Within the world of older Audis, it’s often a case of pick your poison. Do you want low miles? Do you want good exterior condition? Do you want good mechanical condition? Do you want a manual? Do you want a desirable model?
Running down the checklist when considering the pool of available candidates, infrequently are you allowed to shout out “BINGO”!
But today (and, as it turns out, tomorrow!) we look at something special for fans of the two-door variety:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1986 Audi Coupe GT on eBay
Year: 1986
Model: Coupe GT
Engine: 2.2 liter inline-5
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Mileage: 76,306 mi
Price: $8,500 Buy It Now
1986 Audi GT coupe with low low 76k miles. Read with light grey interior power windows sunroof stereo alloy wheels good tires cold air conditioning. Super hard to find in this condition with such low miles car runs and drives great Paint is very shiny and good luck in interior is in great condition for the year and mileage five speed manual transmission . Perfect for an Audi collector. Please ask questions before bidding or any concerns thank you Mark
The presentation in the photos of this car thoroughly backs up the low mileage claim; often, something to be concerned with given the propensity of B2s to shred their odometer gears. But this one looks and seems accurate from the pristine exterior to the very tidy interior. Just the right amount of patina is in place and those in the know will recognize the immediate wear items and NLA bits that are tantalizingly perfect.
The front reflectors.
The lower grills.
Map pockets.
The original Blaupunkt Rothenberg radio.
A pristine and plate-holder free front bumper.
A shift knob that retains its original leather.
These are the things that figuratively keep B2 enthusiasts up on the internet at night, and they’re all in place and pristine. In fact, it’s hard to find fault at all looking through the car; there’s minor curbing on the wheels, the rear wiper hasn’t parked in the correct position, the door seals are deteriorating and de-laminating, and the piping on the front seats has seen better days. The car doesn’t wear the correct or original antenna and the silver has been polished off the badges. The pictures also show the oil pressure pegged at idle, so the car probably has a common fault with the dynamic pressure readings, which will result in a disconcerting “YOU’RE OUT OF OIL” warning buzzer from time to time. This car is interesting as a non-sunroof example; as such, if you’re in a warmish climate, it would be best to make sure that the air conditioning is functioning. Having lived with and spent many years in these GTs, the ventilation is notoriously poor and they can quickly become oppressive in summer heat.
The only things that stand out to me are two-fold; one, the seller offers no pictures of the KX-code inline-5 or any mechanical assessment and/or history. Second, the price. At $8,500 this is a pretty expensive Type 85. Is it one of the best ones out there? Surely, and if you love the Coupe GT they don’t come a lot better than this overall. However, I think the price would be a bit more compelling if the car were either a Commemorative Design example, or the improved Special Build model. Then there’s the competition, like the even more outstanding 90 quattro 20V with 23,000 miles. At last check, that car’s asking price had dropped to $2,000 below this one, and offers more performance, luxury, and rarity with equal condition. Despite this, you could easily eat up most of the asking price on a lesser example with just a respray in the original LY3D Tornado Red and you’d be left with a car which both lacked the originality of this one, plus years (no joke) of internet searching to buy all the correct pieces to make it look even half as perfect.
-Carter
This was my first car after college. Still remember I paid $14,000 for a dealer loaner car with a few thousand miles. It was an amazing car for the time .
Funny story the year after I purchased it. I took a roadtrip to Richmond VA to see my brother. He lived in a large apartment complex with a big parking lot. I arrived about four in the afternoon and find my brother’s apartment (no cell phones then). We catch up for a few minutes then my brother gets an evil look in his eye and asks if he can drive the Coupe to the store so I threw him the keys. He comes back 20 minutes later looking very confused. “Why did you buy an automatic???” I calmly answered that my coupe is a manual. He drags me up to the lot and points at a red coupe GT and I say that isn’t my car. I point across the lot to my red coupe. He then takes my key and opens the coupe in front of us and starts it, it is an auto….
To this day I don’t know if Audi shipped to cars with identical keys or perhaps the key variants were so minor that a key could start multiple cars…
Nice, but I’m much more interested to see what this 3,500 mile time capsule sells for…
http://charlestonwv.craigslist.org/cto/6246635431.html?lang=en&cc=us
Luckily I don’t know any Audi guys in WV or Charlotte, so I can’t get someone to check out either of these low mile coupes for me. I am not going to bid unless the car has been seriously checked out by a knowledgeable Audi tech. Must resist. Must resist.
Also, so I owned 3 different CGTs over the years, and I also once had a funny key story. I was at the dealer checking out the new CQs that came in, and there was a CGT on the lot for sale as well. Dealer was closed, so I couldn’t check out the CGT…or could I? I whipped out my CGT key and on a lark just tried. Opened right up!
Oh crap… I could be tempted into this like I was getting tempted into the ’91 20V a few write ups ago. And I live in Charlotte … Not sure if it’s a good thing or not I’m out of town until Tuesday!
@Christian and re:keys
That’s interesting, I’ll have to try it on my ’86/87.5. Interesting thing, though – I have two keys for the 87.5 and one for the ’86. The 86 both locks and turns on with the one, while he 87.5, one opens the locks and one does the ignition. I presume someone changed out the door handles at some point but they are not interchangeable.
@Carter: yea, someone most likely replaced the ignition on your 87.5 (if the other key open both doors). I had to replace my drivers door handle once, and you can “rekey” the tumblers to match the the stock keys with a kit, which wasn’t too hard. In fact, I need to do that for my 951 sometime in the near future. Of course, the other solution is to just add keyless lock system, which I am probably going to do.