The Audi S2 was a trailblazer for Audi’s modern performance line-up 30 years ago, and with 374bhp, one-off wheels and an interior to die for, Charlie Williams’s OEM+ modified Coupe makes a strong case for staying old-school.
In today’s crossover-obsessed world, it’s easy to forget just how ubiquitous coupes were 30 years ago, not to mention how good buyers had it at the time. Back in the early 90s, most manufacturers offered a more style-focused alternative to their usual family-movers, usually with a couple of extra cylinders or forced induction thrown into the mix, and Audi was no different. The S2 Coupe was a leftfield option, but, with 230hp, four-wheel drive and a 154mph top speed, it’s aged well in the performance stakes – and Charlie Williams’ has aged better still.
“I’ve never felt this way about a project,” he tells us, smiling. “These early 90s cars are a great balance between feeling old school, while still being reliable and fun to drive. It’s making 374bhp and 402lb/ft, so it’s quicker than most things on the road, but it’s got that classic turbo lag where you get nothing until about 3,500rpm then you hear it spooling and the power wallops you in one go. It always puts a smile on my face.”
Charlie’s car history
The last few years could have shaped up very differently if he’d followed Plan A. A self-confessed Audi fan, Charlie grew up around German cars and took only a brief detour into French metal before following in his parents’ footsteps. He’s had a broad enough selection of Ingolstadt’s products in the meantime to know when he’s onto a good thing. The S2 keeps his daily-driven A6 company, and filled the gap left by his previous project – a low-slung 50 (think Mk1 Polo) which hadn’t quite hit the mark as an ownership experience.
“The turning point was going up to Birmingham to look at another 70s car, an Audi 100 Coupe S,” he continues. “The 50 was pretty but it was a dog to drive, and the Coupe was the same, so I started looking for something newer. In my mind, I was looking at something from the Mk3 Golf era, but it had to be an Audi. There was this guy called Rich Colvill with a red S2 on Inspiri wheels, and I remember thinking that was the coolest thing ever. So I did a rough search on eBay on the way home from Birmingham, and this one came up in Brighton the next day.”
Buying the Audi S2
Timing wise, he couldn’t have been luckier. The previous owner had bought it to keep himself entertained while his two Porsche 964s were off the road for paint, and it was priced comfortably below the market value. He’d rejected three cash offers above the asking price by the time Charlie (who’d got in first) arrived to take it for a test drive, and it was too good a deal to pass up. Within 48 hours of deciding against a 1970s project car, Charlie was heading back to Kent with something much newer – and much faster too.
He tells us: “It was completely standard and in good shape, but it turned out it had a few big boost leaks so it was down on power. I didn’t realise until I took it to VRS in Northampton for a remap a couple of weeks after I’d bought it – I was used to 60bhp in the 50, so it felt really nippy to me. They went through everything, swapped out all of the perished hoses and got it running nicely. That was good enough, for a while.”
Chassis modifications on the Audi S2
Of course, reviving the straight-line performance highlighted a few decades of bagginess in the chassis. Instead of pushing further, Will at VRS advised a full under-body overhaul to restore the Coupe’s factory agility, and Charlie admits getting carried away. Everything underneath has been re-painted fitted with new bolts, all of the bushes and driveshafts are new, and the Coolerworx short shifter helps give the six-speed close-ratio ‘box some 2020s precision.
“This is the first car I’ve really done the right way,” he continues. “I’d already put BC Racing coilovers on it by the time it went back to VRS, but it came back feeling like a new car – really tight, responsive and well planted too. I bought the BCs because I was on a budget, but they’ve really exploded since and that popularity is well deserved. They aren’t crashy, the adjustability is good and it’s great to drive. They’ve been amazing.”
Will wasn’t done with it yet. Audi spent the late 80s and early 90s pushing the limits of its turbocharged inline-five, setting records at Pikes Peak, knocking American V8s down a peg or two with the 90 quattro IMSA GTO, and laying the foundations of today’s performance line-up. The S2 Coupe was the first S-badged Audi, while the S2 Avant was the basis of the RS2 – the first RS model. Not a bad place to start if you’re looking for more power.
Audi performance upgrades for the modified S2
Most of the upgrades have an Audi part number. The turbo, manifold and injectors are bolt-on parts lifted from the RS2, while the individual coil packs are from a later TFSI engine – and are cheaper as a set than the S2’s are individually. They’re paired with a Wagner Tuning front-mount intercooler and custom exhaust system built by Dave Phillipson at Overkill Performance, which has a party piece. At the flick of a switch, the S2 bypasses two loops through a large backbox and signals its arrival with an unsilenced five-cylinder howl.
“I grew up in the Halfords era so I always wanted a loud, quick car but it never really happened – I had to scratch that itch,” Charlie laughs. “The trouble is, I live on a street where the average age is about 60 so I had to be able to quieten this thing down. If you open it up while it’s on boost it’s the most disgustingly rowdy thing ever, but the backbox completely knocks the sound down.”
Exterior changes on the modified Audi S2
He’d been luckier with the bodywork. The modified Audi S2 had survived a quarter century of wet British weather without any rot, but lacquer peel and masking lines on the rear panels were telltale signs of below-par paintwork at some point. It couldn’t go untouched.
Naturally, this was an opportunity to think about other additions, and there are more of them than you might notice at first. The grille and Porsche-like teardrop mirrors are from an RS2, the front lip is from an Audi 80 Quattro Competition (a rare homologation special saloon for Germany’s Super Tourenwagen Cup series) while subtle colour-coding helps modernise the coupe’s styling without losing its 90s charm. Audi didn’t scream about the S2’s Cosworth-baiting performance – and that’s still the case here. At least on the outside.
“The stock seats are quite high, and I’m six-foot-four. I fitted Recaro Pole Positions first, as the interior was black leather, and swapped out the ugly four-spoke airbag steering wheel for the earlier three-spoke one wrapped in alcantara with a white centreline to match the dials. Then German eBay happened,” shrugs Charlie, opening the driver’s side door.
Recaro seats for the interior
“I was on holiday with family, looking through German small ads, and I found two sets of Recaro A8s in Germany for a good price. These had been in a show car, so they were already trimmed in a grey suede-type fabric with deep purple shells. I got back from holiday on Wednesday and drove out to get them on Friday. It ended up costing £300 in Covid tests for me and my mate to spend 12 hours in Germany.”
These weren’t the easy win they appeared to be. Their previous owner had embossed Porsche ‘Turbo’ script into one of the panels and, despite the best efforts of Lee at L Drake Auto Trim, it was impossible to match. Unwilling to compromise, the job snowballed into a full rebuild with larger shoulder bolsters, alcantara trim and retro Recaro badges to finish them off, while Charlie painted the shells a more OEM-style satin black. They’re matched to the door cards and rear bench, while black alcantara has replaced the sagging headliner and aged boot trims. It’s modern, but sympathetically so.
“Lee specialises in E-Types and DB5s – proper coachwork interiors with scratch-made door panels and that sort of thing – and he’s done an absolutely beautiful job,” he continues. “Because he’s local we go to shows together, and he’s noticed there’s a crease in the driver’s seat where I sit. He’s told me to bring it back so they can be steamed out for this year. It’s nice to see someone take care of their work like that afterwards as well.”
Finer details
Interior work included filling in some gaps that appeared with recent additions. The Coolerworx shifter had left an open hole down to one of the heat shields under the car – almost enough to warm the cabin without using the heaters. Fed up of stuffing microfibres into the void, Charlie found someone on the S2 forum to make a thick plate for the centre console to block it out. It’s a neat solution – the shifter is slotted through a CV joint on the other side, and the visible part is trimmed to match the seats.
Modified Audi S2 wheels
The finishing touch was (as is often the case) a tricky element to get right. With a track-ready style in mind, the S2 spent a while shod with a tough-looking set of Rotiform SIX aftermarket wheels, matched to the track-ready Pole Position seats it had at the time, but Charlie couldn’t find the right size tyre to get the stance right. The O-Z Futuras were imported from Rimart in Poland as 17s and had their first outing wrapped in semi-slicks, but he still wasn’t convinced by the fitment.
Version two is a one-off. Fully rebuilt by Elie at Voodoo Motorsport, the wheels measure up at 18×8.5 inches using an SSR step up kit, with brushed and clear-coated lips for simple cleaning at shows and grey centres as a nod to the interior. Michelin Pilot Sport 4s and four-pot Porsche brakes – something else this car has in common with the RS2 – not only look the part, but they’re working hard with almost 400hp on tap.
“So often, when you step up a set of wheels, the centre looks very small and you get this salad bowl effect, which I didn’t want. I wanted to face-mount the wheel so the centres looked bigger, and that was a challenge because the Futuras are flat-backed – so the locator that goes between the lip and barrel is on the front,” he explains.
“Elie over-drilled seven of the bolts and pushed a dowel in to lock the face with the lip, then you bolt through that. The dowel is smaller than the head of the bolt so you can’t see it. Nobody has done it before, but they’ve been perfect.”
What’s next for the modified Audi S2?
But has the car as a whole reached that point? With a wedding on the horizon, you could forgive plans being on hold, but there’s still room to build on good foundations. Charlie already has a set of Rotiform VCEs waiting in the wings, once he’s figured out a chunkier tyre setup, and he’s weighing up air ride so he can raise it a little for driving. None of that is going to get in the way of enjoying it as Audi intended, though.
“It’s still quite subtle, but I’m not into loud cars so it won’t change much. I’ll probably change the turbo at some point, so that it responds a bit quicker and it’s more driveable, but that’ll mean new exhaust manifolds, modifications to the exhaust and a standalone, and I’ll have to open the block to put rods in. That’s a big job, so it can wait a while,” he says.
“Anyway, I don’t want to do things too quickly, or I’ll get bored of the power. I’d rather take my time and get more life out of the car, but I’m adamant that it isn’t going anywhere – I made absolutely the right choice.”
Verdict
In an early-90s market saturated with coupes, so did whoever specced this leftfield option 30 years ago. Understated visually but aggressive when provoked, the S2 Coupe’s appeal hasn’t softened in the meantime – and Charlie’s done a flawless job of bringing it up to 2020s spec. Just like that first owner, we’d say he’s got it pretty good.
Words: Alex Grant. Photos: Joe Austin.
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