1996 Audi RS2 review: Retro Road Test

Estate cars used to be the preserve of those who needed to cart around children. If you wanted driving fun, you’d leave the family at home and jump in your two-seat sports car. Of course, hot hatchbacks offered both dynamic thrills and practicality, but they were still left wanting for ultimate carrying ability.

With the exception of the ‘E34’ BMW M5 Touring, the genuinely fast estate car scarcely existed until the early 1990s. Then the Audi RS2 roared rapidly into view.

It certainly was conspicuous when painted RS Blue Pearl (a dozen less attention-grabbing colours were also available). Launched in 1994, the RS2 was based on the ‘B4’ 80 Avant, and packed a 315hp, 144hp-per-litre punch.

Its 2.2-litre five-cylinder 20-valve engine was borrowed from the 230hp S2 Avant, but the RS2 boasted a 30 percent larger turbocharger running 1.4 bar of boost. A six-speed manual gearbox sent power to all four wheels, while a manually-operated locking differential was employed on the rear axle.

Sounds good? We haven’t told you the best bit yet. The £45,705 RS2 was a collaboration with Porsche. As well as the engine upgrades, Stuttgart added 968 Clubsport ‘Cup’ wheels, tyres and brakes. Spot the bright red callipers peeping out from behind the rims.

There are also the shapely Porsche 968/993 door mirrors, 993-style bumpers and blink-and-you’ll-miss-them badges with the ‘RS2 Porsche’ legend. The bright red ‘prismatic’ light strip that runs the width of the RS2’s stubby rear end is also a nod to the 911 Carrera 4.

How does it drive?

Step inside and you’ll find Recaro sports seats with lurid blue Alcantara trim. Ahead of you are a quartet of white-faced dials – including a 180mph-calibrated speedo – while the centre console houses three further gauges showing oil pressure, oil temperature and battery voltage. Aside from a three-spoke, leather-wrapped and RS2-branded steering wheel, it’s all standard Audi 80 fare, which means bank-vault-solid build quality and no-nonsense slabby style.

With smaller dimensions than estate cars of today, it’s easy to place the RS2 on the road, helped by excellent all-round visibility. At low speeds it’s as docile and unspectacular as any Audi 80, but bury your right foot and you soon realise the RS2 is more of a monster. Hang on, wait a few seconds… there it is!

The RS2 takes time to spool its turbo, but once it does, its pace is ferocious. Audi quoted a 0-60mph time of 5.4 seconds and a top speed of 163mph, and the RS2 feels easily that quick. When it was launched, Autocar & Motor magazine famously recorded a 0-30 mph time of just 1.5 seconds: faster than a McLaren F1 (and Jacques Villeneuve’s contemporary Formula 1 car).

Although its aural output is muted at lower revs, the engine warbles wondrously ahead of you as only an Audi five-pot can. You really have to wake it to extract its power, but that’s no hardship.

Below 3,000rpm not much happens, then you ride the 302lb ft wave of torque and by 7,000rpm it’s more or less all over. Stay in the middle ratios to keep the engine on the boil and the RS2 just keeps finding more speed. It’s both intoxicating and intimidating, and all the time you’re aware this is an estate car: one with up to 1,200 litres of luggage space. Unbelievable.

So too is the RS2’s cross-country capability. The Quattro four-wheel-drive system means the Audi sticks to the road spectacularly, not even relinquishing grip in the pouring rain that dogged our test-drive. Standing water proves no deterrent, the RS2 just powers through it, its wonderfully compliant suspension soaking up bumps with little jarring.

Sensation-wise, the RS2 feels very of its time. The nicely-weighted steering is sadly devoid of any meaningful feedback, and although there is some body lean, it stubbornly slingshots its way out of corners with no fuss, ready to soar up the straight and devour the next apex. The uprated Porsche brakes offer progressive retardation, which is just as well; Audi UK’s heritage car is surely one of the finest RS2s in the world.

Tell me about buying one

The hand-built RS2 was a performance car hero and values have never been bargain-basement low. That’s partly due to its Porsche parentage. Values are also buoyed because only 2,891 were made in 18 months, with just 182 official right-hand-drive cars coming to the UK.

High-mileage examples are obviously worth less, while left-hand-drive European imports offer more choice. Mechanically, the cars are relatively bombproof when it comes to the engine and four-wheel-drive system, and they can handle high mileages with little issue.

The main problems lie with the gearbox, which has a reputation for being weak, as well as coil packs that let go. The handbrake cable can also stretch, while spark plugs should be replaced every 20,000 miles. Suspension top mounts need to be renewed every 40,000 miles, and the cambelt every 80,000 miles. Parts and servicing aren’t as costly as you might think, but with the car’s increasing age and provenance, some parts are hard to come by.

You’ll struggle to find an RS2 for much less than £50,000, and many have well over 100,000 miles under their Porsche Cup wheels. The best cars will be north of £70,000 – similar to what Audi asks for a brand new RS4.

Audi RS4: Verdict

The RS2 was pivotal in creating a whole new line of Audi performance cars. It’s perhaps the most inspirational – and indeed aspirational – car in the company’s rich history, after the original Quattro. Its pioneering legacy is still evident in RS-badged Audis today, while its retro-cool cachet guarantees its ongoing appeal.

All that would be pointless if the drive didn’t match up to its looks, though. Thankfully it does, and the fact that the RS2 marries supreme pace and sense of occasion to staggering all-round ability and proper practicality seals the deal.

This Audi is a modern classic and performance car icon for good reason. That’s why it has so many admirers, and why we count ourselves among them.

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