There’s no getting around it – today’s cars are good. Ridiculously good in fact. They are safer, faster, more fuel efficient, and more comfortable than they’ve ever been – and they are getting better everyday. The modern car enthusiast is spoiled. Plain and simple.
Just think about it. Today’s average family sedan can outperform many of yesterday’s great performance cars, and the modern economy commuter car can be had with features you couldn’t even find on luxury flagships 15 years ago. I’m not even that old, and I’ve been able to see these cars improve exponentially before my eyes.
The Audi S7 is a machine that perfectly embodies this. It can carry several people and of all their gear in extreme comfort, and it will hit 60mph in about four seconds and rip off 12 second quarter mile ETs without breaking a sweat – right off the showroom floor. Not long ago, those were supercar numbers.
Better yet, thanks to its AWD system this car can do all that in the rain, in the snow or any other condition you throw at it. It’s so civilized that your grandma could drive it. And on top of all that it looks amazing.
But with today’s great cars comes a problem. As car enthusiasts we love tinkering with and tweaking our automobiles to our liking, but modern-day machines might be too good.
You often have to ask yourself if you can actually make them better? And if you can’t, well what’s the fun in that?
It seems like in the past you could go out and get all sorts of stuff for your car, and whether it was a set of springs or a new bumper – you’d always notice a difference. Not just a difference, but an improvement in performance or in style. Today it’s not so simple.
However, that doesn’t mean that today’s cars can’t be improved. It just means that it takes a little more work and a little more research to get them there.
As I’m about to show you, the payoff of this extra effort is definitely worth it.
Which brings me to this 2013 Audi S7, built as part of a collaboration between the crew at Vossen Wheels and AccuAir in California.
Simple, but effectiveIn terms of feature cars, the modification list on this one is small – but if I’m honest that’s totally fine. That’s because an S7 doesn’t need much to be great.
Beginning under the hood, the S7’s turbocharged V8 remains mostly stock, but there’s has been some minor work done to extract a few more ponies.
Thanks to a tune from APR, the big Audi is now making 569 horsepower and 605 pound feet of torque. It’s a noticeable improvement over the stock output, with no drawbacks in reliability or street manners either.
Further helping in the power department is a custom three-inch stainless steel exhaust system from BBI that uses integrated factory cut outs for better flow and an angrier sound from the V8.
Because the Audi is owned by AccuAir, it’s only natural that the car would be equipped with one of the company’s full air suspension kits.
Here you can see the custom air tank setup the occupies the Audi’s large hatch area. Along with a complete AccuAir Sport Air Suspension kit, there’s also an e-Level setup and an iLevel wireless (Wi-Fi) controller to keep everything dialed in.
It’s all in the wheelsAs we all know, wheels make or break a car, and this statement rings truer today than it ever has before. The factory wheel and tire setups on today’s performance cars are usually quite good, and a lot of care needs to be taken when choosing an aftermarket combination.
I don’t know how many nice cars I’ve seen where nice factory alloys and high grippy tires have been removed in favor of something cheap and aftermarket just because it’s ‘different’. That’s certainly not the case here.
The S7 is running a set of Vossen Precision Series VVSCVT wheels that measure 21×10.5-inch at each corner and are further set off by a unique lavender finish which is available as part of Vossen’s custom wheel services.
It’s not a particularly loud color, but I have to say it’s one that works very well against the S7’s Glacier White bodywork.
The tires are Toyo Proxes T1Rs – 295/25R21 all around. Somehow I don’t think you’ll find that size in stock down at your neigborhood tire shop.
As for the interior, it’s all pretty stock. And why shouldn’t it be? You won’t find many who will disagree that a factory S7 cabin is a nice place to be.
One important addition to the cockpit is an integrated Valentine One radar detector.
If you’ve ever driven something like a new S7, you’ll know just how easy it is to unknowingly get above the posted limit. First world problems baby.
As for the S7, after appearing in AccuAir’s SEMA booth last year the plan is to keep the car cruising on the road and also hit some track days to put the suspension to the test.
So yes, the S7 is a fine modern automobile, and despite being a stunner right off the showroom floor, one that can absolutely be made better with the right aftermarket gear.
It may not have taken a ton of work to get the Audi to where it is, but that’s the beauty of modern cars. A few simple and well-chosen modifications can take a good car and make it great.
Mike Garrett
Instagram: speedhunters_mike
mike@speedhunters.com
Photos by Larry Chen
Instagram: larry_chen_foto
larry@speedhunters.com
The s7 is simply a quality car. I am a valet driver at The Broadmoor Hotel (2014 PPIHC host hotel) and get to drive these quite frequently. They really did an exceptional job with the interior. I got to drive the rs7. Insanely quick....
Larry, your photos are nothing short of breathtaking here, once again!
these new cars, with all their computers, electronics and acronyms are great,
...until something breaks.
location location location! so epic. there must be some amazing jems on the cutting room floor after this
I'm just gonna come out and say it. This article sucks. This guy did nothing other than buy a set of wheels for a brand new car, and he gets a goddamn feature post here? For what? There is nothing at all interesting about this car. It's a brand new S7. Cool. I can see that at audi.com
What a terrible article. Wow, a brand new car with a set of wheels. Why is this featured again? Is this just an ad for Audi and Vossen?
I don't like leaving negative comments... But I just don't like the look of this. Too low? Wrong amount of rear overhang? The terrible looking air bottles in the hatch? I don't know, the stock s7 is a great car. This isn't. Sorry
prazzi Too low? Is there such a thing now-a-days?
prazzi I see where you are coming from, I don't mind the two door s5 but the s7 looks weird. Almost like the tail should be higher, more inline with the bottom of the windows rather than the hipline. With a flatter boot rather than a sloped one. But maybe I just prefer cars with the three box design style.
prazzi reminds me almost of the Chrysler Crossfire sort of squatting dog look.
So, it's an S7 with air and some wheels?
Don't get me wrong. I think it's a very cool car, and I certainly wouldn't turn down using something like this as a daily driver. An S7 in general is an awesome car. And at least this one IS an S7 unlike the diesel-powered red wrapped one from a while back!
I also understand the point that modern "premium" cars like this are far more limited in terms of what you can do to them.
However, I can't help but think that exact point means it wasn't really a feature-worthy car to begin with. Plenty of feature-worthy cars out there which have started with a "lesser" base, but because more can be done to them, the result is more individual, interesting and unique than something like this.
Just my two cents.
Though, I will definitely admit I'd rather see the car like this in a less modified subtle state, rather than the owner deliberately trying to make it more unique by fitting a tacky bodykit or something.
Lol, I ment no offense. I really appreciate all the articles, I'm showing my age, but I feel a nice side skirt and front lip kit would look better on this car. Its not my car and of course if the owner is happy that's all that really matters
Larry Chen prazzi Speed bumps say hello.
plague_rat Not really. New cars are easy. OBD? The fact that modern day cars come with full service manuals with precise details on how to fix certain things? Need a part? Order it online, be here in 4 days. Need another part? Go to the dealership or ShitZone. There's a lot of A7's running around 100K now, no big issues. Typical Audi failures, alternator and coil packs. There's also tons of DIY's on the internet, articles, videos and many others. A lot easier to work on an over engineered German then some obscure European car with parts that have to be custom built, ordered or shipped from Sweden.
It's an easy world to be a gearhead in, not the 90's anymore. There's even a place called Harbor freight where you can buy cheap tools that get the job done.
Its a gotta post because of the first and last Tags. Accu....and Vossomthing.
"Looks amazing"............Looks like they stopped designing it from the "B" Pillar back to me. Terrible roof line
Great post, love the photos, awesome car...
IMO...I feel that HP is just wasted with that air ride nonsense. Just having the wheels tucked like that puts me in a bad spot. The back half just doesn't sit with the front end for some reason, maybe it's just me.
Once again guys another great post.
How can you not like this car? It's doesn't have a lot done, but what is done has a lot of impact. Look at that silouette! Amazing job Mike and Larry.
That's the point...
Love that fast back look. When you see these on the street you cant help but stare at them.(same goes for the A5 sportsback) I love that design direction.
(sigh)... Leave it to an Audi owner to pick wheels like those.
kphillips9936 HP is wasted? This is a family car. Although, I do have to say. We went through the twisties and it handled just fine.
Somehow I expect those wheels to break from the slightest bump. Not much metal holding everything together...
stupid. all of it. good shots though.
i see this car (in silver) everyday in my parking garage at my work. such a beautiful peace of work.
Larry Chen kphillips9936Just not a fan or air suspension and over-sized wheels.
The S7 never looked so good IMO. I would gladly drive this as a daily! Nice photos Larry
Option86 Nice one
I dig the base car - it may be the only current Audi i could say that about - and i dig the simple approach. But i'm sorry, Speedhunters, you're just not taking me with you on this Vossen trip. Hate to be a negative nancy... but there it is
Beautiful.
ToyotaSupraMan Larry Chen prazzi air suspension say no thank you..thats the beauty of it
Dropping a car that low makes the wheels look oversize, oversize wheels are like oversize watches.
tenpennyjimmy It's like a Vossen advert lately. Detracts from my independant and unbiased bunch of Speedhunters roaming the globe type view of you guys
Looks like crap. Stop dropping cars that low on oversized wheels people. It's looks retarded.
Pancakes tenpennyjimmy Hey guys, thanks for the feedback. Vossen are our partners, so to date this year there have been four Vossen orientated stories on .com. We will be showing more, but out of roughly 350 stories so far in 2014 I don't think we're going too overboard. Plenty else to see if this doesn't appeal, but thanks for looking anyway
Speedhunters_Bryn Pancakes tenpennyjimmy Thanks for the reply. Thinking about it once you said there have only been 4 Vossen posts and remembering there are for example more KW Suspension posts but they had tech or diy install content, this kinda turns the corner from advertising to information for me. How about a behind the scenes of designing and manufacture of a high end wheel like you guys (iirc) did with HRE?
Something you guys excel at is communication with your viewers so thanks. And tackling internet comments? Crazy
i don't understand why this article is getting such negative comments. i'm almost strictly for the old school and i'm all over this. a matter of opinion i suppose
Perfect Car, with nice wheels, but somehow the combination is out of balance.