From Ingosladt to Munich

[wisesoul]

It's been an interesting past few weeks for me, here's a little story. I've driven an Audi RS4 the past couple of years but have always been more of a BMW fan. I rarely go on the Audi forums as they tend to lack a sense of humor and are generally dreadful, so I prefer to lurk here. I bought my RS4 used from an Audiworld member back in 2010 and have enjoyed each of the 29,756.5 miles I have put on it. It is Imola Yellow (I love vibrant colors) and cant be more conspicuous if it tried. The RS4 is an absolute hoot to drive. Throttle response is amazing and nearly telepathic. I've driven a few E9x M3s, RS4 is every bit as responsive to throttle inputs, especially in sport mode. Being in Cali, AWD traction has never been a necessity, but I fell in love with the confidence Quatrro gave me. I could tackle every corner knowing that the car's front tires wouldn't just give out and send me flying down an embankment, and the brakes are so powerful I have nearly gotten rear ended multiple times. Don't even get me started on the sound. With my Milltek setup, it just sounded sublime inside the cabin and especially for spectators. I would take it up to its 8250 rpm redline on a regular basis just to hear this masterpiece of a motor shout a visceral and primeval scream. The drivetrain was by far the dominating feature of the car. The 6 speed in this thing is by far one of the best manual transmissions I have ever driven. The shifter was solid, albeit a little jerky in 1st gear or when it's cold out. Now I've had a few hiccups with this car, mainly the carbon buildup in the valves and the engine burning abnormally high amounts of oil, and awful gas mileage (14 city, but I have a lead foot too) but that was it. I fell head over heels for this car over my ownership. I've had many fond memories flogging this car on back roads or scaring the piss out of my relatives from out of town while taking freeway onramps at ludicrous speeds!


And then the F10 M5 was released to NA, and ever since then, I've gone behind my Audi's back to look for ways to own one. The F10 M5 is nothing like the Audi in every respect. The styling is SUPER reserved compared to the yellow, swollen fenders Audi, it has a large trunk and spacious interior. Instead of a 6 speed theres a 7 speed, instead of one clutch there's two. The M5 relies on an abundance of electronics and computers to aid it in the corners, the Audi relies mainly on mechanical grip. M5 weighs nearly a quarter of a ton more but has a power house of an engine. The M5 has a somewhat quiet exhaust note compared to the growling and barking 4.2 in the Audi. It's a wonder that I sold the RS4. Yes, I sold it. I saw a deal I just couldn't pass up, and I jumped on the opportunity to hop into what has essentially always been my dream BMW for ages. I sold my Audi to a friend who has been begging to buy it for the past 7-8 months, and neither of us could be happier. It was really hard to hand over the keys to the RS4 this past weekend. After reinstalling all of the OEM parts on it, I had a rush of bittersweet emotions, but it's in great hands. I have no doubt in my mind that I'm going to make new memories with my M5. And when I do miss my RS4, I'll just snag the keys from my bud when he's not looking Will review M5 extensively after 1200 mile service.
Last goodbye to my old baby:


Hello to my new AW/SO baby
I apologize in advance for crappy iPhone pics





Thanks for reading and sharing my excitement!

[hsiaochinsan]

congrats! and welcome back to the family. Love your RS4 btw

[Jason]

Congrats! Added you to the Owner's Registry.

[Mperial]

Great story. Enjoy getting acquainted with your new beast.

[NlckyBlack]

enjoy it man

[wdimagineer]

Very nice. We have identical cars, including the RS4. This post brought back memories. My RS4 and RS6 Avant were two of my most favorite cars. I wish BMW offered the M5 in wagon form.

[Grayblack]

Congrats! Love the interior!

[the infamous...]

sexy combo, congrats!

[wisesoul]

Originally Posted by hsiaochinsan

congrats! and welcome back to the family. Love your RS4 btw

Thanks a lot! Feels good to be in a BMW again.

Originally Posted by Jason

Congrats! Added you to the Owner's Registry.

Appreciate it Jason!

Originally Posted by Mperial

Great story. Enjoy getting acquainted with your new beast.

Thank you. It is a bit weird walking into the garage and not seeing the Audi, but I can't help but smile at the M5. It's everything I want from a car.

Originally Posted by NlckyBlack

enjoy it man

Thanks!

Originally Posted by wdimagineer

Very nice. We have identical cars, including the RS4. This post brought back memories. My RS4 and RS6 Avant were two of my most favorite cars. I wish BMW offered the M5 in wagon form.

I truly wish I could've kept both cars. The RS4 was really amazing, but the M5 is amazing me in different ways. First impression is the M5 really puts you in your sear no matter the throttle position. Just lovely. The RS6 avant is awesome! Didn't know they had those in the US

Originally Posted by Grayblack

Congrats! Love the interior!

Thank you! Coming from a black interior, I had to change it up.

Originally Posted by the infamous...

sexy combo, congrats!

Thanks! I really like the contrast of Alpine White on Sakhir Orange. Just brightens up the cabin! Miss the new car smell as well

[wdimagineer]

They don't. I imported it back when I could.

[grendel88]

I loved my Sprint Blue RS4 with Titanium package...even with my E92, I have a sweet spot for that car.

[nugent]

I had a sprint blue rs4 2 cars back. the best description of the exhaust note was "like a volcano making love to an avalanche." that engine was far ahead of its time and it took bmw and merc a couple years to catch up with their own versions. i still have fond memories of that beast. it did rely quite a bit on technology for its handling response though. even though most the V8 was hanging ahead of the front axle, the steering feel with turn-in tricked you into thinking otherwise. at speed though, there is no disguising the poor weight balance of audi's though. talk about understeer. most people did not recognize the rs4 as anything more than a modded a4, which may or may not be what you're looking for.

welcome to the club!

[wisesoul]

Originally Posted by wdimagineer

They don't. I imported it back when I could.

Wow! Didn't know that was possible, how did you homologate it for the US? I'd be interested in importing a B7 RS4 Avant in the future!

Originally Posted by grendel88

I loved my Sprint Blue RS4 with Titanium package...even with my E92, I have a sweet spot for that car.

Sprint blue, ahh. Love that color as much as Imola. So nice. TI package is one thing I wish my RS4 had.

Originally Posted by nugent

I had a sprint blue rs4 2 cars back. the best description of the exhaust note was "like a volcano making love to an avalanche." that engine was far ahead of its time and it took bmw and merc a couple years to catch up with their own versions. i still have fond memories of that beast. it did rely quite a bit on technology for its handling response though. even though most the V8 was hanging ahead of the front axle, the steering feel with turn-in tricked you into thinking otherwise. at speed though, there is no disguising the poor weight balance of audi's though. talk about understeer. most people did not recognize the rs4 as anything more than a modded a4, which may or may not be what you're looking for. welcome to the club!

The engine sounded marvelous. The RS4 definitely had a tendency to understeer, but my car wasn't exactly stock. Got stiffer rear sway bars and had the car corner balanced on the KWs. Handled outstandingly after that and nearly eradicated any understeer. But thanks!

[wdimagineer]

Originally Posted by wisesoul

Wow! Didn't know that was possible, how did you homologate it for the US? I'd be interested in importing a B7 RS4 Avant in the future!

It's not really possible. Used a friend's diplomatic connections to get the car here.