2001 Audi RS4

This example appeared in 2001, so towards the end of the B4’s production run. The extensive history file that comes with the car includes early correspondence with Audi, confirming that the on-the-road price back when the car was ordered in March 2000 was £46,500 and that only 400 examples were allocated to the UK. The lucky first owner of this one got the 392nd one to come to Britain.

After passing through a few hands (all of them careful and attentive ones, as the bills and service records confirm) and moving around the country from Cheshire to London and then onto the West Country, the car was acquired by its present East Anglia-based owner in 2016. At that point, it had done just over 120,000 miles. But its owner then relocated to another country, resulting in the car spending most of its time in professional storage - so in the last four years, less than 2000 miles have been added to its odometer. Thus he’s now reluctantly decided that the Audi deserves a new home where it can be more properly used and enjoyed.

In preparation for its sale, the car has been thoroughly checked over and had any faults rectified, and also benefited from an air conditioning re-gas, steam clean, Waxoyling and full valet and polish. Its MoT runs until 27 July 2021, with the only advisories being for the ‘nearside front seatbelt webbing slightly damaged or frayed’ and the ‘front tyres wearing on inner edges’.  

Before we get to the discussing the general condition of the car, we need to talk about the colour. The more eagle-eyed may have spotted that the registration document refers to the car as being purple, but in pictures it’s clearly silver. Avus Silver, the official name for the shade the car is finished in, is practically the automotive equivalent of that moment back in 2015 when the world couldn’t agree on whether a dress it was seeing on the internet was black and blue or white and gold. Some people regard Avus Silver as a grey silver while others spot a distinctly more purple hue to it. It’s been causing confusion and debate for decades - just check out some of the Audi internet forums - and obviously so perplexed one owner of this car that he applied to the DVLA to have its colour changed on its V5 from purple to silver, with supporting evidence from an Audi dealership.

One of the reasons we mention this - other than it’s a fascinating bit of Audi trivia - is that the car was resprayed by one of its previous custodians. However, there was no change of actual colour - it was done for free by the brother of the then-owner, who had a bodyshop, even though it didn’t actually need it. So this isn’t a case of the vehicle being altered from purple to silver and the DVLA not being informed. It’s still the same shade as it always has been.

Thanks to that repaint and the recent valet and polish, the Audi is in excellent external condition. The paint is excellent and looks especially good in sunlight - whether you’re seeing silver, purple or something in between. It suits the bulky and impassive lines of the B4 well. Wear and tear is minimal; there’s hardly any stonechipping on the nose for example, although the black grille does have a patch of missing covering beside the offside headlamp. Bumper scuffing is confined to just a few light scratches on the nearside rear bumper. Even the often accident-prone door mirrors are remarkably free from any issues. Given that the car is approaching its 20th birthday, this 122,000-mile Audi is, frankly, superb.

For those really searching for something to find fault with, the chrome exhaust tips do have some unsightly corrosion. And the offside bottom of the chin spoiler has some scraping underneath (out of general view). But that really is about it as far as this car’s blemishes go.

The wheels have also survived well, with no evidence of kerbing or corrosion, and very few marks. They’re all enveloped by Vredestein Giugiaro Ultrac 255/55 ZR18 tyres dating from 2008, and although there isn’t an enormous amount of tread left, they should be good for quite a few miles yet.

Moving inside, the cabin also wears its two decades very well. The black leather Recaro-branded seats display only minimal creasing, and are still very comfortable and supportive. There’s little of the usual wear on the front seat bolsters that you might expect. The carpets are in similarly good order and protected by fitted over-mats. Only the pedal rubbers give any real indication of how many miles the car has done, along with some scratching from shoes on the plastic trim alongside.

Carbon fibre inserts decorate the dashboard and door cards, and display no damage. The dashboard itself is free from any splitting or cracking, and the steering wheel seems to have shrugged off the effects of all the hands it must have seen over the years. The same is true of the switchgear.

All the gauges and displays function as they should, and during our time with the car, there were no warning lights or error messages. The RS models are often used by Audi to showcase their latest technology, and this one is no exception. It includes very manoeuvrable electric seats (which are also heated) as well as air conditioning, sunroof, a well-specced Bose sound system and sat-nav. Everything we tried seemed to function as it should.

The glovebox is clean inside, while the centre console cubby holder displays a few marks to its base. Overhead, the dark grey headlining has a few imperfections, but nothing to really offend.

At the rear, the load area has been well-looked after. Its plastic tonneau cover pulls out and retracts as it should and there’s a fitted plastic boot liner protecting the great carpeting. Behind one of the side panels is a six-disc CD autochanger, while its opposite number contains the factory warning triangle in its original red plastic casing. There’s no spare wheel, but the original tools and jack are stored in the well instead.  

Open the bonnet and the large four-ring emblem accompanying the ‘V6 BITURBO’ lettering will leave you in no doubt that you’re looking at something out of the Audi ordinary. It’s difficult to see much of the actual engine thanks to all the plastic casing, but the bay surrounding it is extremely tidy and presentable, and doesn’t look like it has received any unwelcome DIY bodgery - it all seems completely standard. The recent steam cleaning has left it all looking spick-and-span. All vital fluids are on or near the levels they should be, and healthy shades. The factory-applied warning and information stickers remain in place and are all legible and intact.

The only minor issue we spotted is that the plastic battery cover on the bulkhead is broken down one edge, but it still secures as it should. Underneath the bonnet panel, the insulation is quite heavily marked but it’s in one piece, there are no missing chunks, and all its fasteners are in place.

Underneath, the car looks to be solid, and the MoT history doesn’t indicate any previous corrosion issues here. The rear of the exhaust does have some corrosion - although there’s no blowing, so it’s presumably still fully intact - while the flexible linkages at the front exhibit some fraying.

Our photoshoot did allow us to take the car for a very brief test drive, within the confines of the specialist storage facility where it currently lives, and we’re happy to report that everything behaves exactly as it should. There are no obvious issues with this vehicle.

The history file is very comprehensive, starting with the initial correspondence between the car’s first owner and Audi itself and including an extensive folder of bills and invoices right up to the present day. It all points to a car that has been properly cherished by its seven owners. Photos of the car being resprayed are also included. An October 2016 bill points to the cambelts and water pump being changed.

There’s a full set of original factory documentation included in the original black leather wallet, including the owner’s manual, quick reference guide, service schedule and instructions on how to operate the navigation system - which would have been something quite novel to most drivers back in 2001. In addition, there’s even a CD with a digital walk-through of Audi’s then-new Dovercourt service centre in Wandsworth, should you wish to bask in the virtual reality of last decade. A spare key is supplied, albeit without a remote control key fob attached.

The service history shows due diligence throughout the car’s life, with most of the stamps from Audi dealerships. The last service was in September 2019, at 121,363 miles. Just over 500 miles have been covered since then.  

Could this be the best Audi RS4 B5 remaining in Britain? It wouldn’t surprise us. Only 400 officially made the trip over here from Germany, and almost 20 years later, how many of those survive? And of those, how many are likely to be in as great condition as this one is?

As the first of the RS4 models, these B5 cars set the template for the three generations that have since succeeded them. Thus they’re an important part of Audi history and today fully acknowledged as desirable, very practical and eminently usable modern classics. Their cachet is only likely to increase in the years to come - so this is also a vehicle with investment potential too. When you consider that, 20 years ago, somebody was happy to pay £46,500 for one of these, our estimate of £14,000 upwards for this one seems not just very realistic but a bit of a bargain.

Viewing is always encouraged and this particular car is situated near Cambridge in Cambridgeshire, within easy access of the M11; to arrange an appointment, please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to to ask any questions or make observations on the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

Although this vehicle is not with us at The Market’s HQ near Abingdon, it has been viewed by one of The Market’s representatives, so our write-up is based on personal assessment. But we have also had to rely on the owner’s description of it, in conjunction with the photographs you see here, to compile the listing.

With this in mind, we would encourage potential bidders to contact the owner themselves and arrange to view the car in person, or to arrange a dedicated video call in which they can view the car virtually and ask questions.