Last month, Need for Speed dropped their latest addition for Unbound. Dubbed Vol. 6: Head to Head, this is the first of four updates arriving in 2024, each packed with a whole load of extras including new gameplay, new features and bug fixes.
But the one extra which interested us most – and does so with every update – is the additional new cars. Vol. 6 welcomed Audi back into the NFS stable, after initially being absent during the launch of Unbound. With three awesome models added (the S5, R8 V10 and RS6), we thought what better way to rekindle our love for Ingolstadt’s greatest export than with a look back at some of our favourite Audis featured on Speedhunters.
Naturally, there’s a recurring theme with our choices here; power. LOTS of power.
Considering the latest Audi RS6 and V10 R8 come with over 600hp as stock, chasing even more power might seem like a pointless exercise. But this is Speedhunters after all, and not Adequatehunters. So let’s dive in, and we’ll see you in the comments after.
A brave title to put against any car, but naturally this isn’t your typical Audi S3. It takes all aspects of tuning and dials them far beyond 11 and somewhere into the stratosphere.
Shot back in 2014, the car you see here was based on a 2006 8P Audi A3 and built by Tommy Schönberg of TS-Racing. Packing a five-cylinder boosted motor, power was quoted simply as ‘over 1,000hp’ while the drivetrain used mostly Audi RS2 parts which – despite being older – were capable of handling much more power.
How much exactly? Well, on VS Motor’s engine dyno they topped out at 1,150hp at 2.5bar (36psi) of boost. That’s a cool 460hp-per-litre from the five-cylinder, 2.5L motor.
Ten years on, it still remains one of the most impressive builds we’ve ever featured – even more so because its use was always intended for the track, and not the drag strip.
No Audi list can be complete without at least one Sport Quattro. And when it comes to Quattro builds, David Rowe from EPS Motorsport has paved the way for years.
That’s because Dave’s ambition wasn’t simply to just build a big-power Quattro S1 for fun; his specific goal was to get one back to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb – an event he competed at in 2013, albeit with a 750hp Mitsubishi Lancer Evo.
The concept was to build a car that was true to the Quattro’s retro roots and heritage, but upgraded with modern technology and equipped with the power and ability to put in a respectable time on the mountain.
Never has the word ‘details’ ever been so prominent with a build; Dave really left no stone unturned. In case you were wondering, Dave did manage to realise his dream by getting the S1 up into the clouds later in 2017. Best of all, the Audi is still being used properly today.
Audi and drifting aren’t two words that you typically associate with one another. In fact, the only Audi in the last few decades to boast rear-wheel drive is the limited edition R8 RWS… not exactly the base for a bash-it-against-the-wall drift car either.
But over in Japan things aren’t always approached in the ‘traditional’ fashion. Which couldn’t be more perfectly demonstrated than with Likuta-san’s Audi A5, which first appeared at the 2019 Toyko Auto Salon.
Not only is this A5 rear-wheel drive – and boasting DTM-inspired bodywork to boot – but up front it packs a frankly ridiculous 7.4-litre, LSX 454R motor pushing 800hp. And that was before the future plans of twin-turbocharging it to 1,600hp were underway.
It’s everything we love about Speedhunting – a German car built in Japan running an American heart. It’s certainly not for everyone, but it’s one Audi you’ll never forget.
The 1000.1hp R32-Powered Audi RS4
From the outset, Klaus Peter-Krenmayr’s Audi RS4 looks like it falls more into the stance/show category than it does a performance one. Not that we have any issue with this attitude when a car looks this good, but naturally all is not as it seems under the bonnet of this RS4… as the title immediately gives away.
Gone is the stock 2.7-litre RS4 V6 and in its place another six-cylinder, albeit a 3.2-litre R32 lump ‘borrowed’ from the VW Golf. In stock trim this engine only produces 238hp, but with almost every component replaced or upgraded and a Comp Turbo CT5X fitted, the RS4 made 1,000.1hp and 960Nm of torque at 2.0bar (29.4psi) of boost.
Photographed by Paddy during Worthersee 2008, Klaus’s RS4 stole the show that year and understandably so. As Paddy signed off, “it looks fast. And thankfully, it is fast too.”
Boosted LM Style For The Street
Choosing a final car for this list proved to be quite tricky. So many incredible Audi builds have been featured on Speedhunters over the years – including a whole load of twin-turbo versions which have (somehow) become quite commonplace for R8 tuning in 2024.
But one of our favourites was first spotted during SEMA 2016 by Dino, and with race-spec aero, two turbos dangling out the back finished off with lashings of carbon and JDM wheels, can you really blame us sticking it on the list?
Everything about UAD’s Audi R8 just oozes cool. The Advan GT wheels fill the carbon arches perfectly, and in case you’re wondering… yes there’s a nose lift installed to give it a certain level of ‘practicality’.
That’s also because it remains street legal, although we’re unsure just how happy any law enforcement would be with the rear of the car completely exposed and a giant diffuser taking up the entire width. Obscene in every way, and that’s why we love it.
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Quattro power!