It's very odd. Even though Birmingham is
at the heart of the British motor industry, there don't seem to
be many modified cars on its city streets. This is despite it
still boasting a large number of engineering and parts firms
that could support any number of modified cars. But tuners in
the Midlands shouldn't despair, there's one man who's tearing
up Brum's tarmac and showing what a serious car can do...
Boasting six gears, four wheel drive and
380bhp within a stunning Audi Sport quattro body, Peter Bassett
has the perfect wake-up call for his fellow city dwellers:
"The car's just about perfect. It's amazingly powerful,
looks fantastic and handles superbly with the four-wheel
drive," enthused Pete.
The original plans of the scrapyard owner
were far more modest than the short quattro he ended up with:
"I sourced a rolling shell and intended to mate it with
the 20v Ur unit. But a trip to Dialynx changed my plans,"
Pete confessed.
Arriving at the legendary quattro
specialist, he was bowled over by their own short Ur-quattro
(PVW, July '97). "Keith at Dialynx took me round the
country lanes in it. Even though he scared the shit out of me,
I knew I had to have one!" said the Scrappie.
Once his project was at the Swindon-based
tuner, Dialynx set about transforming the Audi. The car was
sliced in two between the B and C pillars, before 320mm of
metalwork was removed to imitate the legendary Group B rally
car. Huge composite flared arches were then added front and
rear, before bonnet vents and grilles were grafted into the
bonnet and a Dialynx Sport rear spoiler pinned to the boot.
Although the effect is visually stunning,
it has more practical uses: "The handling's amazing - it's
like a go-kart!" Pete grinned. Especially when the boys at
Dialynx added their own fully adjustable suspension kit which
uses Bilstein dampers.
Even though our man hadn't yet decided on
the precise spec of his power unit, Porsche 968 four-pot
callipers and massive 300mm Audi Sport brake discs were fitted
to rein in whatever came the quattro's way.
"I was thinking about the 2.6 litre
Dialynx conversion on a 10v Ur engine, but then I read about
the RS2. I figured if it was that quick in the estate, then a
car half the weight would really fly," said Pete. The
Brummie breaker used his contacts to source an S2 Coupe engine,
complete with loom, ECU and six-speed box. Dialynx were then
commissioned to uprate the spec and push it into RS2 territory
- as Pete pointed out, the RS2 is an S2 engine modified by
Porsche.
The inlet manifold comes from an RS2,
while Dialynx fitted its own performance cams, modified
turbocharger, Pace intercooler and green injectors to match the
Audi RS2's standard 315bhp. Throw in a 3" Scorpion exhaust
system and it's all coming together. Well, almost.
Tuning specialist AmD was then enlisted to
re-map the management up to 3bar boost pressure. A quick burst
on the rolling road showed the engine actually surpassed the
RS2, with 387bhp showing at the flywheel, allied to 390 lb/ft
of torque.
To put this in perspective, it's on a
level with the Ferrari F355 and Lotus Esprit V8, and outstrips
the Porsche 911 Carrera by some 100bhp. Awesome.
With such a massive amount of grunt, the
quattro needed plenty of tread on the tarmac. So 9.75x17"
Fittipaldi alloys were encased in 245/40 Pirelli P Zero rubber:
"Pirelli only make tyres wide enough for Ferraris or the
biggest Beemers. So it took a bit of manipulation to make 'em
fit the Fittipaldis," explained Pete.
Taking a lead from the Dialynx quattro, an
alloy roll-cage was then installed to make the shell more
rigid, while a 20v quattro steering wheel was sourced to direct
the Audi's new-found power, and drilled OMP alloy pedals to
accommodate Pete's heavy right boot. The full-race Corbeau
bucket seats in the Dialynx model were not up our man's street
though: "I found them far too low, and opted for electric
Recaros," admitted Pete. Buying the stunning leather
supports second-hand, he saved himself the outrageous 1500 Audi
price tag per seat.
With the glorious quattro engine singing
sweetly, Pete looked to match it with a quality ICE system:
"A Porsche 928 passed through my hands a while back. I
took out the stereo before selling it on for what I paid for
it," he grinned. He was quoted 350 to fit the stereo, so
our Brummie fitted it himself. Taking him half a day, the
Kenwood KDC-96R CD/tuner now sits pretty in the dash, with
Infinity mid-range speakers, 6x9s and tweeters broadcasting
Pete's favourite tunes, courtesy of three Kenwood amps.
As I strapped myself into the Luke race
harness alongside Pete, he ignited the ICE but, to be honest,
it wasn't really what I was interested in. Perhaps sensing
this, Pete swiftly shifted through the six-speed box around
Brimingham's ring roads. Incredible. No body roll, just reams
of unadulterated power coursing through four Pirelli tyres.
"Since the rev limiter's been taken off, the power
delivery's seamless. It rockets to 7000rpm - no trouble,"
Pete enthused.
You don't have to hand around the city
centre to catch him wrestling with the quattro. As a member of
the quattro Owner's Club and the Group B Car Club, you can spot
him at track days across the country.
But a word of advice: to get the best look
at his stunning quattro, stand patiently at the trackside
rather than waste time trying to chase him around the circuit.
Because it's going to take something pretty serious to catch
Peter Bassett's 387bhp Audi Sport quattro.
