At At $12,500, Could This Manual-Swapped 2003 Audi RS6 Quattro Get You To 'Row Yer Own'?

According to the seller, today's Nice Price or No Dice RS6 "super sedan" makes 600 horsepower from its twin-turbo V8 and has a six-speed stick to stir up that hot mill's deviltry. That sounds like a hot time, but will the price cool our jets?

This past weekend, the Tall Corn Cruiser Classic event took place at the MOIBI (Make It or Break It) Off Road Park outside of Hamilton, Iowa. Open to Land Cruisers of all ilks, the annual meet tests the Toyotas' mettle against muddy inclines, rocky crags, and pebbly slopes.

If any of that sounds at all appealing, then the 1983 Toyota J60 Land Cruiser that came our way yesterday might make for a suitable entry for next year's event. That year should allow the SBC-powered truck to be properly sorted, as the ad says it hasn't been driven since last year. Based on the comments, few of you would be willing to do that sorting at the truck's $17,000 asking price. It was too tired, too rough, and too Chevy for your liking at that asking. That general opinion resulted in a crushing 94% 'No Dice' loss.

Let's go from rough and expensive to clean-as-a-bean and..., well, we'll see. This 2003 Audi RS6 saloon is a unique beast. Not only does it have what is purported by the seller to be a 600-horsepower 4.2-liter twin-turbo V8 under the hood, but that has been mated to a six-speed Getrag manual from an RS4 in preference to its original ZF automatic. Behind that is Audi's traditional Torsen-based Quattro AWD system, to make the most of those ponies.

According to the seller, the manual swap was done 9,000 miles ago, with no expense spared in the conversion. The engine was given some love, including new timing chains, engine mounts, and a general resealing at the same time the transmission was transitioning. 

The car now has 147,312 miles on the clock. That's typically a lot for an Audi, but given all the work that's gone into it, it may be less of an issue. There's no word in the ad as to what exactly was done to boost the engine to 600 horses. For comparison, from the factory, the all-alloy V8 produced around 445 horsepower and nearly 315 pound-feet of torque. There's also no mention of what the transmission computer thinks is happening with the manual or what it's telling the ECU. Perhaps that computer also made the journey from RS4 to RS6. Obviously, it's all been sorted, or the car would be basically undrivable.

It's got it going on in the looks department too. The Mugello Blue paint is quietly elegant and subtly masks the RS6's substantial wheel arch extensions. The only nods to the Audi's sporting nature are the brushed metal caps on the mirrors, a small spoiler on the trunk lid, and the Avus-style alloy wheels. That subtlety makes the car, according to the seller, the ultimate sleeper.

That only extended to the exterior, though, as under the hood, the RS6 is nuts. There you'll find twin intakes feeding a massive carbon-fiber plenum, fronted by a cover with the Audi rings, a V8 badge, and red Biturbo script. It all looks massive and mean, and it shows the prowess of Audi's engineers in packaging. One of the places where Audis of this generation falter is in the digital displays in the climate controls and instrument cluster readouts. Those appear to be pixel-perfect on this RS6.

Those pixels face a cabin with creamsicle leather trim and lots of carbon fiber accents where wood would normally go on the lower-echelon A6. The integration of the manual shifter and extra pedal is unobtrusive and appears factory-included. A set of Weathertech mats protect the carpets, and audibly laudably, the factory AM/FM/cassette stereo still holds court in the dash.

Craigslist

To the car's detriment, the leather on the front sport buckets appears to be wrinkled and creased. That extends to the center armrest, which might be nearing its use-by date. Far past their service life, the temperature and fan speed buttons on the automatic climate control are worn down from years of Goldilocks occupants trying to get the interior temp just right. On the plus side, the car comes with a clean title and the explanation that the sale is owed to the present owner having purchased a newer car and needing the parking space.

Naturally, a manual-equipped, 600 horsepower RS6 is something a lot of us might want to experience, if not perhaps own outright. That desire has occurred to the seller as well, and they warn in the ad that "no joy rides, or tire kickers and no dreamers unless you have the funds available in full $12,500" need apply. Well, there goes that idea. And I was all ready to go get my tire-kicking shoes out of the closet.

Instead, let's all contemplate this Q ship Audi and that $12,500 asking price. In light of yesterday's scruffy Toyota, that might come across as quite the bargain. Taken outside of that context, however, we might think otherwise.

What's your take on this manual-swapped RS6 and the seller's $12,500 "no tire-kickers" price? Is that actually a fair deal for so unique—but not factory—a sport sedan? Or is that too much for something never officially meant to be?

You decide!

San Diego, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

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