Editor’s Note: This is the second part of an article I intended to finish a few weeks ago. I got distracted. It happens.
Moving along in the dream garage, we come to an absolutely crucial choice:
6) 1995 Volvo 850 T-5R Estate
With some cars, it’s not hard to see the performance hidden beneath a layer of boring, anodyne stockness. Cars like 1.8 Turbo Audi A4’s. They’re not quick from the factory but a few choice extra bits can get you a whole lot of shove. Most people who know cars know this, which seems to me to make the feat a whole lot less impressive.
Many people pick up sport compacts and modify them because they think it makes them more clever than the domestic drivers. “I’m getting 300 wheel horsepower out of my four cylinder!” is a good rallying cry when proclaiming your superiority of dumbestics. (Actually, that’s up for debate.) But really, is there anyone who knows cars who is surprised you can make a really fast SRT-4? If that’s a secret, then so is that whole Clinton-Lewinski affair debacle. I mean, hooray. You can put a chip, a diverter valve and a downpipe on your GTI and then you have a lot of extra power. But you’re not original.
No, what appeals to me are cars that no one would ever expect to be fast. Cars that even surprise true died-in-the-wool car guys. Here are a few ideas.
1) Toyota Matrix
Spend some time on any automotive web forum and you’re bound to run across the ultimate hypothetical question: “what is your ultimate dream garage?” Sometimes 5 car, sometimes 10, sometimes more. Many people like to fill their fantasy garage up with dream exotica, many people like classics. If you’ve been reading my site, by now you know my choices are somewhat odd. So here, friends, is my 15-car dream garage.
1) 2001 Audi (B5) S4
Nogaro Blue, six-speed manual, converted to RS4 engine spec (forged internals, lower compression, K04/20 turbochargers, etc etc.) 450-500whp would be sufficient for a daily driver. I’ve always admired the B5 S4 for a lot of reasons. Primarily, it’s a spectacular mechanical package: 2.7L 30 valve V6 with twin turbochargers, a six-speed manual and Torsen AWD make for an extremely rapidly accelerating automobile…
