Find of the Day: 2001 B5 S4/RS 4 Widebody Sedan

words: Bill Cho, photos: Craigslist and Andrew Armistead (owner extraordinaire)

Ok before y’all grab the torches and pitchforks, I know there wasn’t a B5 RS 4 sedan but hold on until you’ve read the details on this car.

I ran across this Craigslist ad and it intrigued me not only because it was an RS 4 clone but it had to have been the most detailed ad I’ve ever read. The list of what was done goes on and on…and on. I sent an email to a friend who sent an email to a friend and before I knew it, the owner called me.

Andrew Armistead is no ordinary Audi owner. His LinkedIn profile says it all: 25 Years in Racing, eight drivers, and five Manufacturer’s Championships doesn’t say nearly enough to understand Andrew’s insane commitment to detail. One look at the S4/RS 4 build list confirms this. Oh and he also developed the 1st R8 LMS car that came to the U.S.

He worked with Audi Club North America Executive Director, Paul Truess, at RealTime Racing. He currently works at Power-Technik Inc. as the Technical Director. Power-Technik designs and manufactures specific race parts for select car classes. So yeah, I think Andrew has the chops to build an RS 4 clone.

Back to the car. “Peaches” started life as a 2001 B5 S4 sedan. Andrew picked her up in Georgia (hence her name) in 2002 with 9,000 miles. He immediately went to Champion Racing and picked up a literal trailer full of parts to begin his build. He graciously sent me some additional photos and a build list . Shall I list it here?

Has original OE RS4 body parts, same as US S4 Competition that Champion raced. RS4 front bumper assembly with OE grills
RS4 Front fenders
RS4 Rocker panels
RS4 door sill covers
RS4 plastic wheel well liners
RS4 rear doors
RS4 rear 1/4 panels cut to fit
RS4 rear inner wheel housings
Modified rear bumper to match RS fender flare
Euro Trunk lid (wider, more flush license plate recess) BMW OE E46 M3 trunk spoiler lip
Champion Carbon B pillar covers
Polished Billet Aluminum mirrors (not covers)
RS4 badges + 3.0L T
BMW satellite radio “shark fin” roof antenna
RS4 fog lights
Fenders were professionally rolled tight prior to paint.

Spare:
US spec trunk lid with Factory DTM Carbon wing (as per Champion raced)

That’s only page one of eight! It’s way too much to list so I converted it to photos so you may see the details:

Andrew spent over 600 hours and an astonishing amount of money building Peaches. It’s faithfully built to look like the Champion Racing World Challenge GT S4 competition cars of the early 2000s and run like one also.

Why is he selling it? Well, life and new toys got in the way. Peaches has a little over 50,000 miles on her and he admits she doesn’t get driven enough. As with all proud dads, he wants to see her in the hands of a true enthusiast who can take her to the next stage in her life. Will you be worthy enough?

The Craiglist ad is here. Contact Andrew…he and Peaches are waiting for you.

Thank you, Will, for the heads up!