Press "Enter" to skip to content

This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.

1991 Audi 200 20V quattro

Timothy Dalton was a pretty forgettable James Bond, and The Living Daylights was an even more forgettable Bond film. Beyond the pretty ridiculous plotline of the cellist turned assassin turned sympathetic refuge and maybe the only woman the protagonist never sleeps with, perhaps the most notable appearance was the Mujahideen in another sympathetic roll. They were, after all, the freedom fighters trying to kick out the Western baddy-of-the-decade Russians – never mind that they’d basically become the Taliban in short order, or that the CIA was funding guys like Osama bin Laden to be over there fighting and training alongside them. If you leave the serious lapse in global politics out of the movie, the best part was probably the two Audis you forgot about. James used a 100 quattro Avant for survaillence, but when he needed a quick getaway, it was a really slick looking Stone Gray Metallic 200 quattro with some particularly awesome BBS RS wheels under lightly flared arches. In European guise, it was not a car we got here, with the slab-sided 5000 carrying the torch in 1987 – the year the movie premiered. There was a 35 horsepower difference between the European variant and what came to us, too. That was rectified in 1991, though, when Audi very nearly recreated the look of that James Bond car in the 20V version of the 200. With flared arches, 15×7.5 forged BBS RG wheels and a new, double over head cam turbocharged 3B motor producing 217 horsepower channeled only through a manual gearbox and all four wheels, the 200 finally became a chariot worthy of a super spy. Audi also moved in a new direction minimizing badging; the rear window had a “quattro” script defroster and in front the quattro badge adorned the grill, but as with the 1990 V8 and Coupe models, no other model designation was present. You either knew what you were looking at, or you didn’t. Most didn’t, since these expensive Audis didn’t sell particularly well in the wake of Accelerategate, but those that got them bought a treasure of potential and great build quality:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1991 Audi 200 20V quattro on eBay


Year: 1991
Model: 200 20V quattro
Engine: 2.2 liter turbocharged inline-5
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Mileage: 106,124 mi
Price: $7,500 Buy It Now

An original stock- non modified, Carfax verified 106,134 mile 1991 Audi 200 20 Valve Turbo Quattro with a 5 speed manual transmission with locking differential all in the Audi special three stage pearl white paint and medium gray leather interior. This vehicle is in exceptional condition with all the options. Mint condition in and out, with very minor wear and tear, especially for a 1991 vehicle. I found and purchased this European wonder from an Audi enthusiast who garaged, washed, polished, and meticulously maintained and loved this vehicle its whole life. We are the second owners, and purchased from the original owner. I was thinking of building this car into a rally/pikes peak/scca car, but it would be a shame to tear it up, and also decided to go a slightly different route-turbo Quattro coupe ( URQ ). If you are reading this far, you know what this car is, often claimed as one of Audi’s best of all time vehicles. Maybe you are willing to turn this European wonder into a eats Corvette’s for lunch type-looks bone stock, but will take your money every time as a streetwise blistering fast 500+ whp sedan. This road car in its current form is a stabile, surprisingly quick, blast to drive especially at highway + speeds. Mechanically sound, always looked after by VW/Audi enthusiast mechanics.

Few do remain in the condition and with the mileage of this car, though they’re out there. Other than some typical Bose amplifier issues and a lack of interior photos, what is presented looks quite good. These 200s are pretty soft out of the box and have the notorious “UFO” floating rotor brakes that were replaced with more convention Girling G60 units on the spiritual successor, the S4 (the V8 adopted the G60s in 1992, as well). They can be finicky, but when properly functioning the braking power easily is the match of the 150 m.p.h. cruising speed of the 200 20V. Outside of the Quattro, pricing on these legendary sedans is no where near their contemporaries; most would probably consider a $7,500 M5 to be a bargain in this condition and mileage, but it almost seems expensive for an Audi. Assuming the car is mechanically sound and up to date, it should be worth more than $5,000 – but the big numbers really only seem to come for Avants. Still, even at nearly double the going rate of many other examples of the 200, this one seems like good value if you like being a bit different than the normal crowd.

-Carter

13 Comments

  1. Maxwell Rich
    Maxwell Rich August 9, 2016

    Great write up Carter!

  2. singlecross
    singlecross August 9, 2016

    I own the twin to this car, bought a few months ago out of Connecticut after being featured on the site here in March. Mine has a few more miles but some nice modifications, and was bought for below the Buy-it-Now for this one. These are fantastic cars and the sound of the turbocharged inline-5 with a performance exhaust is intoxicating… I simply can’t keep my foot out of it for the pleasure of the turbo thrust and the sound. For significantly less that 1/2 the cost of a nice BMW E34 M5, it is very hard to go wrong here.

  3. MrMan
    MrMan August 9, 2016

    Wish there were some pics of the leather.

  4. Brad
    Brad August 10, 2016

    The speakers probably just need to be replaced by pulled units from a salvage yard: it’s a gamble but the odds work out well sometimes. They are dirt cheap. The amps are integrated. The speakers plug via a proprietary cable connection. Speakers from V8s also work.

  5. Early8Q
    Early8Q August 10, 2016

    I am curious about the door handles. I would expect them to be body color on this car.

  6. Carter
    Carter August 10, 2016

    @Early8Q – negative. 200s had black handles. It was the upscale V8 that they painted them body color on. The C pillar trim is different, too.

  7. Carter
    Carter August 10, 2016

    @Brad, last I knew you could still employ Bose to rebuild them for you. It’s not cheap but supposedly works well.

  8. UrSDriver
    UrSDriver August 10, 2016

    Awesome write up and niiiiiiccccceeeee car, warms my heart to see one this good still clawing at the pavement. The “autocheck” display showing the radio station on the instrument cluster is rare sight in one of these, mine would only do that during a harvest moon.

  9. UrSDriver
    UrSDriver August 10, 2016

    The Bose system is not worth salvaging, it’s one of the major downfalls of this car. The rear speaker were recalled in mid 2000’s for starting total loss fires. It’s 1 OHM impedance system so its not compatible with anything else. You can solder new resistors in that don’t melt but there are diminishing returns. I ended up stripping the interior and running new speaker wire to the doors, then mounted a 4-channel class D amp under the rear seat controlled by a drug dealer quality alpine head unit. Allot of work but never had to touch it again, and Ipod control, which was a thing that mattered 2005.

  10. Brad
    Brad August 10, 2016

    Back when I refurbished mine, I opened the speaker case and saw only a generic, cheap speaker plus the small amp., which is an exposed, palm-sized logic board that the Goonies made in their 1980s garage. If it’s not urban legend that the amps can be rebuilt (I think it’s more than soldering that’s needed but rather a replacement of the components on the logic board) then it is still surely cheaper just to buy salvage yard ones for $10 until you get lucky.

  11. Jim
    Jim August 10, 2016

    The G60’s that came on the C4S4/S6 that manh replaced the UFO’s with were no great brakes either. The car really needs the Porsche BigRed’s or at least Boxster Black Calipers and larger rotors. Trouble is, the 15’s then don’t fit. (But the forged 16’s off an S4/early S6 do). Either way, this is a nice find, someone is going to end up with a great car.

  12. UrSDriver
    UrSDriver August 10, 2016

    I swapped the G60’s from an S6 on my 200 20v when I scrapped the UFO’s. The G60’s were good enough for spirited driving. I have Boxster Blacks on my current UrS4, powerful but noisy, if I did it over I would use B5 S4 brakes, mostly because they are allot cheaper and plenty effective for street use.

  13. singlecross
    singlecross August 10, 2016

    Agreed that the Bose is not worth saving… Budget for a replacement with modern equipment. Or go without and listen to one of the best sounding engines ever!

Comments are closed.