Best we squeeze in one more automotive anniversary before the year is out. A significant one, too: the RS2, Audi’s first RS model, marks 30 years in 2024. First shown at the Frankfurt show in 1993, the first reached customers the year after. And probably blew their heads off, the beginning of the brutally fast RS legacy. Now, with Audi’s performance flagships set to embark on their electrified era, it seemed high time to revisit the original icon.
It’s not often that cars come along that establish entirely new niches, but that’s exactly what the RS2 did back in the early '90s. There were compact, premium estates out there, reasonably brisk fast estates, and all-wheel drive ones as well, but none had capitalised on the potential of all three. Audi had the S2 and S4, but this was before even the five-cylinder turbo Volvo 850s. The M5 Touring had arrived in ‘92, though without the usability advantage of four-wheel drive and only with the wheel on the left.
Perhaps ‘all things to all people’ is a stretch, especially as early RS Audis weren’t the most invigorating cars to drive, but it’s easy to see why the RS2 created such a cult following. It looked the business, the Porsche involvement gave it cachet, it was preposterously fast - including that McLaren F1-rivalling acceleration - and it suited all conditions. Plus the RS2 was built as solidly as any Audi 80. £45k made it serious money 30 years ago, so there were never many, but the reputation was swiftly established. There was nothing like the five-cylinder firebrand.
It’s notable, too, how far subsequent small fast Audis followed the RS2 template. A turbo five lived on in later RS3s, and fast A4s have typically traded on monstrous quattro grip and turbo wallop. From nowhere (or from the 230hp S2, in that car’s defence), Audi created a template for decades. The Audi press release of the time is a fascinating read, pride bursting off the page: “More than just a ‘tuned’ Audi 80 Estate S2, the Avant RS2 is a model in its own right, a complete package of Porsche engineering to engine, suspension and brakes, and a unique blend of Audi and Porsche styling.” The 315hp RS2 was even faster than claimed, too. Said press release mentions a customer preview event held in July ‘94 at Millbrook, where a German car recorded 0-60mph in 4.8 seconds and 0-100mph in 13.1. With a full tank of fuel onboard - that’s how a legend is created.
These days it’s hard to find an RS2 of any stripe, because they cost so much money and because those who were fortunate enough to get one found it eminently suitable for just about everything. Many will surely have reached the end of their serviceable lives just as values were at their lowest ebb. Howmanyleft has half the amount of RS2s on the road today as in 2014, itself half the figure of 10 years before. They are really rare cars.
This one has been used as intended, racking up almost 160,000 miles since 1995. It’s standard bar a Milltek exhaust and even more blue than is found inside and out thanks to aftermarket underbonnet hoses. The timing belt and water pump was renewed a couple of thousand miles ago, and the history file is said to be ‘huge’; there seems little reason why it couldn’t continue in regular use for a while yet. The Audi looks in fine fettle, a real credit to its former keepers. All of which means this is a £50k, 30-year-old Audi Avant, but then you knew a car of the RS2’s rep was never going to come cheap. And it’s hardly likely to become any less revered as time marches on.
SPECIFICATION | AUDI RS2
Engine: 2,226cc, five-cylinder, turbocharged
Transmission: 6-speed manual, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 315@6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 302@3,000rpm
CO2: N/A
MPG: 31 (Audi figure at steady 75mph)
Recorded mileage: 158,000
Year registered: 1995
Price new: £45,705 (1994)
Yours for: £49,995
1 / 7
