Project B7 A4 2.0T: Introduction

Now in its third generation, the A4 has established itself as a major player in entry-level luxury cars. The A4 range is the most popular sales category for Audi, and the A4 2.0T is a relatively affordable and very capable entry-level offering. With all of this in mind, we believed it time to launch another project car series – Project B7 A4 2.0T.

Better yet, we thought it perhaps a timely move to team up with a well-known contributor to various Audi forums. Zerin Dube is not new to Audis, having built a pretty spectacular B5 S4. Zerin recently acquired a B7 and we were certain he’d do things that were just as impressive, if not moreso, with this new red sedan.

Working together with Zerin, Fourtitude plans to explore the burgeoning new market out there now for the B7 A4 and the 2.0T engine. The B7 may appear similar to the B6, but many components such as suspension have been changed. This project will help put a spotlight on products for this new generation A4, and try some new modifications that haven’t yet been done before.

Look for regular updates on our new Project B7 A4 2.0T regularly on the site, and expect to see the red sedan in the Fourtitude booth at some shows this summer, or on display at other events where Fourtitude is not there in an official capacity. For now, we’ll hand the pen over to Zerin so that he can introduce himself…

Audi Background: Zerin Dube

I first fell in love with the Audi brand in 1999 when I saw an ad for the then new Audi S4. The ad depicted a yellow S4 in motion amidst a blurred background. From that very moment, the Audi S4 became my realistic dream car. It had everything I ever wanted in a car…lots of power, great looks, impressive handling and the convenience of a four-door. On top of that, the car had the tuning potential to be converted from a mild-mannered Dr. Jekyll sports sedan to an Mr. Hyde-like high-horsepower monster - all the while retaining its benign appearance.

A year later, a yellow S4 happened to be parked on a pedestal in front of my local Audi dealer as I drove by it on the freeway. Seeing it there in person, I lost any ability to think rationally, exited the freeway and went to the dealer to check out the car that I had lusted over since I first laid eyes on it in that ad. A few hours later, in what was probably the biggest impulse buy of my life, I left the dealership the proud new owner of that yellow S4. My dream had come true, and my love affair with the Audi brand had begun.

A friend of mine at the time asked me what I had planned as far as modifications. I looked at him as if he was crazy and said “I just spent $40,000 on a car, no way I’m ever doing a single modification to this car.” Of course, like many of us who bought the B5 S4, the story hardly ended there. Two years later, my S4 was pumping out 400+ horsepower, had 1200 watts of audio gear, and had even landed on the pages of a few tuner magazines.

I regrettably had to sell that S4 in 2002 when the IT market started to tumble, and I felt like I was losing a part of me. It’s not the car that made me who I was, but it was the emotion I felt when I looked at it and drove it. No other car came close to the visceral rush the S4 gave me when behind the wheel. I vowed that I would own another Audi again, and try to pick up where I left off with the S4. I just didn’t know when that would be.

Then it hit me. I spotted it in the Audi stand while attending the 2005 Detroit Auto Show. There, on display, was a red 2005.5 B7 Audi A4. This was the first time I had seen one in person, and it was quite simply love at first sight. The car had grown up since the B6; the aggressiveness and edginess of the B5 had returned.

The 2.0-liter Turbo FSI powerplant I had read so many good things about was equally as enticing. The B7 A4 had the same traits that made me fall in love with the B5 S4: plenty of power, great looks, great handling, and most importantly, great potential. The car was just perfect in almost every way. It was at that very moment that I decided I had to have one.

I took delivery of my first B7 A4 2.0T Quattro in early April of 2005. I felt right at home in the familiar interior of the A4. It drove beautifully, the engine was phenomenal, and the design was stunning. It was almost as if the car was saying to me “Welcome Back.” There was just one problem though, and a pretty big one at that…the color.

When I had my dealer locate a car based on the options I wanted, the only car they could come up with was silver. Silver was the absolute last color I wanted to buy, and would have preferred almost anything else over silver…but it was all that was available at the time in my region. I had no time to wait on other colors to become available, as I had a buyer flying into town the very next week to buy my previous car, a VW GTI. I sucked it up, tried to convince myself silver was what I wanted, and bought the A4 from Millennium Audi in Houston.

Over the next few days, I started to visualize my modification plans. I knew what I wanted to achieve, but had to figure out exactly how I was going to achieve it. The color of the car again became a problem. I just could not get excited about silver. Honestly, the car looked great, but the color just was not anything to turn heads with. I started to have a bout of buyer’s remorse when I got a call that would change my entire attitude about the project.

One of the other dealers in Houston was forced to return inventory to port, and a Brilliant Red A4 2.0T with all the options I wanted had become available. Better yet, Millennium Audi made my situation that much easier, allowing me to switch out of the silver car and into the red one for no other cost than the additional cost of options in the red one. I was now the proud owner of a Brilliant Red A4 2.0T quattro 6-speed with sport package, premium package, BOSE, and lighting packages. Now I felt complete. I had a color I wanted all along, and a car I was totally in love with for the first time since selling my S4. I was finally ready to start Project B7 A4 2.0T, and ready to start big.

The Plan

My philosophy of modifying a car differs from some enthusiasts. I value practicality over insanity and subtlety over in-your-face attention-getting looks. I also look at the big picture from start to finish when building a car.

All parts, no matter how small, will have an impact on the end result. All parts and changes have to be cohesive, well engineered and well thought out. I will not sacrifice daily drivability for performance. I will not sacrifice quality for cost savings. I will not put anything on the car that has a detrimental effect on anything, just because it “looks cool” or makes “cool noises”. I will not put parts on the car just to make my modification list longer. All aesthetic modifications have to be in good taste, and should be of OEM-quality fitment. That is my philosophy, and it follows the “keep it simple” mentality. Simple doesn’t have to mean boring, and my Project B7 A4 2.0T will reflect that.

The project will be primarily focused on performance, but will also highlight electronics integration and visual enhancements. I’ll begin byfocusing on how simple computer tuning can transform the stock 2.0T B7 A4 into a car that feels as if it had twice as many cylinders and then look at the difference a properly set-up suspension can make on a car, versus slapping in some off-the-shelf struts and springs . I’m planning subtle design changes that, when combined together, change the entire look of the car. Hopefully, I’ll do all of this on a budget, without sacrificing practicality or reliability. This should be a project car that everyone will be able to relate to.

© Source: original article on fourtitude.com