Porsche and Audi are two brands that have huge histories in automotive manufacturing and racing. They are known to be very connected today, as they both fall under the VW A.G. umbrella. Audi was acquired by VW in 1964, and Porsche in 2009. If you look back a little further, before the two companies were officially tied, Audi and Porsche collaborated on a few projects, with one of the best-known being the Audi RS2.
The RS2 is a car which will appeal to both communities, and we will talk of Porsche’s involvement here. To begin with, in case you are unaware of this car these pointers are worth noting:
- It was Audi’s first “RS” model.
- It was the world’s fastest estate car when launched.
- The production was done with help from Porsche.
- Both “Audi” and “Porsche” badges are on the car.
Porsche supported development of the RS2, because at the same time of creation, Audi was working on the “A” model-line (ie A6,A7 etc). The lead developers were set on the “mass-market” vehicles, so Audi’s board turned to Porsche to help them with their dreams of a very fast estate-car. They had released a S2 model before this, however it’s power didn’t quite compete with that of Mercedes or BMW. It was always agreed from day one that this would be a large estate car, which completely differs from anything Porsche had done when looking at their model line-up at the time with the 911. However, the Porsche 924 and 944 were both made in Audi factories, so this wasn’t the first collaboration between the two brands. Porsche didn’t only work on the engine of the RS2, there are a host of noticeable details. The 911-style side mirrors, the 17-inch Carrera Cup wheels, the front bumper has 964-style indicators and sidelights. The most obvious is the “PORSCHE” brake calipers and the “PORSCHE” badge on the front and rear. The more you look, the more you start to see the Porsche DNA in this Audi.
The RS2 may have the Audi rings on the front, but Porsche have put 100% of their technical performance traits into the car; a lightweight chassis, small engine and a high power output. The estate weighs just 1595kg. Combine this with the 2.2-litre 5-cylinder turbo-charged engine, that produces 315hp and 302lb-ft of torque. This was the world’s fastest estate, with 0-62mph timing at just 5.0 seconds (with some claiming quicker times), to compare, the latest Audi RS4 does 0-62mph in 4.1 seconds. It was also the first ever Audi to break 250km/h (155mph). The most impressive stat, is that this car was the fastest roadcar to do 0-30mph, and can achieve this in as little as 1.5 seconds. Considering this was made in 1994 and is still quick by today’s standards just shows how great the Porsche engineering is.
You will no longer find these cheap, as only 2891 RS2’s were made world-wide. The car in today’s market has become a bit of a ‘cult classic’ and even models with over 100k miles will cost you upwards of £50,ooo in the UK.
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Author:
Jack Borsos – Purely Porsche M.D.
