Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Two of the 4000 Quattros I wrote up in December are still on the block. Which of these all-wheel drive wonders would you choose? The first of these cars is a Zermatt Silver 1984 example which needs some love, but is now available at a much more realistic price point – less than half of what the asking price was in December.
-Carter
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There is an adage which has been around since the inception of the automobile; the idea that racing helps to sell cars, and specifically “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” has become the basis for many manufacturer’s participation in motorsports. Audi certainly used it to their advantage in the 1980s, creating a rally legend with their Quattro; the associated technology with those original WRC cars quickly filtered down into the entire product line. It’s one of the best examples of direct racing technology spreading to the average consumer in recent memory. However, after the end of the Group B formula Audi pushed the high horsepower efforts towards road racing. Most of those efforts, while extremely impressive, were wasted; Audis sales in the late 1980s and early 1990s slipped to pre 1980s lows in spite of headliner wins in the both IMSA and Trans-Am series. Shortly thereafter Audi went through a product line shift as it moved from the numbered series to the now-familiar “A” designations and ended the venerable turbocharged 5 cylinder – the basis for nearly all of the wins it recorded from 1980 to 1995.
An interesting thing then happened – Audi pursued Touring Cars with the new A4 platform. Audi was, in fact, not a stranger to the form of racing, having raced in various touring car groups since the 1970s. However, it was the method which Audi pursued with focus new championships that redefined the racing scene once again. The A4 STW (Super Touren Wagen) proved as successful as it predecessors had been, winning the Italian, German and British Touring Car Championships. What was interesting, though, was that during this time Audi had effectively no derivative performance cars based upon the A4. That would wait until the A4’s quattro all-wheel drive had been banned by the FIA, and the new V6 twin-turbo powered S4 was launched. It was the reputation that Audi had built that would spur on both sales and replicas of some of those touring cars, such as today’s heavily modified S4:
Friends, I’m afraid. I’m afraid that the already somewhat affordable hobby of 1980s cars is quickly becoming endangered by speculation. The first victim was the E30 BMW, and poaching resulting quickly in the endangered status of decent, affordable examples. But the poachers weren’t done; the E24 M6, E28 M5, Ur-Quattro, original GTis and Porsche 911s have been on their list as well. That has meant in some cases spill-over into poaching similar looking models; even more recently, we’ve seen a spike in Audi 4000, Coupe GT, 635CSi and 535is examples trading for previously unheard of amounts that have most enthusiasts despondent and questioning the sanity of the poachers. There are some glimmers of hope; on the endangered list but so far not hugely impacted by this trend are a few real gems of cars. Most notable of this group in my mind has to be the Porsche 944 Turbo.
The 944 Turbo – referred to as the 951 by insiders or anoraks – has been a giant slayer since it’s inception as a test platform at Le Mans in a heavily flared, super cool 924 GTR chassis – dubbed the 944 LM. The new 2.5 liter turbocharged power plant was truly an impressive feat; the aerodynamic body of the 944 returned quite good fuel mileage per the original intent of the design, but step on the loud pedal and there were few cars that could keep up – and none of them were at the same price point as the 944. Since then the Turbo has become legendary as one of the best handling chassis Porsche has produced, its near infinite tuning potential, the spectacular 80s flares and pop-up headlights, and a comfortable GT. As an all-arounder, few cars can achieve what the Turbo did. Because of the relative undervalued nature of the model though, few remain in really pristine condition; but if you’re in the market they do arrive from time to time, and this one certainly deserves to be on that list:
In a new location, from a new seller and with 700 more miles, the “White Christmas” Audi 200 20V Avant I wrote up in late December is now back up on the market. I included both descriptions as there was information in the original that was not present in the new advertisement. The car sold in the mid $3,000 range last time, so expect that’s where the reserve is set this time too.
-Carter
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Without a doubt, two of the favorite tuning platforms of the past two decades have been the E36 M3 and B5 Audi S4. Almost a right of passage for recent Euro car ownership, they took middle-class sedans to the track offering out of the box 240 and 250hp respectively, though in very different ways. Out of the box, the E36 was the more lively of the two, though the Audi was undoubtedly more refined and a better all-arounder than the E36 was. In an almost Yankees/Red Sox-esque rivalry, both have their supporters who either respect the other’s performance or point out its multiple flaws. Production didn’t overlap on these two, but it was close and pricing is similarly close these days. Which is the better deal? Well, you can help decide – let’s look at the BMW first: