For far longer than Speedhunters has existed, Gatebil events have been at the heart of Scandinavian modified car culture. While crazy cars and equally crazy drivers\u00a0were a staple of the scene long before Gatebil made its mark, the impact these events have had in preserving and growing that wild spirit is undeniable.<\/p>\n
We always look forward to seeing new builds come out of the woodwork each year when we visit Mantorp Park in Sweden and Rudskogen Motorsenter in Norway. Next year, we\u2019ll be adding Circuit Meppen to the list when Gatebil makes its debut in Germany from August 21-24, 2025.<\/p>\n
While Volvos are a favorite at Gatebil (and no surprise why), Audis have always had a strong presence too. Ten years ago, we featured one of the best \u2013 a 1,000+hp A3 hatchback. Let\u2019s take a trip down memory lane and revisit that story for this week\u2019s throwback post.<\/p>\n 2014 Feature<\/span><\/p>\n These days, most people know all about the Scandinavian car scene and how the people within it like to get things done (we like to think Speedhunters has had a big hand in that). At the point where most other enthusiasts would stop and say \u2018that\u2019s enough\u2019, the Scandinavians seem to not know the meaning of the word. They press onwards, chopping, changing, boosting\u00a0\u2013 all with the goal of creating\u00a0some of the most extreme modified cars on the planet.<\/p>\n Within the Norwegian and Swedish scenes, standards for what could be considered extreme are understandably much higher than in most other parts of the world, so you know that when a Scandinavian refers to a car as \u201cimpressive\u201d,<\/em> you know it\u2019s going to be good.<\/p>\n This is exactly what happened when friend of Speedhunters\u2019 and Norwegian local Egil H\u00e5skjold mentioned Tommy Sch\u00f6nberg\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>2006 8P Audi A3. A quick conversation that included the words \u201cboosted five-cylinder\u201d, \u201cover 1,000hp\u201d <\/em>and \u201cquattro driveline\u201d<\/em> sealed the deal \u2013 it was time to get a better\u00a0look at this vicious machine.<\/p>\n Once we got to Gatebil Rudskogen in the 2014 summer,\u00a0it didn\u2019t take us long to spot the A3. As soon as the practice sessions for the Gatebil Extreme time attack class rolled out of the pits, you could hear the Audi and all its horsepower reverberating across the Norwegian landscape, a symphony of spooling turbo, screaming wastegate and an\u00a0unmistakable five-cylinder thump.<\/p>\n The rate at which this car gains speed is nothing short of phenomenal. Standing on the straight at Rudskogen\u00a0Motorsenter in Norway, you can watch as the Audi blows past other extremely fast cars as if they\u2019re standing still.<\/p>\n Tommy and his tuning shop, TS-Racing, are well known in Norway, and this car, which Tommy says is a rolling billboard for his shop of sorts, has been around in various states of evolution\u00a0since 2007. But\u00a0it\u2019s now, in 2014, that this weapon of a car has exceeded even his own expectations.<\/p>\n When Tommy first set out to engineer\u00a0the Audi, he had only built street cars in the past. One of those was a very\u00a0well known pink-hued monster A4 Avant, built to RS4 spec but using the turbocharged four cylinder. Race car craft was completely new to him, but that wasn\u2019t going to hinder the project in the slightest. In typical Scandinavian fashion, Tommy set a goal of not just 1,000 horsepower, but 1,000 useable, track-racing-capable horsepower \u2013 he just had to find the right platform to do it with.<\/p>\n The A4, A5 and A6 were all too big, and the VW Golf had already been done locally, and the first generation A3 was too ugly (according to Tommy). That left only the 8P A3, which was brand new in 2006 when the build began.<\/p>\n All Tommy needed to start his new project was the bare shell. Still, despite various attempts at negotiation,\u00a0Audi Norway had no interest in selling anything other than a completely brand new car.<\/p>\n Tommy was over a barrel, but instead of caving and buying something off the lot in Norway, he went and found an ex-demonstrator turbo diesel 4WD A3, complete with full leather interior and sat nav, at a dealership in Germany for a far better price, and had it shipped over.<\/p>\n Though he\u2019d still paid much more than he\u2019d wanted to, things worked out okay once Tommy got in touch with a local secondhand Audi parts dealer, who not only agreed to take everything that was coming out of the brand-new car, but swap it all for some crucial quattro driveline parts from a much older, but stronger Audi RS2.<\/p>\n But wait, isn\u2019t the A3\u2019s Haldex system (also found in various VWs, Skodas and Seats)\u00a0east-west in configuration, while the RS2\u2019s old quattro system is north-south? Yep\u2026 it most certainly is\u2026<\/p>\n As soon as the car arrived in Norway, Tommy went down to the port, attached the number plates from\u00a0his A4 street build, and drove home\u00a0\u2013 there was no point registering the A3 after all. The car was quickly stripped down to a bare shell, and the front and rear ends were unceremoniously\u00a0removed. All were replaced with chromoly tube framing, which was then integrated\u00a0into a chromoly roll cage to tie everything together.<\/p>\n As you can imagine, going from an east-west engine and driveline configuration to a north-south is never easy, and it\u2019s even harder when you\u2019re dealing with an all-wheel drive system and a relatively small vehicle. But with that said, the tube chassis forward of the firewall made things a good deal easier.<\/p>\n By using a custom driveshaft, which has been hardened by a local Nordic weapons manufacturer using the same process used on their rifle barrels, the older quattro system was pieced together underneath the car, including the factory lockable diffs. Though it all physically fit (after a few serious modifications to the gearbox tunnel), the longitudinal\u00a0layout means that while the rear end is fine, the gearbox sits further back than it used to, meaning that the front axles sit at a 30-degree forward angle. While it\u2019s not dire, the extreme angles put a lot of pressure on the CV joints, and it\u2019s the most common failure point of the Audi\u2019s driveline.<\/p>\n Though the gearbox may look stock from the outside, it\u2019s\u00a0just a shell, and the innards\u00a0have been replaced with a rallycross-style dog engagement setup mated to a Tilton triple-plate carbon clutch, minus first gear. When we say minus, we don\u2019t mean first is stock; we mean it\u2019s not there at all.<\/p>\n Tommy admits he\u2019s perhaps a bit vicious when shifting during a race, and something about the action of going from second to third occasionally causes first gear to eat itself. Tommy has had to fix the \u2018box many times because of this over the last seven\u00a0years, and at 10 grand a pop, he eventually gave up and simply doesn\u2019t run a first gear.\u00a0Tommy laughs and says he doesn\u2019t need it anyway; any time he\u2019s out-launched off the start line, there\u2019s more than enough power available to catch up with whoever managed to eke out in front.<\/p>\n Originally, the number plates weren\u2019t the only thing to come from Tommy\u2019s A4 Avant; he also pulled the extremely modified four cylinder turbo setup, which was one of the most powerful of its type at the time. The problem was, with Tommy\u2019s local track, Rudskogen, being re-vamped and becoming much bigger in 2011, there came a need for much more torque, and try as you might, you\u2019re just not going to get that from the four banger\u00a0\u2013\u00a0even if it was stroked out to 2.1 litres.<\/p>\n Thus, Tommy along with local engine builders VS Motor, built a new engine\u00a0based around an mid-\u201990s Audi five-cylinder set up \u2013 something you might see in a heavily-modified S2 or RS2. The block itself actually comes from 2.5-litre\u00a0diesel variant of Audi\u2019s 2.2-litre 3B and AYC motors (the factory S2 engine, depending on year), and is a good option for increasing capacity when mated to the DOHC 20-valve head.<\/p>\n This particular motor runs the stock diesel crank pushing Pauter rods and JE forged pistons. Above sits a heavily-ported and polished ABY head with its individual coil packs, though trainspotters will notice that the cam cover itself is from an older 7A engine. The head runs a set of very aggressive custom cams and bigger valves, and sits above the stock head gasket, which is steel.<\/p>\n Considering the forces and strain that this engine is put under, a dry sump setup is crucial.<\/p>\n Boost\u00a0is provided by a billet Precision 7175 turbo sitting on a custom stainless manifold, which dumps into a 4-inch down pipe that then splits into twin 3.5-inch exhausts\u00a0running out to the sides of the car.<\/p>\n With the sort of power Tommy is running, he was struggling with the mid-range response \u2013 it was so vicious that he was having trouble driving it smoothly. The answer came with the recent addition of a new intake plenum and individual throttle bodies to replace the big single throttle the car was previously using. Apparently, it has made a huge difference and the car is now far better behaved and delivers its power\u00a0in a much silkier fashion.<\/p>\n How much power exactly? Well, on VS Motor\u2019s engine dyno, the new 2.5-litre five setup easily surpassed Tommy\u2019s original 1,000hp goal \u2013 so he decided he might as well lean on it to see what it could do. They eventually stopped at 1,150hp on 2.5bar (36psi) when the turbo reached its maximum efficiency, just as the fuel system was about to do the same. Tommy says that it was a beautiful thing to watch as this howling five-banger loaded up on the dyno.<\/p>\n Tommy doesn\u2019t usually run all 1,150 horses on track though, and winds the boost back down to a more sensible 2.0bar\u00a0(29psi), resulting in a \u2018conservative\u2019 figure of a little over 1,000hp. This, as you could imagine, requires some serious cooling, taken care of by a huge rear-mounted radiator\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0clearly visible in the back of the car.<\/p>\n The cooling setup\u00a0gulps down huge volumes of air through\u00a0big vents in the haunches and the roof of the car and is accompanied by the Peterson dry sump tank and fuel system, which uses\u00a0two big Bosch pumps drinking from a 30-litre fuel cell\u00a0to feed the huge 2,000cc Precision injectors up front.\u00a0A Perspex firewall keeps Tommy safe should anything go wrong during a race.<\/p>\n Forward of the firewall, things are simple, as you\u00a0probably assumed. Carbon door cards and dash, Sparco seats and a MoTeC digital dash are all Tommy needs; this car is about going as fast as possible and that\u2019s it!<\/p>\n To be very clear \u2013 this Audi, which weights in at 1,200kg wet with driver and makes over 1,000hp all day, every day \u2013 is extremely<\/em> fast. But there is of course more to speed than just \u00a0power and weight \u2013 it needs to stay out of the kitty litter, too.<\/p>\n Tommy knows\u00a0the guys at KW Suspensions well, and they\u2019ve been a great help with the build, supplying whatever he\u00a0needs, overnight from Germany. The A3 currently runs a custom set of KW Competition coilovers, which spring\u00a0completely custom adjustable tubular suspension arms and adjustable blade-type sway bars to provide as much control as possible; something that\u2019s easier said than done when you\u2019re pushing this much power, even with an AWD driveline.<\/p>\n Traction is obviously going to be a major issue, and if you check out Tommy\u2019s in-car video at the bottom of this chapter, you\u2019ll see that the Audi\u00a0is no stranger to oversteer. To best combat this, the car runs big 30\/65\/18 Michelin slicks wrapped around 18\u00d712-inch OZ Racing Alleggerita mono-block wheels.<\/p>\n Huge 8-pot Brembo brakes and floating 2-piece rotors can be seen through the spokes on the front, while the rears have recently been downgraded to 4-pot\u00a0units\u00a0in an effort to reduce the stopping power out back and balance the car better under braking.<\/p>\n Previously, Tommy had run much narrower rolling stock on the car, and was able to get away with using over-fenders from an\u00a0Audi Allroad wagon, but that was never going to fly when you\u2019re running 12-inch wide wheels and a fairly low offset. For a while, Tommy wasn\u2019t sure how to proceed, but it all clicked into place one winter\u2019s day when he was sitting in traffic and saw an Iveco commercial vehicle up ahead. The truck had the perfect shape of fender covering its dual rear wheels \u2013 a quick phone call was made and soon there were four brand new truck fenders sitting at the shop.<\/p>\n These were cut up and reshaped until they fit the A3\u2019s body perfectly, then taken off again and used to create a mould, which Tommy could then use to produce as many carbon fibre fenders as he wanted.<\/p>\n Carbon was also used to create the bonnet, boot lid and aggressive front bumper. The\u00a0doors, however, remain steel, as although the composite material is very strong and light, Tommy has always been weary of what happens when it does fail, and prefers the predictability of steel should the car suffer a side impact.<\/p>\n The handling, the braking, the acceleration \u2013 they all form into one cohesive package that equates to nothing short of warp-speed out on the tightly cambered hairpins,\u00a0undulating sweepers and long straights of tracks like Rudskogen. The car\u00a0is an absolute animal\u00a0and certainly requires large amounts of both concentration and testicular fortitude to drive.<\/p>\n We can\u2019t help but wonder how a monster like this would fair not just attacking the local tracks of Norway and Sweden, but perhaps some of the world\u2019s best hill climbs too; Eschdorf, St Ursanne, or even Pikes Peak. That much power and speed ripping through the tight roads of a mountain pass, the unique five-cylinder howl echoing through the steep hillsides? Sounds like pure heaven to us\u2026<\/p>\n![\"AUDI-S3-54\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-54-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-17\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-17-1200x799.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-56\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-56-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-41\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-41-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-33\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-33-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-31\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-31-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-52\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-52-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-64\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-64-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-63\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-63-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-51\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-51-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-9\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-9-1200x799.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-13\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-13-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-5\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-5-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-24\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-24-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-57\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-57-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-14\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-14-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-12\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-12-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-18\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-18-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-10\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-10-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-11\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-11-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-8\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-8-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-19\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-19-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-29\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-29-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-26\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-26-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-25\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-25-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-43\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-43-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-27\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-27-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-36\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-36-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-37\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-37-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-48\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-48-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-34\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-34-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-40\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-40-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-39\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-39-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n![\"AUDI-S3-65\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/speedhunters-wp-production\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/26170003\/AUDI-S3-65-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
<\/figure>\n