump between Japanese and Euros," he continued. "I love both. Right now, I'm building a VIP-style Infinity Q45."
In 2001, Mike sold the Evo 4 and picked up a used Audi after borrowing a friend's A4. Like most enthusiasts, he wanted it simple at first. "When I bought the Audi I went for wheels and exhaust. I didn't want to go past that but things spiraled out of control."
It got out of control to the point where this Audi is Mike's most extravagant project to date, but he credited Team Menace for pushing him with the car. "I changed or added something every year," Mike explained. "In fact, it's now on the fifth transformation."
The most dramatic element of Mike's A4 is its blatantly intimidating appearance. It started with the widebody fenders, which give the car its wide, aggressive stance. Team Prototype in San Diego constructed the fenders for Mike from fiberglass. The buff arches are 3" wider on each corner. "I just wanted it more aggressive than the OE RS4," he said.
The front and rear bumpers needed to complement the theme, so Mike fitted Uberhaus RSR parts from the Rieger RS4 bumpers that didn't flow as well with the stretched arches.
You've probably noticed the abundance of carbon weave as well. "I like carbon," he asserted. "It's nice on a dark car, as long as it doesn't overpower everything else." So the A4 sports a composite bser hood, door mirrors, roof and trunk spoilers, front splitter and door pillar covers.
Before Mike was done, he convinced himself to repaint the A4 but kept close to stock. "The car was Volcano black and I didn't want to go too far from it, so chose Black Cherry pearl, which turns into a deep plum color in sunlight," he said.
Brembo big brakes up front ensured that his high-mileage A4 could stop on the dime. While a set of staggered 19" iForged Aero wheels filled the blistered fenders. Interestingly, they're Mike's fourth set of wheels and were originally silver but were later powdercoated black to look more anti-social.
Mike knew he needed to back up the menacing ambience with a solid performance package. At first, he flashed GIAC software but more upgrades would follow, eventually rebuilding the 1.8T with a new block, valves and anything to extend engine life after its high-mileage use.
He was then able to source a hybrid RS4 turbo which, "is basically a milled-down K03 turbo," he explained. "It uses a bigger turbine wheel in a small housing to spool quicker." The new turbo, along with high-flow injectors, MTM downpipe, Techtonics cat and Borla exhaust, is claimed to produce 280hp.
Mike installed a Forge Motorsport front-mount intercooler and blow-off valve plus Samco boost hoses to guarantee the new turbo setup would operate without any problems.
Suede upholstery, carbon trim,...
Suede upholstery, carbon trim, gauges and Momo accessories personalize the interior
The stock transmission wasn't engineered to cope with such power, so Level Ten built a custom five-speed automatic tranny rated to 600hp. According to Mike, it shifts quicker and harder than the OE box.
The performance upgrades were completed with H&R coilovers and sway bars to keep the chassis planted on the pavement.