Seasoned modifier Aaron McMahon has a new ride on the scene – a tuned Audi RS5. Resplendent in Military Green, it’s already torn down to Austria and blown Wörthersee apart, and now it’s on the hunt for fresh conquests…

Feature taken from Performance Audi. Words Dan Bevis Photos Mike Crawat

Some people have a natural affinity for modifying. We’re all into it, that goes without saying, but there’s a certain rarefied strand of DNA that exists within a chosen few individuals which means that they’ve got a good eye for a quality mod, the tenacity to carry it through to completion, and the eagerness to keep pushing on past what other people might see as perfection and a job done.

In the case of Aaron McMahon, this all manifests itself within the new-wave VAG stable; this Belfast-based enthusiast already has a string This one, however, is the big one. The crowning glory of his automotive adventures thus far, the RS5 is a mighty base to begin with when you’re tackling a project. After all, it’s a pretty bloody incredible thing in standard factory spec: you get a 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 kicking out 444bhp, an 8-speed ZF ’box mated to the revered quattro system, and a frankly unnecessary 174mph speed limiter, which is surely just Audi themselves showing off. All the RS options are in place, from the sporty diff to the tuned suspension, plus there’s the option of Dynamic Ride Control and oodles of carbon fibre bits… how can this possibly be improved upon?

Ah, but Aaron has form here. He’s been doing this stuff since day one. “I’ve always had a passion for cars and modifying, from a very young age,” he assures us. “When I was sixteen I got my first car, a SEAT Léon which I slightly modified, and this was followed by a Mk5 Golf which was the car that introduced me to air-ride! Having sold both of these I upgraded to a Volkswagen CC, which ended up on 20” Rotiform splits and a full four-way hydraulic setup as well as a bunch of other custom mods. I attended a couple of indoor shows with the CC, but at this stage I was still only new to the whole modifying world…”

He was certainly building a head of steam though, there’s no denying that. Next in Aaron’s constantly shifting crosshairs was a brand new Mk7 Golf R; he was only planning a few minor mods to begin with, but we all know how that goes… fast-forward a couple of weeks and it was already exponentially changing; in the end, it was wearing a full C7 RS6 front brake setup with huge 395mm waved discs, along with 365mm RS7 waved rears. Also involved were a set of 20” Signature three-piece wheels, H&R Ultra Low coilovers, full custom retrim, a whole world of carbon fibre, and the thick end of 400bhp. So you’re starting to get an idea of Aaron’s modus operandi, right? This dude goes in all-guns-blazing, no half measures, and gets the job done.

“I just love the idea of completely revamping cars into something custom,” he grins. “After visiting and enjoying many shows in the Mk7 R, including Wörthersee, I decided it was again time to upgrade. There’d been another few cars on my mind, like an F80 M3, but after seeing the B9 RS5 I just fell in love with the shape! I started inquiring at the local Audi garage – Belfast Audi – and, after deciding on the full spec I wanted, I placed the order. I’ll be honest, it was the longest wait of my life – but it was well worth it.”

The spec he’s gone for is really quite impressive; as well as ticking the box for the Dynamic Ride Control, this RS5 is packing about £15k of factory options, including the full interior and exterior carbon fibre packs. An incredible package… but of course, this was just the beginning for Aaron. A man clearly unafraid of cocking a snook at his warranty in favour of killing the scene with yet another big-spec build.

“Again, much like with the Golf, my initial plan was to just do a few minor mods, nothing too crazy,” he says, fooling precisely no-one. “However, I was soon approached by Plush Automotive, who were interested in developing an air-ride system for the new RS5 platform and wanted to use my car as a prototype.” This was rather an involved process, as you’d expect of a fresh system being developed for a new-to-market car, and the RS5 ended up being over in England for around five months as the setup was finessed. What resulted was an air install featuring custom Bilstein shocks, AccuAir e-Level management, and integration of the Dynamic Ride Control system, which gets the car sitting pretty as well as working hand-in-hand with Audi’s own tech.

“The mods didn’t stop here,” he smirks. Of course not. By this point, we wouldn’t expect anything less. “I bought a set of 21” Rotiform OZT three-piece wheels, and had them rebuilt with all new barrels and hardware and refinished by the famous Wheel Unique – the best company about. I also added a custom valved cat-back exhaust system to really help that V6 find its voice.” Following this, Aaron turned his attention to the exterior; while the OEM carbon pack added plenty of accents in the lightweight weave, he wanted more – so into the mix were stirred a carbon front grille, ducktail spoiler, rear diffuser extensions, side extensions with spats, and a front splitter (which has now been smashed to bits on the autobahn – collateral damage, it’s all just battle scars). The clever Matrix LED headlights were also gutted by EM Tuning and de-chromed, then modded to incorporate changeable demon eyes and DRLs.

“These lights attract serious attention,” he says. “And as if the Nardo Grey paint I’d specced wasn’t cool enough, I decided to change it up again, bite the bullet and get a full wrap in 3M Matte Military Green. I’m extremely happy with the colour choice, and the quality of the work completed by VSM Graphics is top class! It’s my favourite mod on the whole car.”

It certainly takes a lot of chutzpah to go balls-to-the-wall on a brand new, high-end ride. But we’re now well aware that Aaron is very much of the mindset that you only live once, life is for living, and the brief flicker of time we have on this earth is way too short to drive boring cars. And we also know that he doesn’t just build his hot VAG to look pretty, he’s got high-octane fuel in his blood and there’s a reason for all this horsepower. Besides, the natural home for an RS Audi is on a derestricted section of the autobahn, isn’t it? Road trips are baked right into cars like this.

“I drove the Audi down to Wörthersee 2019, and to be honest with the standard of cars out there I was shocked at the amount of heads it turned – it was a big hit,” he smiles. This is testament to his vision as much as the quality of the build; the second-gen RS5 still isn’t a particularly common sight on the road, let alone one that’s been so extravagantly reimagined. “I have a few further mods planned for the car, including more graphics, more carbon, and some engine mods, but other than that I just plan to enjoy it from now on.”

You can read the subtext there, naturally. The enjoyment here comes as much from the modifying as the driving. And when this stuff’s in your blood, when you’re naturally compelled to do it by forces far stronger than logic or reason, there’s really only two ways this will go: reinvention, or rebirth. Either way, Aaron’s someone we ought to be keeping an eye on.

TECH SPEC TUNED AUDI RS5

Engine & transmission:
EA839 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6, custom valved cat-back exhaust system, ZF 8-speed auto, quattro.

Chassis:
21” Rotiform OZT three-piece wheels with textured black faces, wet gloss lips and black chrome hardware, 265/20 Michelin Pilot Sport tyres, ABP (Air By Plush) suspension with bespoke Bilstein shocks, AccuAir e-Level and DRC.

Exterior:
Wrapped in 3M Matte Military Green (original colour: Nardo Grey), black decals and badges, carbon fibre front grille, custom carbon front splitter, side extensions with spats, rear diffuser add-ons and ducktail spoiler, OEM exterior carbon pack option, Matrix headlights de-chromed inside – customised with changeable demon eyes and DRLs.

Interior:
OEM interior carbon pack option, steering wheel finished in carbon and Alcantara with red stitching, carbon seat side inserts, red seatbelts, custom Plush boot build.

Welcome to this week’s FC Throwback, where we take a look back at some of our favourite previous feature cars. This week it’s David Brodie’s tuned Ford Sierra Cosworth from 2014…

Feature taken from Fast Car magazine. Words Dan Williamson Photos Michael Whitestone

When you’re an ex-BTCC racer who also happens to run one of the most respected tuning firms in the UK, your own track toy is going to be something rather special… “This is the fastest saloon car in England, possibly even Europe” a bold statement like this should really be backed up by hard facts, indisputable proof and a solid competition pedigree.

So it’s perhaps a good job that the man making these spirited claims is veteran race ace, David Brodie (AKA Brode) – a motorsport legend with almost 50 years in the bucket seat, 800 races under his overalls, innumerable wins, and a history of driving RS500 touring cars in the days when BTCC stood for ‘bloody terrific car control’.

Not only that, but Brode established renowned tuning firm BBR (Brodie Brittain Racing – one of the premier Cosworth modifiers), and reckons he’s tweaked a huge amount of cars since 1982.

The bewinged, big-arched, badass beast on these pages was developed and built by Brode over the last 20-or-so years. It’s his personal track toy, it’s pretty much his pride and joy, and it’s the pinnacle of his Sierra development. What more could you ask for? “We refurbished the Sapphire two years ago,” says Brode. “I was sick of these smart-arses in Cosworths talking big. I thought I’d show them how to do it.”

A circuit-scraping sports car built around a Ford body and floorpan, Brode’s Sapphire is still very much recognisable as an Eighties’ icon – albeit pumped up into a muscular motorsport machine. The fibreglass wheelarches house massive magnesium BBS split-rims, half the suspension is scratch-built, and under the bonnet sits 568bhp of mighty YB grunt. “The car was £130,000 to £150,000 to build back then – we don’t muck about – and in today’s money would be a quarter of a million quid,” explains Brode.

A dry sump system means the YB sits scraping the floor (for a lower centre of gravity), there’s a modified T4 turbo, fabricated tuned-length manifold, straight-through 4in stainless system, separate coil packs, secret-spec American injectors, hand-made BBR inlet and Secan intercooler. “It’s designed for fighter planes,” says Brode, “and it’s small but incredibly efficient. The intercooler core alone was £4300 when we bought it in the mid-90s…

This is probably the best Cosworth engine ever built. It revs to 9500rpm, and we measured 568bhp,” smiles Brode. So you’d expect this thing to be rapid, but even seasoned racer Brode was blown away by its staggering performance, “I don’t use full power on the straights because it would spin the wheels, and I reckon it will be four or five seconds a lap faster than my black RS500 – and nothing can live with that. It would slaughter a modern BTCC car,” he smiles.

“It’s the best rear-wheel drive saloon car in England. It’s the fastest thing I’ve ever driven.” A bold statement, but then that’s Brode all over – a big personality and a truly awesome car.

TECH SPEC SIERRA COSWORTH

tuning
Ford Cosworth YB 1993cc four-cylinder with new Cosworth block, silent block rubber mounted to chassis, lightened crank, steel rods, BBR high-compression forged pistons, dry sump system, ported big-valve doweled cylinder head, special cams, solid tappets, hand-made BBR inlet, modified T4 turbo, tuned-length manifold, 4in stainless straight-through exhaust system, Secan 14x12in intercooler, quad coil packs, Pectel ECU, secret-spec American injectors, 600bhp fuel system, BBR breather system, BBR water system with swirl pots, propshaft-driven alternator, rear-wheel drive with Hewland six-speed gearbox, hydraulic AP Racing paddle clutch, custom balanced two-piece propshaft, Ford 9.5in differential, 4:1 final drive ratio, custom heat-treated driveshafts

chassis
Bilstein coilovers, custom BBR cast aluminium uprights, hubs and rear ladder wishbones, AP Racing 356mm discs and 6-pot calipers front, twin-caliper front mountings, 300mm rear discs, BBS magnesium centre-lock split-rims, 10×18 front and 12x18in rear, Dunlop race slicks

exterior
Seam-welded Sierra Sapphire bodyshell with original floorpan, foam-filled cavities, rear doors welded shut and blended to bodywork, extended Cosworth bumpers, wide fibreglass wheel arches blended into wings, fibreglass vented bonnet, blade rear wing on alloy struts, polycarbonate windows

interior
Stripped interior, single race seat, repositioned steering column, custom roll cage with suspension mountings, mid-mounted battery and rubber fuel cell, Premier fuel system in luggage compartment

thanks
Neil McKay at BBR GTi 01280 700700, www.davidbrodie.co.uk

Chris Wiles has always been a Fiesta man at heart. And after his first trip to the Nürburgring in 2015, he knew that he had to build a tuned Fiesta ST Mk6 capable of taking on the iconic circuit…

Feature taken from Fast Ford magazine. Words: Dan Bevis. Photos: Apex Media

The Nürburgring really has shaped how I’ve built the car, and the goals I’ve set out to achieve,” Chris Wiles tells us as he clambers out of his Bride seat. “I’ve fallen in love with the place – so much so that I just had to come back to Germany for this photoshoot!”

It’s fair to say that the fabled Green Hell holds a special place in his affections, as indeed do Mk6 Fiestas. Ever since his parents bought a shiny new ST150 when he was 15, Chris has had a bit of a thing for them – and as you can see by the example spread before you here, this obsession has risen to fever pitch. Having reached driving age, then racked up a couple of years’ no-claims on a classic Mini (which he also restored and sold for a healthy profit, as you do), he found himself in a position to buy and insure his first fast Ford: “Being 19, I wanted as much poke as I could afford to insure, and quotes coming back on the ST150 were reasonable…” Decision made, then. So, he bought one – a Colorado Red one, just like his parents had. It needed a bit of cosmetic tidying, which Chris took care of – and that’s when the modifying bug bit. Coilovers swiftly followed, and a de-cat Piper exhaust, Focus brakes, the interior was stripped, and soon enough he was bitten by a second and equally aggressive mite: the track day bug. “I took it to Bedford Autodrome and gave it a beating – it was faultless all day long, and I fell for track days in a big way,” he beams. “As time passed I had the itch for something else, and a friend had a Nissan S14A that he was looking to sell, and I couldn’t resist…”

This, it transpired, was a mistake. Selling the Fiesta and finding himself in a race-spec RWD missile, Chris soon discovered that the Nissan was highly-strung and not all that reliable; it was swallowing cash at a rapid rate, and he decided to make the move back into a Mk6 Fiesta. So the S14 was sold, and that very same day he bought a mint MR200-spec Performance Blue dripping in mountune goodies, which he fitted BC Racing coilovers to along with the Bride seats from his Nissan. And then, exactly one month later, he crashed it.

Back to the drawing board, then. “I didn’t know what to do with the car at the time, but I knew I needed to make my money back,” Chris recalls. “I decided to break it for parts; I sold a lot and only had a few bits left over, the engine, inlet, gearbox and some odd parts. At this time, I thought my Mk6 track-toy dream was over.”

But fate has a way of surprising us, and it turned out that the dream was only just beginning. A friend, Dan Franklin, also had a track-prepped MR200 and happened to be thinking of selling – so they made a deal, Chris flogged a few more parts to afford it, and he snapped the car up. ‘Lesson learned,’ he thought to himself, ‘don’t mess this up’. Little did he know what sort of adventure was about to unfold!

Having bought it as a turnkey track-car with no plans to change anything, Chris actually started mucking about with it right away, swapping in the Brides and the BCs and fitting 15in Pro Race rims. It stood up well to track abuse, and before long he and some mates had booked a road-trip to the Nürburgring. “It was a proper petrolhead pilgrimage,” he beams. “Things were perfect, the weather was blistering, all of our cars were running sweet, and we set out on our first ever lap of the Nordschleife. Immediately I was hooked; I couldn’t get over the elevation changes, blind corners and overall buzz around the ’Ring. I knew as soon as I completed my first BTG [Bridge-to-Gantry] I was addicted!”

On a high from the experience, Chris booked himself yet more track days back in the UK when – horror of horrors – he suffered catastrophic engine failure, with the bottom end totally seizing. Thankfully this didn’t happen on track, and with his friends rallying round, Chris had the engine from the old blue MR200 swapped in and he was back in business. Enthusiasm still pumping, he decided to devote the winter of 2015/16 to sorting the niggles that had been bugging him on track, the main one being traction – a 3J Driveline LSD was the answer, and Chris was suitably impressed: “I couldn’t believe how much difference the LSD had made,” he says. “The car was point-and-shoot when the power was applied, I had to completely re-learn how to drive it fast.” Swapping to Toyo R888s also made a difference here, and the 2016 track day season was all about growth and improvement – although the spectre of the Green Hell saw fit to strike on the group’s return journey to the ’Ring, with Chris’s driveshaft falling out of the gearbox 600 miles from home! The guys managed to bodge things back together and it seemed to be working OK around the GP circuit, although a horrendous knocking and rattling from the engine signalled that it was game over for track time. Chris managed to just about limp the car back to Blighty, whereupon local garage Beaniesport discovered that the engine had spun a shell and taken the crank with it.

“The car was with Beaniesport for three months while I sourced parts and the owner, Chris Noah, was working around other projects,” says Chris. “I decided this was the last time I was to suffer the dreaded Duratec bottom end rattle. I swapped out the standard shells and had ACL race bearings fitted along with King mains. I found a bargain on eBay as Lotus were selling a set of pistons, rods and rings for £30 out of a brand new engine. I also took this time to have the original gearbox refitted so I could sort the driveshaft issue once and for all.”

While the car was in the garage, Chris was busy shopping, getting himself an AP Racing big brake kit, new BC Racing coilovers and camber-adjustable top-mounts. He also specced a 6-point rollcage from GDF Steelworks, which was fabricated as soon as he got the functional Fiesta back. By this time it was winter again, track day season was over, so Chris rested the car for a bit.

…no, of course he didn’t. He fiddled with it some more, adding polybushes, an ARC Autosport sump baffle, a Whiteline rear ARB, and of course those AP Racing brakes. “Unfortunately my Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 wheels didn’t fit over the brakes,” he remembers. “However, I discovered that the Pro Race 1 has slightly bigger inner barrels, and I found a set for sale that would fit, and were also the perfect size and offset that I could lose the rear spacers and run wider rears – I never liked the idea of spacers on a track car.”

In the twinkling of an eye, it was time for the next annual pilgrimage to the Nürburgring and, with the new brakes, ’cage, ARB and sump baffle, Chris was more ready for hardcore BTGs than ever.

“The car was really coming together now,” he enthuses. “I completed a successful shakedown at Snetterton and Donnington Park before setting off for another Nürburgring trip. The Fiesta was even better than I’d expected, the fresh upgrades were all working together to create a really capable car. I had finally created the usable Clubsport ST I’d always wanted after visiting the ’Ring back in 2015. I got a relatively clear lap and managed to put in an 8m57s BTG, driving well within mine and the car’s limits. It was now really proving its capability.”

The three bugs that had nibbled their way into Chris’s brain, for modifying, track days, and the Nürburgring, continued to wreak their relentless havoc on his bank balance, with the ST endlessly being upgraded. Polycarbonate windows from Plastics4Performance found their way into stripped-out doors, and all the time he was wringing the Fiesta’s neck at Cadwell Park, Oulton Park… you name the circuit, he was there, giving his clubsport project hell.

“The Fiesta is now a usable, capable track car,” he smiles, with deserved satisfaction. “It can drive across Europe in relative comfort without being too loud, do strong and consistent BTGs, and then drive home again. This is what I’ve always set out to build and after a lot of time, money and effort – and a fair few setbacks – I’ve finally achieved my mountune MR200 Clubsport goal.”

Goodness knows Chris has worked hard to get to this point, and the gleaming results neatly mirror the pride he takes in this unique and deeply considered build. His personal-best BTG time, you ask? It’s currently 8m35s. But that only tells part of the story – this project is all about persistence, camaraderie, and an unwillingness to throw in the towel. Oh, and fun… first and foremost it’s about fun. You can tell from his smile that it’s all been worthwhile.

Tech Spec: Tuned Fiesta ST Mk6

ENGINE:

2.0-litre Duratec; mountune MR200 package; mountune 4-1 manifold; mountune sport cat; mountune cat-back; mountune cams; valve springs and retainers; mountune CAIS; mountune I4 inlet manifold; 60mm throttle body; remap; oil cooler; PAS cooler; PAS relocation kit; ARC Autosport sump baffle; air-con delete

POWER:

200bhp

TRANSMISSION IB5 gearbox; 3J Driveline plate LSD; mountune short-shift; TTV lightweight flywheel; Vibratechnics mounts

SUSPENSION:

BC Racing BR coilovers; OMP front strut brace; GDF Steelworks rear strut brace; polybushes front and rear; Whiteline rear anti-roll bar

BRAKES:

BG Developments AP Racing CP5200 4-pot front calipers with 315mm 2-piece discs; cooling ducts; Ferodo DS300 pads; Focus ST170 rear brake conversion with EBC YellowStuff pads; Goodridge braided lines all round; AP Racing R3 fluid

WHEELS & TYRES:

Track: 7x15in Team Dynamics Pro Race 1 (ET33 front; ET23 rear); 195/50 Toyo R888 tyres. Road: 7x16in Speedline Turini (ET43); Yokohama S-Drive tyres

EXTERIOR:

Plastics4Performance polycarbonate windows; Triple R Composites front splitter; rear diffuser and bonnet lip; carbon fibre mirror caps; matt black roof; Trackd sunstrip, bonnet raisers; front and rear grilles painted satin black; mountune Performance yellow side stripe

INTERIOR:

GDF Steelworks 6-point bolt-in rollcage; stripped rear; battery relocated; stereo/air-con delete; Bride Zeta 2/Artis bucket seats; OMP side mounts; OMP base plates; OMP 4-point harnesses; OMP Targa 330mm steering wheel; Trackcar doorcards