3k: Ursprünglich Gangtsa: 1993 Audi Ur-S4

, , , 2

The C4 generation Audi S4 was the first car to wear the S4 badge and as such is commonly called the Ur-S4, Ur being short for Ursprünglich or original in German.  Audi was nipping at the heels of BMW and Mercedes in the sport/luxury sedan segment, and when introduced in 1991 the S4 added a well needed dose of fun to Audi’s lineup of dull and under-steer prone sedans.  Find this 1993 Audi Ur-S4 for sale in Valley Village, CA for $3,000 obo via bimmerforums.com

While it seems that the ’90s German sport sedan market (E36 M3, 190E Cosworth, AMG C36) has finally found bottom, you’ve got to scoop even lower down to find the Ur-S4 because they are cheap cheap cheap.  This is a good thing for enthusiasts because you don’t need to bury yourself in loans to afford one, but when value gets below a major component rebuild cost, it does mean that some get sent to the scrapper.  However, as Friedrich Nietzsche Kelly Clarkson says: whatever doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.  I’m no Nostradamus, but I’d expect the market for good, original condition Ur-S4s to only go up from here.

The big part of Audi’s recipe for creating an ///M & AMG competitor was the addition of a turbocharged engine to the quattro equipped sedan.  Turbo Audis had been around before, but the 2.2 liter inline-5 in the S4 was boosted to 230 horsepower and 258 ft-lbs of torque.  Performance was great for the day with 0-60 in about 6 seconds and a top speed governed at 130 mph.  Enterprising Ur-S4 owners figured out a way to disconnect a wire and rid themselves of the pesky US market speed limit and get up to something north of 150 mph with the US spec 5-speed manual gearbox.

See a better way to drive fast and under the radar?  tips@dailyturismo.com