Audi RS2 (1994): review, history, prices and specs

You’ll have been lucky if you’ve ever seen an Audi RS2 in the metal – just 180 right-hand-drive examples were built, and not all of those came to the UK. However, it was this rare, Porsche-developed model that laid out the blueprint for the much higher-volume RS4 and RS6 Avants we know today.

Fast estate cars were nothing new in 1994, but the RS2’s four-wheel drive and tractable turbocharged five-pot motor endowed it with easily accessible, all-conquering performance that – ironically – gave 911 drivers sweaty palms. Deploying 315bhp through its Torsen-based all-wheel-drive system, the RS2 stops the clock at 4.8sec in the sprint to 62mph and goes on to a 162mph top speed – faster than any other estate car at the time.

> Audi RS6 (C6, 2008 - 2010): a V10 family car with supercar power

The 2.2-litre engine was derived from that of the 80 Avant S2, with an uprated turbo, intercooler and injectors to increase power. The engine makes no attempt at masking its forced-induction, filling its lungs below 3500rpm before delivering the full whack of performance at around 4000rpm. It gives the driver something to think about on a testing road, but choose your gears wisely, pre-empt the onslaught of boost and the RS2 motors along very nicely.

Porsche may have had a hand in the RS2’s chassis set-up to make it handle like a sports car, but you wouldn’t know it from behind the wheel – very little feedback reaches your fingertips and it doesn’t mould to your driving like the best four-wheel-drive cars do. It resists understeer well, but it never shifts into a neutral balance or comes alive. That does mean that there are no surprises when you approach the limit, and the RS2 covers ground impressively quickly point-to-point. This, plus the car’s load-lugging ability, meant that in its heyday some were stolen to order to serve as getaway cars – not the most honourable accolade, admittedly, but confirmation of its talents nonetheless.

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What to pay

Today, time-warp right-hand-drive examples can fetch over £70,000, but be patient, watch the auction sites, and you could pick up a well-maintained sub-100,000-miler for as little as £33,000-36,000. If you can live with left-hand drive, there’s time and money to be saved by considering an import.

Like other Audis of the period the RS2 is robust. The cambelt needs changing at 80,000 miles and with regular servicing the engine shouldn’t cause any issues. Replacement brake components can be pricey (the system is borrowed from Porsche’s 968 Club Sport) and by now most RS2s will need a suspension refresh to restore their original handling and ride quality. Given that the model’s all-weather ability is key to its appeal, it’s likely that many will have been used during winter months, so check for excessive corrosion. Bubbling can appear on the rear quarter panels, and it’s worth checking the underbody too – if the rust is only surface level, it can be ground back and treated with an inhibitor.

What we thought

Looking around the car, I’m staggered once more by just how many bits are obviously from the Zuffenhausen toy cupboard. The first things that catch my eyes are the wing mirrors. Slightly too small for the car, their 911 shape acts like a catalyst, opening your eyes to all sorts of other Porsche parts. The front bumper, with its indicators and sidelights, is suddenly an obvious refugee, as are the five-spoke 17-inch Carrera Cup wheels, which have such a distinctive Porsche design. Look closer still and you see that the brake calipers actually spell it out for you with the seven white letters on a red background. The name is also there, in even smaller letters, on the badges on the front grille and the tailgate. Interestingly, this first Audi RS badge also separates the ‘R’ from the ‘S2’, denoting that this is very much the Renn version of Audi’s pre-existing S2 model. 

The lowlier model had 230bhp and 258lb ft, and although the same basic 20-valve in-line five-cylinder engine remained, Porsche badges greet you once more when you lift up the bonnet on the RS2. Hotter camshafts and a 30 per cent bigger KKK turbocharger puffing at 1.4bar (up from 1.1) were perhaps the biggest changes, although a new Bosch engine management system, new injectors, a more freely flowing exhaust manifold and a bigger intercooler all played their part too. The end result of all this fettling was that Michael Hölscher, who oversaw the project and would go on to work on the Carrera GT, exceeded the target set for him of a 30 per cent increase in power, the final figures reading 315bhp at 6500rpm and 302lb ft at 3000rpm.

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The now famous Nogaro Blue paint is distinctive but not lairy… unlike the blue Alcantara inside. Open the door and you are exposed to what can only be described as a very arresting interior. The options were full black Nappa leather with wood veneer, silver Alcantara with carbonfibre, or 'the blue'. Initially it’s overwhelming in its vibrancy, but look closer and there are some lovely details, such as the very subtle blue strands that run through the weave of the glossy carbonfibre.

As just 180 units of 2900 came with the wheel on the right-hand side, the RS2 is a rare beast. Incidentally, Audi originally intended to produce only 2200 RS2s, but such was the car’s popularity that it eventually increased that number by 700.

Get in and you find that the Recaro, with its very period rectangular headrest, is set a little high but clasps you reassuringly about the ribcage. Twist the key and the RS2 comes to life with a dry, high-pitched clearing of its throat before settling to a bassy but relatively demure idle. The wheel is quite an attractive airbag item but some of the early cars came with an even simpler looking Procon-Ten three-spoker (Procon-Ten was a cable-operated system that, in the event of a crash, pulled the steering wheel towards the dash while simultaneously tightening the seatbelts).

With plenty of room in the RS2 there’s no need to banish photographer Aston Parrott to a separate car, so he piles his camera equipment into the boot and we head off onto the Derbyshire roads. We’re heading for the highways and byways around Chatsworth because I rather like the idea of one great rallying estate hosting another. The RS2’s cabin feels wonderfully light and airy as we reach the nearby moorland. All-round visibility would hardly be better if we were in the top of a lighthouse. As we pass the majestic west façade of Chatsworth House, viewed across impeccable rolling parkland that is kept trim by a herd of wandering sheep, I’m sorely tempted to just fulfil all my Quattro-based RAC Rally fantasies and dive off onto the grass to create a special stage between the trees, just as they did in the ’80s.

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I’m conscious, however, that despite it being 20 years since the RS2 came to the UK, this car is barely run in. As a result I take it quietly for the first few miles, warming fluids through thoroughly, stretching things gradually and gently, like a runner going for a tentative first jog a few days after a marathon. The gearshift is certainly happy not to be rushed. The lever springs easily out of gear, giving it an initially very light action, but then you need to pause very slightly before pushing very deliberately through some resistance in order to slot it into the next ratio.

The ride is interesting. A firmness over smaller bumps is immediately apparent and quite surprising for a car of this vintage. However, just as you’re getting accustomed to this and thinking it’s all going to be tightly controlled, a bend in the road pops up and reveals a goodly amount of body roll. The steering is relatively weighty, although it does lighten up a bit when you push on. Sadly, feel is noticeable only by its absence.

We find a set of tightish corners and I go back and forth enthusiastically a few times while Aston wields his Nikon. The RS2’s grip really does feel unimpeachable even under fairly severe provocation with the throttle. It’s not a total understeer-fest as Audi-haters might have you believe, but equally it doesn’t feel like you’d ever get the car into that perfect window of mild-oversteer balance that the best four-wheel-drive performance cars excel at. Things might be different if the surface was wet or if you could throw a lot more speed at it on a circuit, but on a dry road the RS2 and its Torsen-based quattro system is dogged in its security. This actually becomes hugely impressive through faster corners, the whole car leaning more than expected but also displaying a tenacity that is bewildering given the tyres it’s on. Did I not mention the tyres? They’re Dunlop SP Sport 8000s in a 245/40 R17 fitment. Perhaps I should have added the word ‘original’ to that last sentence. Yes, these are the tyres that the car was delivered on. Understandable really – it would have been a pretty good effort to wear through them in 1200 miles…

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On the transmission tunnel is something that looks like it might enliven proceedings. On a graph-paper grid is drawn what even I can recognise as a pair of connected axles, with the word ‘Diff’ on the button below. Press it and you engage an electronic diff lock on the rear axle. However, before you get too excited, you are only meant to engage it at a standstill when you have found yourself in particularly slimy, sludgy, sandy or snowy conditions and might otherwise struggle to get moving. Trundle along above 15mph and the lock will automatically disengage.

There really isn’t much going on low down in the 2.2-litre engine’s rev range. It’s perfectly smooth and tractable; you just don’t go anywhere very quickly. The party starts to get going when someone brings the fruit punch out at 3000rpm. It’s still not in full swing, but things are hotting up by 3500rpm when the emergency vodka stash is discovered. By 4000rpm everything is in total carpet-replacement territory. In other words, the RS2 has a very old-school turbocharged power delivery, and that certainly makes it exciting.

You may recall the Autocar & Motor coverline that proclaimed ‘Quicker than a McLaren’ above a picture of a blue RS2 oversteering slightly (they had to resort to gravel to induce some attitude). A delve into the story revealed that the headline wasn’t exactly misleading, but Woking certainly wouldn’t have lost any sleep over the figures either. The RS2 recorded a 0-30mph time of 1.5sec compared to the F1’s 1.7, but that was the only winning increment. Still, mighty impressive. As was the 0-60mph time of 4.8sec, which made the RS2 faster than every contemporary Porsche bar the Turbo. Interestingly, the official time of 5.4sec was conveniently slower than every contemporary Porsche…

The idea of winding this particular RS2 up to about 4500rpm (I’m guessing, but you get a feel for these things) and sidestepping the clutch to get a 0-60mph time is not appealing. Nonetheless, the in-gear performance is easily extracted and feels wonderfully strong. Third and fourth gears are where the engine seems to do its best work too, the forced-induction surge lasting long enough to impress and be enjoyed. Interestingly, it’s not until relatively high in the rev range that warbling vestiges of Audi’s distinctive five-cylinder soundtrack really come alive.

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The hugely long travel of the throttle pedal takes some getting used to. Most modern cars seem to require only the first third of the available travel to extract all their performance, but even by 1995 standards the RS2 requires a remarkably full extension of the right leg to wring the last from the engine. When you do reach the carpet, however, you feel very committed to the formidable acceleration you’ve summoned up.

As we pass the fluoro-and-blue decals of a police car heading in the opposite direction, I’m reminded that the RS2 was apparently a favourite of the criminal underworld. Nick Mason’s car was pinched and used in an armed robbery, for example. It makes perfect sense really – lots of room for swag and more than enough poke to have a good go at outrunning the cops. Undesirables also purloined Dario Franchitti’s RS2, but his was put to use in a ram-raid on a jeweller’s. I like to think that they had actually only intended to use it as a getaway car, but got caught napping when it came on boost and piled into the shop by mistake.

When I hand the RS2 back at the end of the day (thankfully without having, inadvertently or otherwise, rammed any buildings) I feel hugely privileged to have added a not insignificant percentage to this car’s total mileage. But as it is loaded back onto its transporter to head home I’m juggling slightly mixed feelings about the car. The RS2 is very desirable and very cool, but there are no two ways about it: it’s just not quite as satisfying to drive as that P1 moniker and the Porsche badges would lead you to hope. Every one of the RS2’s progeny, as we must surely view all RS4s, is better to drive. And yet I still love this very first RS. It oozes exclusivity and instils a lust in people that very few cars, and even fewer estates, ever have. For that reason it will always remain a legend. – Henry Catchpole 

Audi RS2 specs