words: George Achorn, photos: Gene Pascua
Editor’s note: This article originally ran in the Q3_2020 issue of quattro Magazine. If you would like to subscribe to quattro Magazine, join Audi Club here.
Let’s face it; the working end of the daily driver concept isn’t always pretty. Crossovers have become more and more of the norm, and when you have to contend with family needs or snarled NorCal traffic then the likes of something ending up with something taller or with one of those HOV-lane electric decals on the rear bumper (on the paint no less!) is probably a given. Well… unless you’re the creator of Audizine.
Okay, to be fair, Anthony Marino had dipped his toe into the SUV waters. An SQ5 and later Porsche Macan GTS were admirable crossovers to consider of course, but there’s no replacing the beauty or handling appeal of something lower-to-the-ground, or with a sloped silhouette. When the latest A7 was announced, Marino was quick to place his order with local dealer Audi Marin. Three months later, he took delivery.
Given it was one of the earlier A7s to show up Stateside, it was already a pretty solid spec. Daytona Grey is a longtime RS-car color, though without more aggressive Black Optics because it frankly had yet to be offered. That’s fine. Anthony is no newb to making an Audi his own so his first stop was his go-to tint shop, A Shade Darker in Santa Rosa, CA for a layer of gloss black vinyl on anything chrome. Given Anthony and his A7 are California natives, he also went with a 35% tint for the windows.
For a lower stance, Anthony went with H&R Sport Springs, paired off of course with a new set of wheels. Marino has run any number of sets of wheels on the car since owning it, but his favorite are definitely the Brixton Forged RF10s you see here. They’re 21×10-inch, finished in satin black, and shod with a set of Michelin Pilot Super Sports in 285 30 21 sizing.
Anthony has always been a fan of the subtler OEM+ style of modding, so it’s fortuitous that he’s also tight with Alexander over at Europrice. Over the years, Anthony’s been able to source any number of rare and unique European parts from them, and for the A7, it was no different. The two dove deep into the parts catalogue and found simple touches like a nicer covered flip-up center console cupholder, rear diffusor, and – a must have – European spec headlight housings. The latter is a popular choice as you can nix the US-specific amber markers for a monochromatic look. This A7 was one of the first North American A7s Europrice had fitted with the “E-code” headlights, so it was a bit of a guinea pig to get all of the computer chips and LEDS to operate correctly. Finally, the car also got a rear diffusor from a European market S7 TDI long before any S7 ever landed in the USA.
Anthony shares that this is what has been done “so far”. As you might expect for someone so entrenched in the Audi enthusiast community, the art of the daily driver is never really done… at least until the next daily driver pops up. Until then, he’d like to consider an exhaust or an ECU tune, though he has yet to find any off-the-shelf components for the A7 just yet. Even still, you know he’ll be watching Audizine, so when someone does come up with one, he’ll likely know before anyone else.
