It doesn't take long, when discussing the relative performance of Audi's fleet of turbocharged cars with their owners that the subject turns to that of after-market tuning and performance improvements in the search for better acceleration, braking or road-holding than what was originally created at the factory.

The Audi S2 is not immune to this, so I'll try to capture the main 'upgrade' options for the S2 in this section. Not surprisingly, many of the performance improvements can be derived from the work carried out by Porsche and Quattro GMBH when they created the RS2 evolution with an impressive suite of changes to the engine, transmission and brakes. Other tuning options, mostly from a number of German specialist tuning vendors are available for the S2.

The S2 is a heavy car in anyone's terms. That, and other comprises for the mass market, can detract some of the S2's potential for pure performance in stock configuration. Few drivers of any car would ever say they couldn't use a little more overtaking ability, extra cornering agility or shorter stopping distances - That's why these pages exist !

If you are considering racing or rallying an S2, then these pages will hopefully provide a taste of how to tilt the balance of road car compromises over towards pure performance on the S2. The FIA homologation papers are mandatory reading for anyone considering any serious motorsport action in the S2. These papers define the target specifications for all the important parameters throughout the car in order to qualify it for Group N or Group A competition. Whilst the S2's homologation for FIA motorsport events expired in the year 2000, the homologation papers are an important definition of the car's specification. As such, several tuning specialists throughout Europe have designed many performance parts for the S2 to align with Group N and Group A regulations. I hope to provide an electronic version of the FIA homologation papers for the S2 in the future.

As a guide to transforming a roadgoing car into one destined for competition here is a very rough cut five step plan. For my money, the first enemy to tackle on any car destined for the track or special stage is weight. Every kilogram of excess weight (in the form of redundant metal brackets, underseal, trim, glass etc) removed will result in faster acceleration, shorter stopping distances and improved road-holding. Secondly, sort the chassis with a full roll cage and judicious amounts of stitch welds on suspension pickup points to stiffen the entire bodyshell. Thirdly its running gear in the form of suspension, transmission and brakes. Next up is the car's electrical systems with careful consideration to the wiring loom for all systems needed on the car (eg Track cars don't need headlights but rally cars do and I'm guessing neither need air conditioning). Last but not least is the engine, and the associated plumbing for water, air and oil cooling. Then and only then is the time to worry about turbos, chips, competition spec pistons, camshafts, fuel pumps, injectors, spark plugs and blah blah blah

More about the sporting configurations of the S2 in the future... I could use some help tracing the S2's sporting history though !