It’s Not an RS2: 1994 Audi S2 Avant
Sean Rooks | June 28, 2024
For Audi fans and the collector market in general, the “hot” Audi in the United States right now is the Audi RS2 Avant. It’s easy to see why—the joint effort between Audi and Porsche produced the fastest production wagon at the time. The RS2, however, wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for today’s Good Find Friday Car: the Audi S2 Avant.
The S2 Avant’s story actually begins with the B4 Audi 80 Coupe, a compact executive car produced by Audi in some form from 1966-1996. In traditional Audi fashion, following along with the model numbers and platform changes can be a bit bewildering, but in simplest terms, the S2 is a sporting modification of the late 1980’s / early 1990’s Audi 80 and 90 Coupes, with the Avant version being introduced in 1993.
The intention behind the S2 was to provide an updated and modern replacement for the much loved Audi Quattro. Those are some big shoes to fill and the S2 is generally considered to have fallen short of expectations.
Of interest is that the development of the S2 was conducted with the partnership of Schmidt Motorsport, who as an official Audi works team created the DTM version of the Audi V8 Quattro. Cosmetic updates to the Audi 80 were inspired by the V8 Quattro, and the car received a version of Audi’s venerable 2.2-liter 5-cylinder turbocharged engine producing 217bhp. A 5-speed transmission was standard.
The S2 received upgrades over its run to keep it competitive, including more power from a revised engine, a 6-speed transmission and cosmetic improvements. Overall, Audi produced less than 10,000 S2s, with only 1,812 of those being Avants.
Today’s Good Find Friday car is a 1994 Audi S2 Avant currently listed on PCarMarket by the seller. While it was originally registered in Spain, the car has been imported and currently resides in New Jersey.
The exterior is painted in a Volcano Black Pearl over a Charcoal Kodiak Grey Leather interior (essentially very dark gray). I originally confused this car for an RS2 when I first saw it, as it has the rear bumper and “heckblende”, or taillight panel, from the superior model.
Far from a show queen, the car presents as a slightly worn but overall complete example, with prior paintwork on the left hand side of the car as well as some obvious mismatched paint on the right hand side that is not explained by the seller. The car shows its age, with various scratches and chips throughout the exterior.
The interior is pretty clean, with intact wood trim and no tears in the desirable leather Recaro seats. While I vastly prefer the “Quattro” emblazoned seat fabric in the cloth interior cars, I do like the 4-spoke steering wheel and decent condition of the interior trim and materials. The door card inserts show some typical warping from heat and moisture.
The rear trunk area looks nice and clean, thankfully not layered with dog hair or stained.
The engine bay is similarly pretty clean, with fairly standard visible corrosion on the turbocharger exhaust manifold. Aftermarket silicone hoses are fitted to the airbox and turbo outlet pipes. Apparently the car received a new intercooler, diverter valve and engine mounts back in February of this year. Being a 1994 car, the engine in this S2 is the more potent ABY electronic ignition motor putting out 230 hp and 280 lb-ft of torque.
The chassis and suspension components are dirty, obscuring a true picture of the condition of the underside of the unibody. The control arms look solid, but the exhaust system and other exposed steel shows surface corrosion consistent with a car driven in inclement weather. The front subframe appears to be in good shape, but I’d prefer a photo with the undertray removed.
AVUS-style alloy wheels wear stock-sized 205/55 R16 tires. Braking on the S2 is provided by ABS power-assisted 2-piston calipers squeezing vended front and solid rear discs. The S2 is a heavy car, and braking performance was never really a strong suit of these. On the Avant, it’s a bit worse. Call it “adequate.”
Why This is a Good Find
Given this car is not in the best condition and is being sold via an online auction versus a standard listing, you might wonder why this is a good find at all. The answer to that lies in its history.
This particular car has been for sale for some time. Initially, it appears to have been a standard listing on Hemmings.com with an asking price of $38,000. At some point, it was placed on Bring a Trailer, where it failed to meet reserve after being bid to just $18,420.
When a car fails to sell at a highly visible auction, we call that car “burned.” In essence, a burned car is one that has an air of either being overpriced and/or of lower quality than other vehicles on the market due to a no-sale. If the car is desirable and nice enough, it can survive this tainted view.
This car has already been through an online auction once on arguably the most visible and seller-friendly auction site and failed to meet reserve. It is now being auctioned again on a site that focuses primarily on Porsches with an even smaller audience. In my opinion this car will once again be a no-sale on PCarMarket. Once it inevitably fails to meet reserve, it’ll head to the site’s “Deal Tank,” which is littered with cars whose sellers are asking asinine prices.
Final Thoughts
Audi S2s in good condition overseas (the cars were never sold in the United States) command prices in the high €20,000 to mid €30,000 range on average. While I think it’s reasonable to expect at least that much for a car already imported to the US (and in left-hand drive), this car faces headwinds.
Its driver-quality condition, 100,000+ miles on the odometer, and the fact it’s been burned—all lead to a price point that should be much lower than its initial ask. In my opinion, this car is closer to a value in the low to mid-$20Ks.
In conclusion, if you’re interested in getting into the rare Audi club, the S2 is a much more affordable way to do so than the RS2, which commands prices in the $60,000 USD range. My advice would be to try and be the high bidder so you have a shot at striking a deal after it closes. Good luck!
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