I was asked to make a thread about the 2004…yes 2004 RS6 that i just purchased so here it goes. I’ll try to give as much info as I can but most likely not all in one post since this car has a HUGE backstory.
As some of you know, I love the RS6 and have been keeping my eye out for one with blown turbos and a blown trans to do a nice 6 speed swap + turbo upgrade on. Well, I didnt have much luck and then a local friend here called me and showed me an RS6 online for sale that had a 6 speed swap. Upon reading the listing it was clear it wasnt any ordinary RS6 with a 6mt swap.
Turns out, the car was originally from Switzerland. It was a 2004. This means it has the european interior and other goodies US 2003 RS6s dont have. I called the guy at night and wired him a deposit the next day. During that time I was able to to some more research on the car and turns out this thing is a freaking unicorn.
When the car was in Switzerland, the owner was some sort of millionaire who sent the car to sportec and had them put their stage 3 kit on it back in 2006-2007? Link here http://sportec.ch/page4394.html. Bigger turbos, reworked heads, cams, etc. Sportec delivered the car back and they guy hated the automatic and decided to do a 6 speed swap. He went back to Sportec and they told him it was impossible, so naturally he sent it to MTM and through a TON of money at them to have it done.
Apparently once everything was done, somehow it got impounded and wouldnt pass Switzerland’s strict emissions tests so he was told to export the car or the state would crush it. He ended up exporting it to a friend in the USA who was also a millionaire who for some strange reason had the entire car painted black (it was originally silver). You literally cannot tell unless you look in places like under the carpet, etc. They must have even done a motor pull because the engine bay is black. This is where the story gets good.
Turns out, the person who imported it was running ponzi scheme to the tune of $190 million. The feds impounded all his assets, including the RS6, and put it up for auction back in 2008-2009 i believe. Some guy bought it for $45,000 at auction and tried to flip it for $80k, but ended up coming way down on the price and selling it to the infamous 10secondmarc, who brought it back to New York, had a little fun with it, and sold it to the guy I bought it from in CT. I spoke with Marc and he claims his 11.5 second RS6 lost to this car by 2-3 cars in a race. When I picked up the car from CT, a b5 friend who owns a shop claims to have an 11.1 b5 and says he only beat it by about a car. So I guess those stories line up but we wont know until I get it to the track and learn how to handle all that power.
Anyways, the car has piggies and a milltek exhust. Sportec 20" wheels. Its definitely a b5 RS4 trans (has oil cooler lines and is stamped 01e. Has sportec intercoolers and carbon fiber shrouds. RNS-D radio, european interior. Timing belt was just done too. I opened the ECU and found it is in fact an MTM ecu with a chip on it. So it sounds like everything is legit as far as stories go.
The strangest part was the night after I sent the deposit, I turned the tv on and went to watch a shop I tape called “American Greed”. I jokingly said to my wife “Wouldn’t it be funny if this episode were about the ponzi scheme guy who owned the RS6 I’m buying?” And I kid you not, I pressed play and they said the guys name. I was flipping out. I told my wife it was a sign I needed to buy this car and she of course just rolled her eyes, haha. You can buy the epsiode on itunes here : https://itunes.apple.com/us/tv-season/talk-radio-takedown/id599007078?i=651767791 or view snippets on youtube here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzOpMWSI5wg
The car was apparently on EPLs dyno a few months ago and put down 490hp and 580 ft lbs at the wheels. I flew out to CT last weekend and drove the car back. I plan on selling my 3 b5 avants and putting a little money into this. For now, I just want to drive it and have fun. Car is really in awesome shape. Only has 38,000 miles on it. Pulls like a freight train from 3rd gear on. 1st and 2nd are so short its not must time for turbos to spool
If you go over to RS6.com and search for RS600 you can find more info on the car. From what I’ve read from past topics on this car they all seem to be pretty butt-hurt and a lot of the guys claim this car is grey market and not imported legitimately. I dont care either way but the headlights and taillights have been changed, along with all the glass in the car to DOT approved glass. Not sure what the proved but it makes me feel better. It has had a legitimate MN title, as well as a legitimate CT title so I’m not too concerned.
Here is a link to some photos : http://imgur.com/a/bwxME
Having one of the fastest C5 RS6’s in the world doesn’t hurt either. I can only imagine how much money was dumped into that car to get it to where it is at. It wouldnt surprise me if it has $100,000 in mods, since the 6speed swap alone back then was huge $$$.