Audi A6
In our list of sexy European performance cars to own before we're too old to care, the '06 Audi A6 Avant quattro 3.0 TDI isn't in the top half. To be honest, it's not even in the bottom half, but we didn't want to hurt the owner's feelings. So when we received an email about such a vehicle we were lukewarm. But cover me in honey and call me Susan because this Avant has plenty of surprises, not least its cargo hold with a carbon fiber stereo install and custom exterior work boasting a unique front-end.
The wagon belongs to 27-year-old René Hansen from Klågerup, Sweden. Born in Denmark, he crossed the Öresund Bridge over the Baltic Seas from Copenhagen to Malmö in Sweden and settled nearby. His company supplies the region with wheels and premium styling, and the Audi is the latest rolling demonstration of what's possible from his company, cartrends.dk
Cargo bay is stunning, clad in carbon, with 22" screen in backrest and huge Focal monobloc
Although he often works on Bentleys and Porsches, René found himself without a project car and began eyeing the A6 TDI on his driveway. Doing some research, he couldn't find any body kit he liked, so used a little ingenuity. The front bumper, for example, is from an S6 and if you think the lip looks familiar, that's because it's a Votex part molded with pieces from the rear bumper of a Toyota Sportsvan. The front-end also got a custom böser look to cover handmade headlights. The latter are René's speciality, taking the inner elements of some Audi S5 Bi-Xenon headlights and building them into the original housings. He then painted the reflectors black and matched the LEDs to the S6 LED foglights in the bumper.
The side skirts are from a European VW Touran, which is a mini-MPV. For that reason, he extended them 5.5" and sculpted them to the body. The imposing rear bumper was built with two Audi A6 rear bumpers and more parts from a Toyota Sportsvan.
Having created his unique mixture, the car was painted Lamborghini Deep black with three coats of clear in the middle of '08. It had a terrifying presence; lowered to the ground like a stalking predator.
Focal component speakers on the alcantara-covered A-pillars
At his first car show, two days after it was finished - the Vallåkra-meet in southern Sweden - he took Best Audi. This was followed by Street Xtreme at the Street Xtreme Festival and first place in in the New Styling Car class at the renowned Bilsport Performance & Custom Show.
Despite the accolades, the car was disassembled because René wasn't completely satisfied with it. A botched polishing job gave him the excuse to convince his girlfriend Camilla he should repaint the car.
Of course, he planned a complete makeover, and Lamborghini pearl white with a satin clearcoat would stand out from the crowd. "I wanted to do something different and although I had considered a flat-black roof, I skipped it because everybody does that," René explained.
Taking the family on vacation to Poland for a few days, he had the car painted and drove the 600 miles home. "People stared when the car was black, but now it's white they stare even more," he laughed. "It's the first of my paint jobs my girlfriend Camilla likes and she wants our Touareg in the same color."
Leather and interior trim from Audi S6 and RS6
Another very important element of the A6 is its stance. It began with a suspension system from German Airride Systems (GAS) using Koni dampers, three-gallon chrome tank, Viair 460C chrome air compressor and a remote control.
The next step was wheels and René chose 22x8.5" Asanti AF150 three-piece wheels with custom paint - the manufacturer wanted $2500 for the paint, so René did it himself. Despite this, the wheels cost more than $10k, and then you have to add the 235/30 R22 Pirelli P Zero Nero tires and the extra locking bolts you need!
Lamborghini genes were always part of the project, and the white eight-piston calipers on the A6 are from a Lamborghini Gallardo with 365mm discs. Unfortunately, the rear brakes are stock, but the owner plans to upgrade to RS6 parts with a solution for an electronic handbrake.