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BAGGED AUDI A4 B6: INTO THE RED

Scarlet style makes Adam Waggott’s 287bhp, bagged Audi A4 B6 an Audi like no other.

Fast Car magazine. Words: Emma Woodcock. Photos: Rich Pearce

Class. You know it when you see it. It can’t be measured like ride height or g-force but automotive elegance makes every journey special. Sometimes it’s the way a paint job works under every kind of light, or how a minor styling tweak lifts the best out of the bodywork. Maybe it’s the style of an interior that’s been tailored to the driver’s tastes. Or the way a perfect set of rims looks so right you can’t imagine the car rolling on anything else. For Adam Waggott and his bagged Audi A4 B6, class is all that and more. It’s how they stand out without compromises.

Coilovers and a set of BBS LM alloys kicked the build into action but it wasn’t long before the Audi got serious. Adam wanted to go lower and air ride was the answer. Working with a friend, he installed a full set of AirREX air springs, 12-level adjustablestruts and digital management in a single day. “It took us from eight in the morning till half seven that night but I was over the moon with it!” The fit was flawless and the Audi can lay frame at will.

Adam built up the bagged Audi A4 in JDM style and turned heads around the country, but winter 2019 came and it was time for a change. Faced with the cold, quiet months, Adam tore down the car to take it in another new direction. “I wanted to go really high end, with too much carbon and too much leather.” When lockdown hit and the show season disappeared, he went even further. The engine, running gear, sound system and paintwork have all been transformed. But it started with the interior.

The colour. That’s the first thing you notice because the rich red is everywhere, from the seats and steering wheel to the doorcards and rear bench. Chocolate brown flocking provides a counterpoint on the doortops and dashboard, creating a unique combination. The plastics have been swapped out too, Adam fitting C6 Carbon Reflex Red tinted carbon fibre in its place, and an Audi B7 RS4 donated the flat-bottomed steering wheel and front Recaro seats. Every memory of entry-level executive commuting has been banished, to the point that almost none of the original cabin remains.

Twin Rockford Fosgate twelve-inch subwoofers add equal might to the audio system, which also benefits from a Pioneer 1200 watt monoblock amplifier and a heavy duty four-gauge power cable. Vibe component speakers provide support and it’s all controlled by a Kenwood doubleDIN headunit. “I’ve always liked minimal audio builds in my earlier cars but I had to go all out on the Audi. I’m putting my twist on every part of the car.”

In sharp contrast, the bodywork received its most important alteration straight from Audi. Adam’s car is fitted with a full Votex bodykit, an official package that combines full-length sideskirts with a deeper front apron and redesigned rear bumper. It’s a rare package and one he’s only altered by smoothing the front assembly and teasing out the rear wheelarches. “The Audi already looks aggressive with this kit, so I didn’t want to do much to the outside.” A vanishingly uncommon JE Design rear window spoiler tightens the rear quarter even further.

Other styling modifications are subtle but effective, bringing the nineties Bauhaus look right up to date. Debadging declutters the shape, HEKO front wind deflectors add definition and a full set of front and rear DEPO LED lights brings the B6 in line with modern Audis. “They’ve got a slight tint to them which looks really 2020 and I love how all the lights cluster together at the back. It really works with the paint.” A full respray at PMC Paintworks ensures the Audi Misano Red has the intensity to match.

A gloss black roof breaks up the scarlet shade and keys in with a collection of race-ready exterior details. Adam has fitted a Maxton Design RS4 splitter to skim the road, while the door pillars and mirror base plates have been replaced with glittering red-weave carbon. It’s the same tinted material that upgrades the interior. “When the sun pops on the carbon it just looks absolutely insane,” Adam grins. A pair of Audi B7 RS4 door mirrors complete the conversion, replacing the chunky B6 generation items with a smoother, more aerodynamic shape. Adam loves their dual mounting points and chose them to stand out.

Get behind the Audi and there’s no missing the other twin-pronged modification – the four-inch exhaust finishers dominate the wide Votex rear bumper. Built by fabrication experts Read Performance, the rolled tips emulate the legendary Ford Sierra RS Cosworth and form the last stop on a custom three-inch system that starts with a decatted turbo downpipe. “The tips look so aggressive, they really make a statement. I don’t think I’ll ever change them.” There’s the sound to match the looks too. “You can drive it quietly but, really, it’s loud. When the turbo comes in the noise is immense.”

The exhaust improves airflow with the help of a Ramair induction kit and a larger, eight blade K03s turbocharger to give the Audi serious power. Combined with Audi S3 fuel injectors and an Ozmo Motorsport ECU software calibration, it’s enough to push power up by almost 100 horsepower. The standard 1.8T produces 188bhp and Adam’s car puts down 287bhp. “It’s not about going fast with this car but I still want it to be nippy and reliable!” Engine trouble almost brought the build to a halt in 2020, when the cambelt snapped. Adam’s friends convinced him to keep going and – with the help of Josh at ICON Automotive – he’s rebuilt the motor to be stronger than ever before.

More mechanical heartache was in store when Adam went to fit a set of Porsche Cayenne Z18 brakes. The upsized calipers bolted to the front hubs without issue but the rear end was nothing but trouble. “We bolted the backs into place with adapter plates and only then – at half nine that night – did we find out my current wheels didn’t clear the brakes.” A set of 30mm spacers got the alloys spinning freely but pushed the tyres way outside the arches, so Adam started hunting for a set of adjustable camber arms. 034Motorsport parts provided the solution.

The handbrake provided yet more strife. Audi built the A4 with a self-adjusting emergency brake mechanism and it just wouldn’t function with the manually-adjusted Wilwood replacement caliper. “It was a nightmare of little changes and new cables just to get it working,” says Adam. After all the heartache, the A4 finally rolled back onto the road on a set of 19-inch Ispiri FFP1 Carbon Grey alloys. “They’re the best wheel I’ve had to date. I always try to do something different and a mesh design really suits the B6.”

Now the brakes are mounted and working, the Acid Green calipers form an integral part of a three-hue colour scheme. Adam has painted the rear show rollcage in the same vibrant hue and – when fitted – it gives the Audi an unmissable side profile. “I went one step further with the cage and the feedback has been insane. Red, black and green. It all flows now.” The bagged Audi A4 has only made it to two shows in 2020 but the high class aesthetic has gained recognition at both, with a show and shine win at 24/7 Modified UK and best interior at a TUCKED Automotive Meet & Eat. You can’t buy class but you can sure as hell build it.

Tech Spec: Bagged Audi A4 B6

Styling:

Audi Votex full bodykit, JE Designs rear window spoiler, Maxton Design Audi RS4 front splitter, Audi B7 RS4 wing mirrors in gloss black, smoothed front bumper, PMC Paintworks full respray in Misano Red with gloss black roof, DEPO front and rear LED light conversion, HEKO wind deflectors, C6 Carbon Reflex Red tinted carbon fibre mirror base plates and door pillars, carbon fibre engine cover, scuttle panel, ECU cover, battery cover and bonnet strut

Tuning:

Audi 1.8-litre turbocharged inline-four with Ramair induction kit, K03s turbocharger, decat, Read Performance three-inch custom exhaust with twin four-inch rolled finishers, Ozmo Motorsport
ECU calibration

Chassis:

Ispiri FFP1 alloys in Carbon Grey, 8.5×19-inch front and 9.5×19-inch rear, 235/35×19 tyres throughout, AirREX air ride conversion with AirREX struts and management system, Porsche Cayenne Z18 brake calipers throughout, 380mm brake discs front, Wilwood handbrake caliper

Interior:

Marana Upholstery custom retrim in quilted red leather, brown flocked dashboard, glovebox and doortops, black flocked centre console, Audi B7 RS4 steering wheel, Audi B7 RS4 Recaro front seats, Audi RS4 headlining and pillar covering, C6 Carbon Reflex Red tinted carbon fibre front seat backs, pillar covers, steering wheel, rear view mirror and armrest, rear show rollcage in Porsche Acid Green

Audio:

Kenwood doubleDIN headunit with Vibe component speakers, Pioneer 1200 watt monoblock amplifier, Rockford Fosgate twin 12-inch subwoofers, four-gauge power cable

Source

June 15, 2021
SAPPHIRE COSWORTH: GONE IN 10 SECONDS

This stunning Sapphire Cosworth is unlike any other, thanks to a homebuilt 764bhp YB engine and a sequential gearbox that help it cover the quarter mile in just 10.3 seconds…

Feature from Fast Ford. Words: Simon Holmes. Photos: Matt Woods

Over the years, it’s fair to say we’ve seen plenty of well modified Cosworths pass through Fast Ford pages. Both heavily fettled track cars with race specifications, or full road cars hiding huge power have become fairly regular, which is no bad thing. But of all the massively modified YB powered Fords we’ve featured, we don’t think we’ve ever come across something quite like Jon Gamble’s Sierra Sapphire Cosworth 4×4.

For a start, it’s putting out a serious 764bhp, thanks to hefty sized, twin-scroll BorgWarner turbo producing 2.5bar of boost. It then sends all that horsepower through a trick six-speed sequential gearbox and down to the Tarmac via a set of stunning centre-lock wheels that look they’ve come straight off a RS500 touring car. That little lot alone is enough to firmly place this Sapphire Cosworth ahead of virtually any other of its kind, but then there’s the fact it also happens to be a true road car, with a full interior and tyres to prove it. Yet this tidy Sapphire covers the quarter mile in a blistering 10.3 seconds and, perhaps most impressively of all, was largely built by Jon at home in the garage.

Only a handful of fast Fords, let alone Sierras of this type have ever been able to boast those sort of credentials, as it takes a serious amount of time, money and effort to create what is quite simply one of the best Sierra Sapphires we’ve seen.

The journey to bring the car to this level wasn’t short or easy either, as Jon explains to us that he has owned the car for some 14 years. He originally bought it as a toy, for use as a hobby in his spare time, back when the Cosworth was the best choice for modifying, long before the Focus ST and RS models became so popular.

Jon sourced the car from Ebay and when he first got hold of it, it was completely standard.

“Apart from a set of alloys and 360bhp chip,” he recalls. “I didn’t really have any real plans for it back then exactly, it just grew as I went along.”

The first modifications on the Sapphire Cosworth came in the shape of a Spec-R intercooler and a twin-scroll BorgWarner turbo set up from Nortech Performance, both of which are companies Jon has formed trust in over the years thanks to their good reputations. For most other things, Jon works on the car himself where possible, which explains how and why the Sierra began to develop quickly into a very serious machine. This evolution was further helped by his interest in drag racing, which developed around 8 years ago.

“It began with ‘Run What You Brung’ events with my sons and has become more serious since then,” he reveals. “My aim became to make it the fastest Sierra on the quarter mile, but I still wanted to keep it street legal and useable.”

Sure enough, Jon used to drive the car to Santa Pod, before racing it and then bravely driving home again, but as the power and performance rose, the odd breakage did occur. In fact, it was when the build reached a very respectable 521bhp and the gearbox blew that Jon admitted that he should start trailering the car to events if it was going to be driven hard. It was also at that point Jon became more serious in bettering his times, and the build promptly grew from there.

In 2019, Jon took a huge step up when he built the new engine in his garage at home, which featured some serious components, such as a steel crank, linered block and a tasty ported head, which helped it produce a colossal 707bhp on pump fuel and 764bhp, together with 604lb.ft of torque, on more potent 110RON race fuel.

To go with all that the new found power was the heavily uprated transmission Jon had selected to replace his last broken gearbox. It was not only better suited to the job but also improved the car’s performance on the strip, thanks to lightning fast gear changes.

“I went to a sequential gearbox when Oppliger Motorsport brought out a new six-speed that fitted in the old MT75 casing,” recalls Jon. “It also meant I could flat shift when racing and the gearbox made the single most amount of difference to the way the car drove.”

As four-wheel drive Cosworths are prone to weak drivetrains, both the front and rear differentials have also been beefed up to suit using Quaife items and so far proven reliable despite the numerous hard launches at Santa Pod.

At this point, despite the huge performance, the car had always retained a standard look, with the bodywork complimented only by a set of understated Compomotive wheels finished in black. But that look changed more recently when Jon opted to mix things up a bit and fit those awesome centre-lock split rims. It was an inspired choice.

“I don’t know of, or have ever seen, any RS500 touring car replica wheels on a Sapphire Cosworth, so thought why not!” he tells. “The wheels are made up by MT Motorsport, who made the centres and uses genuine BBS inner and outer rims. They’re wrapped in 215/45/17 Toyo R888R tyres all round.”

Although they’re wheels usually associated with track day cars, the polished lips and gold centres suit the car well and those in the know realise they’re a serious bit of kit, which is perfectly in keeping with the car’s look.

But whilst there are subtle hints on the outside, the interior remains virtually completely standard with a full trim both front and back. However, There are a couple of tell-tales for eager-eyed Ford fans, such as the gauges, harnesses and that extended gear lever that hints there’s a special gearbox hiding beneath it.

Despite the huge power on tap and tasty transmission, Jon does still use the car on the road when he finds the time and isn’t at Santa Pod. Although the ballistic performance of a true 10-second street car does require a lot of respect and self control.

“I still take the car out to meets at Ace Cafe and to shows when I can, and had it on track at Ford Fair too. It’s a right handful!” he confirms. “I like the whole driving experience. It’s like riding a very fast motorbike in terms of speed and stopping distances.”

With a best time of 10.3 seconds at 141mph on road tyres so far, there’s certainly a lot more to be had from this Sierra just by swapping over to a set of drag radials, but Jon isn’t in a rush to make that move just yet, keen to keep it street legal. There are plans to improve the car further, with talk of a side exit exhaust system, lightweight body panels and an increase in power in order to see the quarter mile time fall. We’re guessing this will be one of those projects that continues to evolve, and we’re certainly looking forward to where it goes next.

Tech Spec: Modified Sierra Sapphire Cosworth 4×4

Engine:

YB 200 Ductile linered block, CP forged pistons, steel rods, Arrow steel crankshaft, ported head, uprated cams, adjustable pulleys, big wing sump, BorgWarner 91/80 EFR twin-scroll turbo, twin TiAL external wastegates, Nortech Performance twin-scroll tubular exhaust manifold and 3.5in exhaust system, Spec-R intercooler, rad and WRC style breather set up, Roose Motorsport silicone hoses, custom intake with K&N filter, Autronic SM4 ECU

Transmission:

Oppliger Motorsport six-speed sequential gearbox, Quaife front and rear diffs with 3.6:1 ratios, TTV twin-plate 230mm three-piece clutch kit

Suspension:

GAZ Gold coilovers, front compression struts, custom front strut brace, poly bushed

Brakes:

AP Racing four-pot calipers and 330mm discs at the front, standard calipers and 300mm discs at the rear

Wheels & Tyres:

BBS inner and outer split rims with MT Motorsport centres, 215/45/17 Toyo R888R tyres all round, MT Motorsport centre-lock hub adapters

Exterior:

Original Smokestone Blue paint, RS500 style front splitter, quick release front bumper on Aerocatches modified for airflow

Interior:

Original dark cloth trim, Willians four-point harnesses, Stack gauges, digital gear indicator

Source

June 10, 2021
MODIFIED TOYOTA MR2 MK2: GIANT KILLER

People used to joke that the MR2 was a ‘baby Ferrari’. But no-one’s laughing now, as Jamie Carter’s modified Toyota MR2 Mk2 pocket-rocket serves up some serious performance…

Fast Car magazine. Words: Dan Bevis. Photos: Jason Dodd

Sometimes we choose our project cars carefully; they might represent the realisation of a lifetime’s yearning, or a desire to revisit an old flame, or a deep-seated need to try something new. But sometimes, just sometimes, our project cars find us. And that’s precisely what happened for Jamie Carter with this tin-top modified Toyota MR2 Mk2. He wasn’t specifically looking for this type of car to become his next all-consuming obsession, but when he learned that the change in circumstances of a good friend meant that this retro Toyota may require saving, he saw little choice in the matter. He needed to make the car his.

“This car has quite a story behind it,” says Jamie. “About fifteen or sixteen years ago, it was carefully chosen and imported by my best friend who specifically wanted the tin-top version with low mileage. It was then parked up for approximately seven years after he moved to London; he subsequently returned and, after overhearing a conversation about him selling it to ‘get it gone’, I just couldn’t let that happen! I offered to help get the car running and tidy it up. He wasn’t interested, and following a chat about his current car at the time requiring some maintenance and modification work, we agreed that I would carry out that work in a trade-off for the MR2. The very next day I recovered the Toyota from his driveway…”

Modified Toyota MR2 Mk2: Toy–motor

And just like that, Jamie had a new project in his life.

Now, it’s worth pointing out that this fella had form in this particular arena. Indeed, he’s been a petrolhead right from the start; when he was growing up, cars were always the glue that bonded him, his brother and their dad together. “We were those kids that would spend our time cutting out pictures from magazines and putting them up on the bedroom walls,” he says. “Cars have always been a big part of my life.” So it was with some sense of inevitability that Jamie would end up working with cars every day, still having plenty of enthusiasm to spend his evenings and weekends spannering on his own projects – it’s an ingrained passion. And with a life spent observing automotive evolution and modding trends, he’s got a really keen sense of the offbeat, of how to build a car to be a little bit different.

“Coming up with ideas that I’m lucky enough to be able to fabricate myself makes all this possible,” he explains, very much a man with the skills to pay the bills. “I’ve worked on a lot of other project builds too, and these have made me lucky enough to be able to modify vehicles within my career. Building and running a business called RPM means that I’ve now carried out extensive modifications on a variety of cars – including turbo conversions for a Lexus IS200 and a Honda Civic, supercharging a BMW E46, and lots more besides. I’ve also had involvement in some very different builds such as modifying a Honda Accord diesel estate that our customer uses as a track car… not something you see every day!”

The scene was appropriately set for this MR2 to enter the fray then, and now that he’s owned it for around five years, it’s reached a really interesting point in its development. Project cars are never finished of course, that’s sort of the whole point, but its ready-for-2021 spec sees the Mister-Two combining the sweet spot of aesthetics and mechanicals in fine style.

So let’s rewind to that fateful day when Jamie was rescuing it from his buddy’s driveway and welcoming the MR2 into his life. “From that day I spent some time deciding on what I was actually going to do with an MR2 Turbo that didn’t run and was very pink and green in colour,” he recalls. “After several evenings of investigating the running issues, I thought I had finally cracked it. It turned out that I had… but only momentarily. I took the car for a test drive with the biggest smile on my face, until BANG! I blew it up. This quick ‘let’s get it running and tidy it up’ idea quite literally blew up on me! I was so annoyed that I removed the engine that very evening, ready for inspecting the damage. My friend and I to this day still have a giggle about it – I think his words were something along the lines of ‘I told you you didn’t want it!’”

Life’s all about playing the hand you’re dealt, and having diagnosed the head gasket as instrumental in the failure, the engine was stripped to remedy that – and, since he was in there, Jamie decided to upgrade a few things as he went. Might as well, right? Naturally that all escalated, it always does, and by the time he was done with the engine, the car was some way beyond ‘quick tidy up’ status. With the 3S-GTE packing Kings Racing bearings, hugely uprated fuelling, a CT26 hybrid turbo, bigger intercooler, stainless exhaust and a whole load more, it’s rocking to the tune of about 300bhp, which is so much more than factory it’s crazy. Inevitably, then, the rest of the car needed building to the same standard. That’s just common sense.

OK, it’s not just common sense, it’s also a hell of a lot of fun, and Jamie was keen as mustard to get stuck in. The chassis now runs Tein Flex Z coilovers along with the super-clever EDFC active damping and active GPS kit, and he’s also fitted a full Superpro polyurethane suspension kit, front and rear strut braces, and adjustable Superpro front and rear ARB linkages. To help rein in all the extra thrust, the front brakes have been swapped out for brawnier Nissan S14a items, complete with EBC discs for a Supra, YellowStuff pads and Goodridge braided lines. Interestingly, the Team Dynamics wheels are staggered in terms of diameter, being seventeens on the front and eighteens out back, and this visual drama serves to accentuate the thorough work Jamie’s put into making sure this MR2 creates a strong aesthetic impact. With Japanese cars of this era, it’s a real tuner arms race to cherry-pick all the coolest aftermarket options to create something unique, and this dude’s played a blinder: resplendent in a fresh coat of red, the racy little two-seater wears a Border front bumper, Tom’s sideskirts, smoothed Autopista rear bumper, and a TRD rear spoiler with its blade wrapped in carbon vinyl. You may also spot the kouki rear lights, smoked front lights, and custom sideskirt splitters.

Painting the way

“I carried out all of the work on the car myself,” says Jamie, “apart from the paintwork which was done by Tim Binks at RPM. The custom fabrications on this car are the type of thing that we at RPM are famous for – the front bumper splitter, the sideskirt splitters, it’s the custom fab work I’ve carried out which gives me the most satisfaction, because I can look at it and know that there isn’t another MR2 in the world with the same! And yes, there are some things I wish I’d done differently along the way, like the colour scheme within the engine bay, that could be a little more neutral. But that’s something I can revisit when I look at having a forged engine built. This to me is how you improve, how you grow, and how you really get things the way you want them. Modifying cars has no rights or wrongs; it is heavily influenced by people’s opinions of whether something looks right or not, but if you can execute the job to a high standard you’re already winning.”

Never a truer word spoken, and the extensive endeavours Jamie’s put into this little Toyota have pushed it way above and beyond almost every MR2 on the scene. The aim right from the start was to create a car that was subtle but had some attitude, and it’s safe to say this goal has been achieved. It’s just that, as is so often the case, things have gone way beyond anything that was originally intended. Which is true of most projects, it’s natural mission creep. We’re not suggesting that cars are sentient, but there must be a reason why this MR2 found Jamie – after all, he’s helped it to realise its potential like nobody else could.

Tech Spec: Modified Toyota MR2 Mk2

Styling:

Rosso Red paint, Border front bumper, Tom’s sideskirts, smoothed Autopista rear bumper, TRD rear spoiler (blade wrapped in carbon vinyl), RPM custom front splitter, RPM custom sideskirt splitters, black aluminium mesh grilles, kouki rear lights, smoked front lights, smoked side repeaters, Hella High-tone horns, LED sidelights and number plate lights, aerial delete

Tuning:

3S-GTE 2.0-litre, CT26 hybrid turbo – built by Turbo Dynamics, multi-layer steel head gasket, uprated intercooler with upgraded cooling fan (switched from inside car), upgraded aluminium radiator with twin fan setup, TVIS delete plate, D1 Spec adjustable fuel pressure regulator, RPM custom exhaust manifold heatshield, full stainless exhaust system, Walbro 255 fuel pump, lightweight crank pulley, lightweight Fidanza flywheel, Stage 1 Exedy racing clutch kit, Turbosmart compact BOV (recirc/atmospheric), Turbosmart dual-port manual boost controller (high/low boost settings switchable inside car), Millers Oils 10w/40 Nanodrive Technology, turbo timer, Omex rev limiter and launch control, enlarged throttle body intake, Samco silicone hose set, clear cam cover, Magnecor ignition leads, NGK Iridium Grade 7 spark plugs, Kings Racing engine bearings, RPM custom battery cover, battery voltage monitor, battery isolator switch, dyno setup by Lloyds Specialist Developments – running c.300bhp

Chassis:

17-inch (front) and 18-inch (rear) Team Dynamics 5-spoke wheels – painted by Lepsons in Medium Anthracite, TRD centre caps, Direnza 20mm rear wheel spacers, Toyo T1R tyres with sidewall stickers, Tein Flex Z coilovers, EDFC active damping, EDFC active GPS kit, full Superpro polyurethane suspension kit, front and rear strut braces, adjustable Superpro front and rear ARB linkages, Nissan S14a front calipers, UK-spec Toyota Supra EBC Black Edition front discs, Mazda RX-8 MTech Black Edition rear discs, EBC YellowStuff pads, Goodridge braided lines, DOT5.1 brake fluid

Interior:

Sparco Racing seats, MOMO steering wheel, D1 Spec quick-release steering wheel boss, short-shifter, Sparco aluminium pedals, RPM custom dials (designed and made by Chameleon LED), Defi gauges (boost, oil temp, oil pressure, monster tacho), AEM AFR gauge, 2x aircraft switches and launch button set into carbon panel, custom Bride doorcard infills, RPM build plaque, EDFC controller, D1 Spec gearknob, OMP Black Collection fire extinguisher, interior panels painted Land Rover Bonatti Grey, Pioneer touchscreen headunit, Alpine amp, Pioneer 10-inch sub, Pioneer 13mm door speakers

Source

June 9, 2021