Rieger RS Modification for the Audi A4 B8

2013 Audi A4 B8 Images in from Trinidad today.

It's a right hand drive! Our thanks to Brad for sending these project pix along.

From Trinidad & Tobago: This must be the best-looking Audi A4 B8 on the island. Without stretching, it may very well  be the best in the Caribbean (all the dutch boys in Aruba are going to be jealous.) The body kit conversion is out of Germany, manufactured by Rieger; and Brad opted for the wise choice of German parts for his German car. Bumper, grille, corner intake grilles, skirts, and Rieger's exclusive carbon look rear insert with custom stainless tips put the car in hyper-drive.

The wheels are brand spanking new also. The white-on-white with stainless steel accents come via eta beta. The wheels are Italian - designed in Italy - manufactured in Italy. No substitutes - no reasonable facsimiles - all top drawer modifications. You can bet on a good sound system and what would life be like in hot climes without air?  Well done?  Yes, but more likely and to the point - just like the car - hot hot hot! Impeccable.

Bitten by the Tuning Bug

Toni Rieger Interview

Image of Toni Rieger from Rieger's 25th anniversary catalog

LLTeK has been importing Rieger parts for Audi since 1996,  and yesterday I was lucky enough to stumble across a Dutch tuner's magazine (auto & tuning)  that featured an interview with Toni Rieger - owner, founder and driving  force (no pun intended) behind Rieger Tuning.  He's a talented businessman and designer who got to where he is because of a passion for cars (in Bavaria I think that means BMW); but these days it's all the big German names plus a bit of Ford and Fiat.

Rather than transpose the article in its entirety here's a rough summary:

He is a "self-taught" tuner from the school of "Necessity is the mother of invention."
He grew up on his parents' farm with four brothers and a sister.
He is unassuming and avoids the spotlight.
His first car was a wrecked 40hp Polo. He repaired and sold it to get a second with 50hp.
His third car was a Golf GTI.
His work ethic is fully functional - in the office in the morning and then out on the factory floor in overalls.
He employs almost 50 individuals on a campus with buildings occupying some 65,000 sq. ft.
For his 50th birthday he bought himself an Audi R8.
He doesn't believe in outsourcing to China.  In 2007 alone, eighty lawsuits were launched against counterfeiters cloning his designs. American knock-offs are currently in his sights.
He doesn't think electric cars are very efficient - (I think he's being polite here).
Every body kit / spoiler produced by Rieger is fit to a car the company buys and tested.
He drives every modification package he produces in order to "feel" what the customer will get.
There are currently some 40 cars in the Rieger showroom.
When he was a kid and starting out, he would store wheels in his bedroom.
He purchases a new pair of shoes at the outset of the trade show season.
He likes running shoes and his work is the feature - not a bug.

I've never met Herr Rieger, never even spoken to him over the phone, but the more I hear about this guy - the more I like him. Maybe the next time I'm in Germany, I'll make an effort to get to Eggenfeld and see if I can get an interview.

Audi A5 DTM Special Edition

Audi A5 - Rott "Rocky" Rocket

Special DTM Edition of the Audi A5 in Misano red - Get the V6T.

Audi will start taking orders next week for a limited series A5 in recognition of eight wins in the DTM race series - Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (or in English "German Touring Car Masters".) Bearing the moniker Rocky, it is the nickname for Mike Rockenfeller, who as Audi's DTM racer, just took home his first DTM champion's title.

The car will sell at a premium with 20" alu wheels, badging everywhere and a fixed wing trunk spoiler. There is no guarantee the machine will be available in North America; however, in related DTM news, there is a rumour that The United Sports Car Racing group could host a DTM event in the US. Keep your fingers crossed because if that happens - you'd get to see the car directly below. Eat your heart out Tony Stark.

To see LLTEK body kit offerings for the Audi A5 - click here

old school vw golf mkii in pieces

Why Parts Books Will Give You A Hernia...

Click and enlarge - free LLTeK Badge for anyone who guesses the correct number of parts.

Nowadays it's all database. It used to be paper (tons of it) on the counter at the parts shop and I asked myself how anyone could find anything. Yeah I know it doesn't take much to impress me, but I admired the guys who could answer the phone, hold the phone between their shoulder and ear while blabbing away about some exception for a filter on particular engine AND still be leafing through one of the two or three giant tomes looking for the number of the part you needed to get your beetle (they were called "bugs" back then) back on the road.

Then (while still talking) - reach for a pen and without missing a beat, transcribe the info onto the back of some already beat up piece of triplicate purchase order and just as you thought the phone conversation would never end - crack a joke about an old girlfriend to the guy at the other end of the line and hang up with such surefired ease that it made you glad you came to the right place. Without a word or pause, this person was off and headed directly to the spot in the warehouse where you knew he would find that magic part.

I don't miss the paper or the giant parts books - it's the guy who took your money and smiled because he knew you heard the joke and knew that you got it. See VW Golf styling parts here.