At every club track event, there's always that one car that draws the most attention. That car is either better looking than the rest, blindingly fast or a combination of the two. At a recent Audi club event at the Streets of Willow in Rosamond, Calif., the 2Bennett Audimotive S4 GTR was that car. Brothers Andrew and Ken Bennett of 2Bennett Audimotive wanted to build a club racer that would showcase the products and services that their Davis, Calif., based shop could offer.
Despite the amount of work that's been put into the platform, possibly the most innovative modifications have been carried out on the vehicle's control input systems. Ken, the car's driver, was paralyzed in a BMX bike accident 10 years ago. "He still has use of his wrists, so we devised a hand control system for him to use," Andrew said of his brother. The butterfly-style steering wheel pivots at the center with a twist throttle on the left side. Braking is achieved by pushing forward on the left side. The steering column has been integrated with a 2-to-1 reduction box to dramatically increase input sensitivity. Shifting is handled by Audi's TipTronic transmission for now, with a new 2Bennett-spec transmission on the way.
Starting with a 2000 B5 S4, the brothers' first priority was to get more rubber to the ground. "Even with the RS4 body panels, the body of the B5 is too narrow for what we believed to be the optimum size race tire," said Ken Bennett. Early in 2004 the two began sketching ideas for custom body panels. Special modeling foam was then carved out based on the drawings and coated with a series of sculpting materials to create plugs for the molds. The molds were then reinforced to ensure consistent shapes for the body panels. The resulting GTR panels were made from carbon fiber and reinforced with Nomex honeycomb at high stress areas.
The custom body work allows the use of shaved Toyo RA 305/35-18s mounted on custom wheels made by Forgeline. "These are the same tires that the Audi World Challenge cars ran on," said Andrew Bennett. His brother added, "We just got a boatload of Hoosier 335/18s at the shop and are looking forward to trying them out." Planned future additions include a carbon-fiber hood, along with a removable front splitter and a rear diffuser. "We wanted to get the wing on to get some additional downforce; I'll get started on the rest when I get some time," Ken said. An eight-point custom GTR roll cage was also installed to add extra rigidity and safety.
The Bennetts have a unique perspective when it comes to developing suspension parts. "We have a 4000 rally car that we product test suspension parts on," Andrew told me with a sly smile. "That usually means we run around until something breaks, then take it back to the shop to figure out how to make it stronger," Ken added. This product testing has led to the 2B Coil Program with special adjustable Koni shocks. Stopping power is provided by lightweight Brembo six-piston calipers which mount directly to the factory uprights without the use of adapter brackets, and custom made 13.8-inch directionally veined and slotted two-piece rotors. The rear brakes were upgraded to two-piece, 12.3-inch vented and slotted rotors. According to Andrew, this is the same braking system that's regularly sold to 2Bennett customers as a bolt-on upgrade for performance-tuned S4 street cars.
A few of the modifications made to the 525 bhp twin-turbo S4 include a modified intake system and an APR programmed computer chip. More significantly, the RS4 turbos have been upgraded with modified turbine compressor wheels so that they can easily put out 25 psi of boost. A front-mount intercooler core was tucked into the front bumper for maximum efficiency. Exhaust is routed out each side through a 2Bennett-designed, turbo-back, dual three-inch exhaust.
What would it take to put a GTR in your garage? "The GTR idea is to take the Audi B5 and have an unlimited modular platform for horsepower, speed, or whatever you want for the track or street," Andrew said. "The body is only the beginning. 2Bennett Audimotive offers engine upgrades up to 700 bhp, roll cages, suspension, brakes and wheels. Every component is designed to work on an integrated basis. We can supply GTR parts or a turn-key racecar with support."
The 2Bennett Audimotive S4GTR is sure to be the envy of the Audi club racing scene as well as a scourge to those competing against it. And speaking of competition, when asked who the better driver is-
"Andrew scares me," Ken said.
"We can't both be in the car at the same time," Andrew interjected. "If something were to happen, there would be no one to run the business." Brothers will be brothers.
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