About a week ago, Paul sent me a link to Daily Turismo which was reviewing this very Audi Coupe GT. In the comments were the all too predictable Audi stereotypes; nothing electric will work, it’s overpriced, not worth getting unless its a quattro, I didn’t maintain mine well and so it was unreliable, etc.. The truth about the GT could not be farther from those descriptions; those that have driven them almost always report enjoying the experience, and those that have owned them and have moved on still pontificate how great of a car they are. To me, it’s cars like this that exactly underscore what’s wrong with the e30 market – here’s a very nicely styled, classic GT car. It’s well balanced and fun to drive. For the purists, it’s a 5-speed and has a race-bred soundtrack. They’re notoriously long-lived, with many (including this author’s) well in excess of 200,000 miles. There simply isn’t much electronic equipment to break on them. Yet, even a shining example such as this can be had for only $2,500:
Category: Audi
What would “Wagon Week” be without some fast Audi wagons? Starting in the mid-1980s, Audi cornered the market with its turbocharged all-wheel drive fastback “Avants” – starting with the 5000CS Turbo Quattro. The 5000 was replaced by the 200 in 1989, resulting in effectively the same car – now with BBS wheels and a revised interior and lacking the manual differential locks, but otherwise primarily unchanged. There was a minor revision in 1990 – the engine code changed from MC-1 to MC-2; the cam was slightly different and the engine ran higher initial compression and a lighter flywheel in order to drop boost for quicker response – but ultimately, it wasn’t a major change. The big change came in 1991 with the release of the heavily revised double overhead cam version of the venerable inline-5. Dubbed the 3B, it gained about 50 horsepower over the standard 200 turbo. The 20V version also sported “UFO” floating brakes, upgraded suspension, 7.5″ BBS wheels instead of 6″ and some subtle flares. As I mentioned previously, the 200 20V was perhaps the ultimate “Q-Ship” – it had no external badges, so you had to know those flares and wider BBS wheels in order to differentiate it. The 200 20V was a one-year model, replaced in 1992 by the again heavily revised S4 with another revision of the 20V turbocharged engine. We didn’t receive the initial C4 Avant version of the S4, though it was available in Europe in both turbocharged and V8 form. Audi finally corrected the problem in 1995 by releasing the S6 Avant; again revised with temporary overboost providing a bit more power through the AAN version of the inline-5 and with freshened bumpers, the limited run S6 Avant has become just as much a legend as the 200 20V version – if not more so. Our reader John spotted the two good looking examples found here:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1995 Audi S6 Avant on Craigslist
6 CommentsYou’re not going to buy this car. Let’s be honest, even if you wanted to spend a lot on a wildly modified Audi 4000, it’s on the wrong side of the pond. And then there’s the definition of “a lot” – in this case, the best part of $60,000. Crazy, right? Well, not so fast – arguably, this is one of the most famous and best executed modified Audi 80s in the world. But not only does it look racy; the looks are backed up by a 2.5 20 valve inline-5 turbocharged motor running a host of upgrades through a custom application V8 quattro 6-speed. The result? Going on 800 horsepower! Ridiculous for a standard 80 perhaps, but under the grafted Quattro flares and WRC OZ Rally wheels lie a host of RS2 and Group B works suspension upgrades. Compared to what’s under the hood, if anything the exterior suddenly seems quite sedate:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1984 Audi 80 quattro on Finn.no
3 CommentsUnfortunately I’m going to date myself here, but when I was in high school I had a love affair with Borbet Type C wheels. Sure, I loved BBSs, but the Type C was my then favorite – to the point where I had cut out the advertisement from Car and Driver that said in German “Lust after new wheels?” with an image of the Type C at the bottom and mounted it in my school locker. It was a brilliant ad campaign, and in the early to mid 1990s it was the wheel I wanted. When I got my first Audi – a 4000CS quattro – high on the list of “wants” was a set of 16″ Borbets. I saw them later at my first Audi event in 1997 at Lime Rock park, notably adorning two of my favorite models; a V8 quattro and S6 Avant. It was so memorable, in fact, that I took a photo of these cars in line with my favorite wheels – a photo I still have today. So, you’d think that when a set of my favorite wheels popped up on a period application like this 1993 Audi S4, I’d be super excited. But just to show how priorities change, I now find myself wishing it was wearing the original Fuchs-made 5-spokes. How weird is that?
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1993 Audi S4 on eBay
4 CommentsTime for another Wednesday Wheels roundup – but this time, I’m looking at some great steering wheels I found. Check out the rare Volkswagen Petri model – or the equally rare Personal Audi Sport wheel. Then there are a brace of Momo Mercedes-Benz wheels including a neat original AMG wheel, and why not throw in a Ruf wheel for giggles even if it costs more than some cars? What’s your favorite?