The Type 44 Audi was an impressive advance for German automobiles, a huge leap forward for Audi in a new marketplace – but also nearly the cause of its demise. It was an aerodynamic, futuristic sedan when both BMW and Mercedes-Benz seemed to be producing cars stuck in the 1970s. It was the blueprint for most modern luxury sedans from not only German companies, but many of the advances were copied by the Japanese, Italians and Americans for their large sedans. Yet, by 1990 Audi nearly pulled out of the American market thanks to some creative journalism from 60 Minutes, who in their effort to prove Audi was at fault for some unintended acceleration cases nearly killed off the company entirely. In part as a result of their efforts, it’s become quite rare to find clean examples of them today – but it’s also because they were such good, long-lived and solidly built machines that few have lower miles today. While I recent featured a few 20V turbocharged examples in the 20V Turbo comparison, today we’ll look at a few of the lesser appreciated examples, starting with a clean 5000CS quattro Avant in Canada:
Tag: inline-5
It goes without saying that not every older German car is perfect, and that leaves a large amount of cars that are a bit of a “project”. Depending on your tolerance and your desire for a particular model, that level of project can vary greatly from a car that has some minor needs to a complete rebuild from scratch. Today I have two “broken” Silver Arrows from different generations – each with a devoted following and somewhat rare to see these days. Both could function as daily drivers with some work if you’re game. Let’s start with the Coupe GT:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1984 Audi Coupe GT on eBay
8 CommentsWhile there are more popular options in the large executive sports sedan market, there are few that are quite as well rounded as the C4 Audi S4/S6 twins. The C4 might have been slower out of the box than the M5 and 500E/E500, but as the only turbocharged version quick tuning meant it was easily capable of pushing the same power. The real key to driving these inline-5 wonders, though, is the torque that’s available once the turbo kicks in. A wave of power seemingly able to extricate you from any situation is suddenly available, picking that heavy nose up and launching the car forwards in a symphony of rally-inspired wooshes. Add to that the legendary quattro all-wheel drive and the Audi was a useable, year-round package that has maintained a serious cult following in all areas of the country. Especially sought after these days are clean, original examples that don’t carry the easy to show wear Ecru interior. Despite the all-too-predictable Emerald Green Mica of this example, the insides are Darth Vader’s own palace – black leather with carbon trim: