A Champion S4While poking around the Champion Motorsport garage I came across Audi racer Michael Galati's RS6. Festooned in war paint, it was strapped to the dyno for some last-minute fine-tuning. A young man joined me, and we both stared at this monster.
"Nice, huh?" he said, breaking the silence.
He walked up to the RS6, took one of the doors off the hinges and handed it to me.
"It's all carbon Kevlar...the entire body," he said.
The door weighed all of 5 lb, maybe less. I'm guessing all the panels together could not have weighed more than a pony keg. I handed it back, half expecting him to run out the door with one hell of a souvenir.
Turns out this was Mitra Maraj, the younger brother of Naveen and a hardcore Audi fan.
"I did some work to my S4...maybe you'd like to see it?"
A few minutes later, Mitra pulled up in a silver 2001 model. Although the body was fairly stock, the sound coming from under the hood was unlike any I'd ever heard.
"I had a lot of help from the Audi Motorsport guys," confessed Mitra.
"Many parts on this car are straight from the race team...you won't find this stuff off the shelf."Not bad for the kid's first car.
During last year's SEMA show in Las Vegas, I told Naveen about our upcoming S4 Challenge. Although he was extremely interested, Naveen said he did not have enough time to build a Champion-worthy car. Had Mitra's Audi been one of the entrants, I think the outcome would have been much different. It's that good.
The engine was augmented with parts normally reserved for racing. The turbos and intercoolers are highly modified RS4 pieces and include a competition mister system for additional cooling. An RS4 oil cooler and RS4 airbox have replaced the factory units. The fuel pump and fuel rail are culled from the RS4, and the fuel spurts through high-flow Cosworth injectors. APR provided the bi-pipe, snub mount and custom ECU. Wilson Fabricators built the 70mm throttle body and manifold and designed the one-off custom exhaust from 3-in. stock that tapers down to 2.5-in.
The Audi has been equipped with a super-strong Klug gearbox, and the Torsen differential has been modified for more rear-end bias. The S4 is suspended on H&R coilovers, complemented by Champion sway bars and Champion's adjustable camber system. Rolling stock is comprised of Champion's RF26 wheels measuring 8.5x18, shod with 235/45-18 Michelin Pilot Sport rubber. Big 14.1-in. Brembos can be seen through the wheel spokes. With the exception of the RS4 front bumper, the body and cabin are largely stock.
Although Mitra wanted to place it on the Champion dyno, I had to catch a plane and couldn't get the results. I'm guessing the car would make between 430 to 460 whp, and do it all day.
Judging from Mitra's Audi, we will be keeping a close eye on the stuff coming from Champion Motorsport's wonderland. If the cars are anything like this, we may need to crown a new King of the Rings. -LB