Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
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:
The Audi V8 quattro – one of my all time favorites. Finding a good one these days is difficult, especially if you’re not a fan of very popular Pearlesant White that a fair amount seem to be. In fact, prior to today I had written up four Pearl V8 quattros; like 3 of those examples, today’s is one of the earlier 3.6 “PT” engined cars, with subtle differences to the 1992-1994 4.2 V8s. Like the later cars, the 1991s gained the light and fashionable BBS RZ wheels; seemingly a requisite for luxury German motoring in the late 80s and early 90s. Other than that, there weren’t too many running changes to 1991 cars – but this particular example is offered in the rare-to-see Opal Pearl metallic and seems to shrug off most of its 170,000 miles:
In general, the C5 Audi S6 gets overlooked by enthusiasts who dismiss it as a soft, automatic-only fragile replacement for the legendary C4 S6. That’s a shame, because the C5 is a solid car and performer and one that the owners who have experienced them seem to love. What those who aren’t in the know seem to want is a 6-speed manual variant of the S6, though few have undertaken the swap. We have seen a few though, most recently a 6-speed converted S6 that was questionably modified but sported the all-important manual. No one jumped on that car despite the seemingly reversible modifications, so perhaps today’s more original example will make some converts?
I’ve recently been engaged in an email exchange with one of our readers comparing the V8 quattro that I love with the later D2 A8/S8. As much as it pains me to admit it and I love that early D11 V8, the reality is in nearly every measurable way the A8 and S8 are probably just a better choice. First, they’re the best part of a decade newer, and while the styling isn’t DTM worthy the D2 is certainly a great looking car in pretty much everyone’s book. The dimensions are right, the stance is great, and the presence is enormous. The D2 also benefited from the developments of the D11 chassis, and while it’s missing the virtually unstoppable Torsen setup of the V8 quattro, the D2 gained in pretty much every other department; refinement, quality, ride comfort, performance, fuel economy and safety. The top of the heap is one of our favorite cars, the S8 – touting 360 horsepower and a stiffer suspension, this is the one to have: