The latest Audi A4 is one of the best-looking cars on the road, and this custom widebody conversion just adds muscle to the panache. It's owned by a 22-year-old student at UCI (yeah, I know...) who bought the 1.8T quattro new. Prior to this, Kenny Hung owned a 325Ci that just had wheels, suspension and exhaust. And for a while, the Audi went down a similar route -- Tein springs, 18" BBS wheels and a Rieger RS4 body kit. And then he met the Europrojektz crew...
While Kenny was planning to use his car on the track, Europrojektz tempted him toward the show scene. So when he met Steve Lin from iForged Wheels, he was encouraged to fit a deep-dish wheel to the car. Out went the BBS and in came a set of 19x8.5" Seneka wheels with polished lips.
It appears this was one modification too many for Mr. Hung, who complained his son's car looked "too flashy" and asked Kenny to sell the A4. Ever the dutiful son, he stripped the parts off the car to sell them. However, his dad had a change of heart and allowed him to keep the A4. And that's when, in his own words, Kenny "decided to go crazier."
The car went back to M1 Autobody where the Rieger body kit had been fitted the first time. It was refitted, and Kenny started talking to David Lie and George Nogal about his ideas for the car. These involved giving the car flared fenders, so David and George came up with the design you see here. What's nice about it is that it incorporates the original Rieger body kit, but the front bumper, side skirts and rear valance have all been modified to blend into the new arches.The wheel arches themselves have been extended in metal and glass fiber to add approximately 2" to either side. The rubbing strips were also removed from the car's flanks and the channels filled. The other body mods were a Kamei grille in the VIS carbon hood and removal of the badges -- but the Audi rings remain on the trunk, and these were painted to match the wheel centers.
Speaking of paint, Kenny knew he wanted the car blue (rather than its original silver) but didn't know what sort of blue. So M1 presented him with a number of choices, including his eventual selection, House of Kolor Oriental Kandy Blue. I can't comment on how the car looks on the page because I obviously haven't seen it as I'm writing this, but in the flesh, the paint is glorious. It sings out under bright sunlight and there's a strong silver metallic in it that really shines.There are a few things I personally don't like to see on cars -- too many stickers, carbon hoods and black wheels. This is a generalization, and each can work under certain circumstances, but as a rule, they aren't for me. Fortunately, M1 toned down the contrast between the beautifully molded carbon hood and the bodywork by spraying a thin coat of Oriental Kandy over it. If we could just get rid of those stickers, this car has a real chance of looking its very best...Wide fenders require wide wheels and M1 passed on measurements to iForged. In turn, a set of deep-dish 20x9.5" Sprint wheels were constructed with anthracite centers, polished lips and an almost perfect offset for the car. Combined with Tein coilovers and 255/30 Conti tires, the Audi has a great stance.
Snuggling up to the front wheels are a set of StopTech's finest 13" rotors and four-piston calipers. The rear brakes will remain standard until the owner finds something suitable.The engine has benefited from a number of parts, including a Revo chip, a Eurocode front-mount intercooler and a custom exhaust and downpipe from ES Technical Roadsports.
Open the trunk and you're confronted by a pair of Nitrous Express bottles, which leads you to believe the car has some serious squirt. However, it's not a full injection system. Rather, it's NX's intercooler spraying system. Kenny is planning a big turbo upgrade in the near future. "Something bigger than a K04, though, because that'll only give me about 240hp. I'm looking for 300-350hp," he told us.
Apparently, the Eurocode intercooler works well. According to Kenny, "It takes away the summer lag and means the car is responsive, even on really hot days."Inside the car, Kenny replaced the front seats with a pair of Sparcos. But before they were installed, Kreative Interiors retrimmed the center panels in blue vinyl, and the rear seats to match. The airbag steering wheel was also replaced by a Momo on a quick-release hub.
Most of Kenny's effort has been focused on the center of the dash, starting up top with a trio of GReddy gauges for boost, oil pressure and oil temp. Underneath that, the factory head unit was removed in favor of a Clarion DVD/MP3/CD with a 7" monitor.
Below that is a new panel with toggle switches to arm the nitrous system, as well as an engine start button.The Clarion deck is the front-man for a neat ensemble of components installed by Serenity Sound & Performance, which include MB Quart components in the doors, as well as a pair of 12" subs behind the rear seats. Power comes from a couple of Arc Audio amps that are mounted on plexiglass boards in the trunk -- the 1500D powers both subs and the 4150 drives the components. The trunk itself has been lined with a carbon-look vinyl material to set off the Nitrous Express bottles perfectly.
In addition to the bigger turbo, Kenny plans to overhaul the trunk installation at some stage. He's also "thinking about a rear wing, but I think I like the way it looks now," he told us. And if our opinion is worth anything, this is one car where less is more. The bright paint, extra-low suspension and 20" multi-piece wheels already draw plenty of attention; a big wing is just going to upset the balance of a very impressive car.
With the polished wheels glinting in the sun and a deep bass note emanating from the exhaust, we reckon the car is just about perfect, and we're not alone in that opinion. Apparently, Kenny's been approached by the makers of a new Herbie film after they saw his car on moviecarz.com. So maybe we'll see this Audi on the big screen before long.