Audi A4 1.8T quattro AZK Street Touring 55 🇩🇪 (1995)

·July 1, 1995

MODEL: Audi A4 1.8T quattro AZK Super Touring Street 55
YEAR: 1995
TYPE: Limited-production performance sedan
MODEL FAMILY: A4
MARKET / ZONE: Audi Deutschland (Germany)
MODEL / GENERATION CODE(S): type 8D
Chassis / Matrix: B5
ENGINE: 1.8T, 1.8-liter turbocharged inline-five-valve-per-cylinder four-cylinder
POWER: 240 PS (237 hp)
DRIVETRAIN: quattro permanent all-wheel drive
TRANSMISSION: 5-speed manual
PRODUCTION: 55 examples (reported)
DEVELOPED BY: Audi Zentrum Koblenz (AZK), Löhr & Becker
LOCATION: Koblenz, Germany
MOTORSPORT CONNECTION: ADAC Super Tourenwagen Cup (STW)
KNOWN PROMOTIONAL REGISTRATION: KO-AZ 670

OVERVIEW

A limited-production, 240 PS road-going Audi A4 developed by Audi Zentrum Koblenz during the early years of Audi’s Super Touring racing program.

The first-generation Audi A4 (B5) became one of the most successful touring cars of the 1990s, establishing itself in national Super Touring championships as Audi used motorsport to promote its new compact executive sedan and quattro all-wheel-drive technology. While the factory-backed racing program would become internationally recognized, one of its lesser-known derivatives was a limited-production road car developed by Audi Zentrum Koblenz (AZK), known as the A4 1.8T quattro Super Touring Street 55.

Introduced by 1995, the Street 55 combined a modified version of Audi’s turbocharged 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine with chassis upgrades, carbon-fiber aerodynamic components and styling inspired by the A4 Super Touring competition cars. Production was reportedly limited to 55 examples, making it an unusual early example of a dealer-developed Audi performance special.

AUDI ZENTRUM KOBLENZ AND SUPER TOURING

Audi Zentrum Koblenz was operated by Löhr & Becker, a Volkswagen Group dealership organization with a long history in the Koblenz region. Established as Germany’s first Audi Zentrum in 1988, the facility developed a close association with Audi’s Super Touring activities during the 1990s.

The Koblenz organization was connected to the ROC Competition/AZK operation that campaigned Audi A4 quattro touring cars in the German Super Tourenwagen Cup (STW). Its competition history included Emanuele Pirro’s 1996 STW championship, while the AZK name also appeared in association with subsequent racing efforts involving drivers such as Yvan Muller. The dealership’s motorsport involvement later extended to a relationship with Phoenix Racing.

The Street 55 reflected that motorsport association in a road-legal A4, applying visual and mechanical modifications intended to distinguish it from standard production models.

THE STREET 55 PACKAGE

The Street 55 was based on the B5-generation Audi A4 1.8T quattro, retaining its then just-introduced longitudinally mounted turbocharged four-cylinder engine, manual transmission and permanent all-wheel-drive system.

Engine modifications increased output to a reported 240 PS (237 hp), substantially above the standard A4 1.8T’s 150 PS. Contemporary and surviving-car descriptions identify a package that combined engine tuning with a stainless-steel exhaust system and additional chassis modifications.

Suspension changes included Koni dampers, Eibach springs and uprated front and rear anti-roll bars. The car rode on 17-inch OZ alloy wheels, measuring 7 inches wide, with a lowered stance compared with a standard A4.

Exterior modifications included a carbon-fiber front chin spoiler and a carbon-fiber roof-mounted rear spoiler. AZK-specific graphics and badging further distinguished the Street 55, including lettering on the rear of the vehicle and graphics associated with the windshield and hood.

The interior received additional carbon-fiber detailing, while period descriptions also identify a carbon-fiber engine cover and special footrest / dead pedal. At least one documented example reportedly carried signatures from Audi racing drivers Hans-Joachim Stuck and Altfrid Heger.

PRODUCTION AND DOCUMENTATION

The Street 55 is understood to have been limited to 55 examples, a figure repeated in period enthusiast advertisements and later specialist listings. A November 2003 German classified advertisement identified an A4 1.8T quattro Street 55 as number 24 of 55, providing evidence that the cars were individually numbered.

The model was already the subject of contemporary media coverage by July 1995, when the German magazine Rallye Racing featured the Audi A4 1.8 T quattro Super Touring Street 55 von AZK. This establishes that the package existed before Audi’s championship-winning 1996 STW season, although its exact introduction date and production period remain to be confirmed.

The Street 55 also reached Japan. Japanese specialist Bless identifies a surviving Crystal Silver Metallic example and reports that COX imported ten examples into the Japanese market. Its listing documents the AZK-specific components and 240 PS specification, providing a useful reference for the original configuration.

THE KO-AZ 670 PHOTOGRAPH

A surviving promotional-style photograph depicts a silver B5 Audi A4 with Street 55-type modifications and German registration KO-AZ 670. The KO registration prefix identifies Koblenz, where Audi Zentrum Koblenz was based. The AZ letters are also consistent with the dealership’s AZK abbreviation, although a deliberate connection has not been independently established.

The car’s exterior configuration closely resembles the documented Japanese Street 55, including its lowered stance, wheel design and front spoiler treatment. The photograph may depict an AZK demonstrator or promotional vehicle, but its precise origin and relationship to the numbered production cars remain unconfirmed.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

The A4 Super Touring Street 55 represents an early example of a dealership-associated Audi performance derivative developed alongside the manufacturer’s touring-car program. Its introduction preceded Audi’s major international Super Touring successes of 1996, placing it within the initial period when the B5 A4 was being established as both a new production model and a motorsport platform.

The timing of the car is also notable. Its production took place shortly after the highly tunable 1.8T was introduced in the A4 (B5), was chronologically aligned with the launch of the A4 Super Touring program and constructed by the same organization that was managing the factory-backed A4 Super Touring team in the brand’s home market. Given the S4 (B5) had yet to be introduced, the A4 Super Touring Street 55 would have qualified as the highest performance variant of Audi A4 (B5) to that date. While not as powerful as the Audi RS2 Avant that was also on sale that year, its packaging in Audi’s B-chassis replacement and its association with the A4 Super Touring program would have made it most desirable.

Unlike the later, more familiar Audi Sport and quattro GmbH performance derivatives, the Street 55 originated through a dealer organization with direct connections to competition. Its combination of turbocharged engine tuning, chassis modifications, carbon-fiber components and limited production makes it a distinctive part of the B5 A4’s early history.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Specification	Details
Model	Audi A4 1.8T quattro AZK Super Touring Street 55
Model generation	B5 (Typ 8D)
Introduction	1995 (reported)
Engine	1,781 cc turbocharged inline-four, 20 valves
Output	240 PS at 5,800 rpm
Torque	Approximately 290 Nm
Transmission	Five-speed manual
Drivetrain	quattro all-wheel drive
0–100 km/h	Approximately 6.0 seconds
Maximum speed	246–247 km/h
Wheels	17 × 7-inch OZ
Suspension	Koni/Eibach
Exterior color	Crystal Silver Metallic
Interior	Black leather with carbon-fiber trim
Production	55 examples reported
Japanese imports	10 examples reported, through COX

The Japanese survivor listing documents the output, chassis components and 246 km/h maximum speed. The Spanish retrospective provides additional engine-tuning and acceleration information. blesscar.jp

ADDITIONAL HISTORICAL NOTE

One particularly relevant detail deserves inclusion in the archive: AZK was already competing in STW during 1995. The AZK-Team Scheider entry fielded Audi A4 quattros for Hans-Joachim Stuck and Altfrid Heger. Both drivers finished on the podium at the opening Zolder race on April 30, 1995, behind Frank Biela’s winning Audi. This establishes a direct contemporary connection between the dealership, the A4 competition program and the two drivers whose signatures appeared on a documented Street 55. Super Touring Register