Engine Compartment Appearance
 

I walked into an Audi dealership Sat. to discuss alternatives once the lease on my '04 S4 6MT is up in Feb 07. With all that has been written here, regarding Audi's current lease rates, I thought I should hear the bad news from the source. All true. Fortunately for me, the Dealership had a Phantom Black/Premium Black RS4, that I was able to test drive. Put 14 miles on the car, and it was terrific! - blah blah, blah. Now for my question - When I opened the Hood to look at the Engine compartment - my jaw dropped, and not because of the look of the intake manifold. Compared to the clean, tight fit and lines of the valve covers and intake manifold on my B6 S4, the engine compartment looked like a mess. There were black lines around the edges of the valve covers, rough metal edges, and a general lack of tidiness. Admittedly, I keep my Engine Compartment spotless, but for a car with 48 miles on it, I was shocked. Before I order an RS4 (Black isn't my color choice) I want to make sure that this is not normal??? FYI, if anyone is interested the dealership has a Daytona Gray Pearl Effect w/ Black interior due in three weeks. At this point my intention is to order, (and wait), - I am partial to Sprint Blue, w/ Silver/Silver Alcantara. Has anyone made the same observation?

a couple of things i've noticed on mine....
 

-when I remove the oil cap, there appears to be red overspray on the inside lip of the oil port on the valve cover....as if it wasn't masked off properly when the valve covers were painted.

-the CF pieces seem a little flimsy.

other than that, I don't have a problem with the engine compartment.

just wait till your carbon fiber starts to turn green:)
 

Mine was black for about 4k miles, then i think cause of the heat, the resin started to turn green!:)

Pick your choice - A or B
 

IMHO A is a beautiful engine.

A
<img src="https://www.audiworld.com/features/tests/rs4006.jpg">

B
<img src="https://www.audiworld.com/news/04/b6s4/b6-08.jpg">

I believe Audi prefers the term "Olive Hue Carbon Fiber".

The engine compartment is what constantly gets compliments whenever I open it
 

After 4500 miles, its still looking amazing. No green CF that I see.

Guy doesn't want to buy the RS4 b/c of the look of the engine??? WTF???
 

Forget about all the things that come with the car.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/101392/showletter.jpg">

over 5k miles and still jet black... you got bum parts!

I'll never look at the Beetle the same way again, fizzy...

Yeah, but do you have 4 SWOOPY RED ARROWS under your hood ?
 

<center><img src="http://abwc.home.mindspring.com/rs4/stasis/images/image/DSCN3868_resize.JPG"></center><p>