Avantturous featured many Audi Allroads and their owners in 2023. Now back from a quick break in 2024, it only makes sense that Avantturous returns with a BANG by featuring well… an Audi Allroad! I’ve said many times before and I will say it again that Audi really got the recipe down when producing the B8 Allroad and B9 Allroad; they just look so good! Most notably is its sleek side profile that makes Audi Allroad such a good looking platform!
For this week’s blog entry, Avantturous got to meet with Josh and check out his Mean & Green Stage 3 powered B8.5 Audi Allroad creation. Josh mentioned that he’s always been around Audi / VW cars and grown to love the brands. But it wasn’t until he mentioned about his previously owned a MK4 GTI and right away, I knew that he and I would get along very well! That… and somehow we both shared some similar ghost encounter stories (don’t ask on how we got started talking about ghosts… LOL!)
Let’s get to business! This Allroad example was acquired by Josh in 2018 as his primary mean of transportation. Upon acquiring the car, Josh wasted no time and started pouring every dollar he had into the car. Starting it off with the seldomly seen Moonlight Blue Metallic paint, Josh went ahead and opted for Kermit Green wrap for the wagon. The wagon was originally rolling on a set of 20” wheels on low profile tires. That all changed when Josh met Rob; what was originally supposed to be a maintenance visit quickly snowballed into full suspension rebuild & upgrade, upgrading all engine mounts along with turbo upgrade to turn this car into a Stage 3 monster. To provide more traction for its newfound power, Rob suggested 19” setup with meatier tires and got Josh connected to secure a set of “Mops Spec” BC Forged wheels. The result is what you see on this Avantturous page! The Kermit Green wrap and the Brushed Bronze finish wheels work really well together! Being overall happy with the Allroad’s interior, Josh’s only complaint was lack of bolster on the factory seats. Wanting to keep everything close to stock, he opted for Audi S4 seats. These seats offer the plug-n-play install and offer the high bolster that Josh desired. The next addition made to the interior is a carbon-fiber / suede steering wheel complete with wireless OBD-II reading (future is NOW!). With all the installed upgrades, this Allroad is now the complete package!
As soon as the photoshoot was wrapped up, Josh offered a ride around the canyon to show the wagon’s quick acceleration and how tightly planted the wagon is to the ground. I was very amazed on the ride quality and comfortability of the wagon while attacking every corner of the canyon. Josh, mad props to you for building one of the cleanest and most badass Audi Allroads on the California streets!
Introduce Yourself
My name is Joshua Menard, I’m originally from Berkshire County, Massachusetts and now live in downtown Los Angeles. I have a clothing company and also a trucking company. Some of my favorite things to do is snowboard, golf, and build out cars.
WHY A WAGON?
So originally I had a 2002 GTI 6 speed transmission that I truly loved, I had this car in Massachusetts and drove it out to Lake Tahoe California. I always loved wagons. A very popular one would be the Subaru Outback that my buddy had and we would do a lot of snowbaord trips / cross country trips in this car. You can just fit a lot of stuff and there perfect for snowboarding with all three extra hatch back space. I then started to go on blogs and see Audi allroads that people were slamming to the ground and stances out. Ever sense then I needed to get my hands on one. I originally picked up my allroad in 2018 and put every dollar I had into it. I think this is where the attachment grew to where I would never get rid of it.
Did you consider a different WAGON instead of this one?
I did not I had my mind set on the Audi allroad because at that time this was the only one in my price range. I always loved the RS4 Avant but it was way outta my price range and they never made them here in USA. So I was inspired to get that look out of the allroad.
What was your original objective with your car and has that objective changed?
I would say originally I just wanted to wrap it and then throw wheels on it with a plug and play tune.
More recently my objective changed because I rebuilt the entire car and went stage 3 which was not cheap but worth every dollar. The new suspension mods have been game changer and the car drives better than ever.
What style would you say best describes your car?
The style was always the RS4 Avant. I traveled for snowboarding and had friends in Switzerland and Norway as well and seeing those cars in the wild in huge snow storms just parked at the bottom of the mountains made me realize it was the most efficient sports car for doing sport activities as well.
Who assisted in the planning/building/modding of your car?
When I did the rebuild I did it with one of my close buddies Robert Kocharyan , I originally was going to just do brakes and timing chain fuel pump and a few things and we agreed together to go all out and I let him do his thing with the engine and suspension. He also convinced me the 20s on the car did not fit correct so we went with some BC Forged 19s with a meatier tire which was assisted through “Mops” which it almost felt like I was shopping at a jeweler or something he was so precise with fitment and how it rides along with the looks.
What do you feel makes your car unique / special in your eyes?
You can see the time and energy that went into the car from a full interior swap with a S4 to the unique Kermit green wrap with the brushed bronze wheels you don’t see to many in that color way. Just a lot of time and energy over the years to get it to where it is now
What is your favorite part/feature/function of the car?
Probably the way it handles with the stage 3 suspension. Being able to have it as low as it is but it’s also very practical and built to be able to drive hard.
If you could pick one thing you aren’t satisfied with about your car, what would it be?
I would say the 4 cylinder engine but I also have other cars with larger engines and with the way we built this one it still feels light and has amazing pull. So I would say maybe would like to do some upgrades to a RS-style front and rear bumper to give it more of a sportier look. I’m pretty satisfied though.
What has been the biggest obstacle you’ve faced while building this car?
Honestly there wasn’t to many, it has been a great car over the years and I think the buddy I picked to make it happen he builds these cars like the back of his hand so it was in good hands and there wasn’t to many obstacles in our way. Made it happen in a short period of time.
What one word best describes your car?
Efficient
What is your final goal with this car?
It’s pretty much there maybe if I ever have engine problems do a rs3 engine swap to a 5 cylinder one day. And re-wrap it but it’s pretty much there.
If money is no object, which make & model wagon would you get into?
Not exactly sure which model yet but probably a Porsche Wagon V8 twin turbo.
