Jordan Riegelhaupt’s Audi A6
As we countdown the days till Southrnfresh 3, we bring you Jordan’s Audi A6. I have known of Jordan for a few years back when he owned the Passat, but never actually met him in person until this April at our Welcome To Atlanta event at Mainstream. He has been a devoted Audi/VW lover since, and has always been about putting together a complete car inside and out. Jordan is a resident of NY but comes down to Atlanta often where the car stays, so we got a chance to get with him and his Audi. Jordan gave us a great rundown on his history and the story behind how he ended up in this classy A6.
In 2003 I was introduced to the Volkswagen scene from a family friend and it safe to say that is where it all began. I was hooked on cars from that point on, I have always considered a stock vehicle to be a blank canvas giving someone infinite possibilities to create whatever they want.
I was shown an online forum for VW Passats (ClubB5 at the time, later changed to PassatWorld), and decided at the age 15 that I wanted to build a B5.5 Passat as my first car. It was a model that wasn’t done as much as the MKIV Jettas and GTIs or the B5/B6 A4s that everyone built. I thought it gave me the perfect opportunity to do something different.
In February of 2004 I received as a gift from my parents a base model 2001.5 1.8T Passat. Over the next 5 years, I built what became one of the most well known B5 Passats in the country and became extremely involved in the Atlanta scene and southeast scene as a whole. I have some of my best memories of travelling around to various shows and events around the southeast, almost always with Tony Nguyen (CarbonGS) and others, showing at all types of events.
In February of 2009, the Passat unfortunately caught fire, which burnt the car to a total loss, watching 5 years of hard work and money up in flames was one of the hardest things for me to see. However, the friendships I made, and how much I grew as a person from the experiences I had spending 5 years in the scene weren’t going anywhere. At this point, I was hooked, cars were my passion and I knew I would be back with something bigger and better than ever.
Finding something to replace the Passat wasn’t going to be easy, and after having used an old Honda Accord as a daily/secondary car to the Passat up at school with me in Michigan, I realized I wanted something fun again. So I sold the Honda and needed a single car that would be functional in the Michigan winters, but also something fun and that fit my style ended up being an easier decision that I would have thought. After looking at a few used older SUVs in the 4Runner, Pathfinder type size/class I just knew it wasn’t for me.
I then discovered a CPO 2002 Audi allroad 2.7T at Nalley Audi. This car was perfect for me, Audi Quattro was killer in the snow, with just a chip the car had close to 400lbs of torque making it the perfect daily driver. With the help of John Marsh and Scott Paterson we managed to take up most of the usable space in the hatch for a 140+ DB monster of a stereo. I had debated building this car into something crazy, but being that it was always parked outside and covered in snow most of the year, I left it as is with just the chip and stereo, it was exactly what I needed at the time, a twin turbo wagon, with a crazy stereo, and great handling in the snow.
After graduating I moved to New York in July of 2010 for a new job, I realized I no longer needed to have a car, so I pulled the stereo from the allroad, and sold it a few months later. For about 1.5 years I was car-less for the first time since I was 15 years old. Despite not needing a car, after so many years, it was just something I could not live without, but what did I want to build next was the question. I had always loved the C6 A6 body, as I felt it resembled a more mature/grown up version of the Passat that I had once had. I went back and forth debating building everything from an MKII or MKIII GTI, a V10 TDI Touareg, another Passat, another allroad or C5 wagon, and almost every other VW/Audi out there, but I always came back to the classic look of the C6.
Once I decided on that, I spent 4-5 months searching the country for a 2006-2008 Brilliant Black on Black V8 S-Line, a task that proved much more difficult than I had originally anticipated. Ultimately in April of 2012, I found the car you see here today in a suburb outside of Chicago. I called the dealership and put down a deposit site unseen, flew out there 2 weeks later and drove the car back to Atlanta (with a pit stop in Cincinnati). It was a 13 hour drive by myself, and was one of the best drives I have ever had. It felt great to be back in the game, and the whole way I was so excited, getting to know the new car, my mind was racing as to where I wanted to start with the mods. I knew I wanted to build another classy euro/vip hybrid style that the Passat was, but where to begin. One of the reasons I bought the car even though I lived in New York was the fact that I didn’t need it on a daily basis. I wanted it to be built right, with no sacrifices, if it needed to be down for a few months at a time that was going to be ok. The car stays down in Atlanta and I do my best to split time between New York and Atlanta, coming back for major shows and events until I move back to Atlanta full time again within the next couple years.
Air suspension was the easiest first decision, after having it on the Passat, I knew going back to static was just not an option, with the help of Will Fisher at BagRiders I built out the setup which included one of the first production sets of Airlifts new Slam Series struts for the A6, paired with AccuAir’s trusted e-level management. Tony Nguyen of CarbonGS Products and I did the install, hiding all of the air ride was out of sight in the spare tire well out of site with the floor on.
The next and hardest decision I have made thus far was what wheels I wanted to run, there were too many out there that I liked, but the decision became pretty easy when I stumbled across a used set of 20×9.5’’ Carlsson wheels on the Mercedes forums, these wheels were built in the late 90s, and having not seen another set for many years, and never on an Audi I knew these would be the perfect first set of wheels for the car. The design and the fact that they are chrome is definitely a polarizing look, but I love it, doing something different will always come with at least a few haters. Paired with 235/30/20 Hankook tires, and the trusted hands at Butler Tire of Alpharetta, we dialed in the camber a little and were able to get the wheels tucked up nicely into the fender when aired out. I love the overall stance of the car, slight poke at ride height, and tucked hard when laid out.
Next up was the stereo, with a lot of gear leftover from the allroad, and the help of John Marsh, we spec’d out the wildest stereo I have ever had. A Hybrid Audio Legatia 3 way front stage, dual 15’’ Arc Audio subs, 4 Arc Audio amps, all seamless integrated into the OEM system with Arc Audio’s new PS8 processor. In my mind it is the perfect balance of SQ and SPL, clean and clear when you want it to be and able to beat up the block when needed. I wanted the stereo to be built in the same style as the rest of the car, subtle overall yet extreme in it’s own ways. Having the dual 15’’ subs hidden behind the rear seats is definitely an unexpected addition to a mid-size luxury car like the A6 and draws quite a few comments. The headliner, and pillars were all wrapped in matching black suede to go with the stereo install, and OEM S6 overhead consoles were added as well to maintain the black look throughout.
The exterior of the car has been left mostly stock, with a few subtle changes that I think enhance the overall, an OEM Black Edition S6 Grill was added with a custom black and chrome filler plate, smoked side markers added to remove the orange bumper reflectors. The V8 engine was already a great car to drive I just felt it needed a little more growl, so the rear mufflers and 1 set of the rear resonators were removed replaced with straight pipes and 4’’ tips to fill out the bumper, it gives the car an aggressive look from the back and opens up the V8 engine to give it the growl it deserves.
The car is hardly done, but it is in a great place to consider Phase 1 complete. Plans for the future include a laundry list of OEM RS6 parts both interior and exterior, a custom hard line setup for the air ride, and probably another set of wheels once I get bored with this look. For the time being I love how the car looks, drives, and sounds!
First and foremost I want to thank SOUTHRNFRESH for this feature, I am genuinely honored that my car is worth of gracing this site. Next I would like to thank my family for being supportive of this hobby all these years, Tony Nguyen of CarbonGS Productions, John Marsh of Marshin Audio, Fred Lynch at Arc Audio, Scott Buwalda at Hybrid Audio Technologies, Steve Flynn of Flynn’s Detail Products, Will Fisher at Bag Riders, Reno Heon at AccuAir, Geordie Johnston of Butler Tire in Alpharetta, all of my teammates over the years with FX, Elite, and International Allstars, and the entire Atlanta scene for keeping the culture alive.
Thanks for looking
