words: Ray Reyes, photos: Tanner Bischofberger
Editor’s Note: This article originally ran in the Q3_2023 issue of quattro Magazine. If you would like to subscribe to quattro Magazine, please join Audi Club here.
For every car enthusiast, there’s usually a source of inspiration they might point to who ignited the passion. Most will tell you that it runs in the family, or it started with their dad, uncle or mother. For Alessandra Rambo, it was none of those. She is the first car enthusiast in her family because no one in her generation had the car bug. At 27 years old, Alessandra is the proud owner of a Merlin Purple 2011 Audi S4 sedan. Powered by the 3.0-liter supercharged V6, this generation of Audi has earned a lot of praise for its performance and styling cues. Even better, she built it herself.
Raised on a farm in New York and a self-described loner at a young age, Alessandra was just 18 when she purchased her first car in 2014. As she recalls, no one in her school was really into cars. If anything, they drove tractors or pickup trucks to school. “When you live in the sticks, it’s hard to find someone who is interested in cars,” she says.
There were other kids here or there that had nice cars, but she didn’t know them and they certainly didn’t know her future Audi ambitions. Aly, as some of her friends call her, used her own money plus a little help from her parents to get that first car – a VW Jetta.
It was the hunt for this car on forums and on Craigslist that got her hooked on the car hobby. One thing led to another and she began to attend car meets. For Alessandra, meeting other car enthusiasts was fun and fueled her addiction even more.
Out of school, career work provided more resources, so she upgraded to a black 2011 Audi S4 sedan she found at a used car lot.She’d been wanting an S4 for a while, so you could call it a career opportunity. Armed with new experiences from working at a car dealership and with a growing list of car enthusiast friends, she became inspired to really make the S4 her own.
Her car didn’t stay black for long. She’d fallen in love with Audi exclusive Merlin Purple (code LZ3W), and a trip to the paint booth managed a full color change. On the outside she added 19-inch Audi ‘rotor’ wheels from an S5. A carbon fiber rear diffuser, carbon spoiler and a lot more to come for this car girl. Fueled on, she added more upgrades, intake, exhaust and coils. She also located a complete Audi exclusive ‘panda’ interior swap from a later B8.5 S4 with half silver Alcantara seats that included door cards.
“In the kitchen, playing Pokémon, modding cars or at work is where you will find me,” says Aly. You’ll also find her at car events. And, while it’s doubtful you’ll find another Merlin Purple B8 S4 around, you can verify it’s hers when you see the “1 of 1 made by Aly” window sticker.
