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2013 Audi TT RS

2013 Audi TT RS

Published April 21, 2019 by Carter

Update 4/26/19: This car sold for $41,500 – strong money!

Not convinced that the 8N will be a collectible in the future? Fair enough, they’re a lot of them out there and the performance (while good for what it was) didn’t really hold a candle to ‘true’ sports cars like the M Coupe. Well, its replacement – the 8J – sure offered up more performance in the TT RS. It was a whole lot more limited, too – with a scant 1,300 produced worldwide, collector status was almost ensured for this giant killer.

The 8J platform offered as standard a much improved chassis over the 8N that launched the TT, but it was the addition of the CEPA turbocharged inline-5 that really changed my opinion on the TT. In RS form, the soundtrack and driving experience was transformed into what had made Audi great. It was an outrageous street fighter with the chops to back up the “RS” insignia, with 360 horsepower and matching torque mated through a 6-speed manual. 0-60 was gone in 4 seconds and tenacious grip from giant tires coupled with the all-wheel drive and Audi’s dynamic magnetic ride suspension meant this TT was a corner killer, too. So what does it take to get into a nice one today?

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1988 Audi 5000S quattro

1988 Audi 5000S quattro

Published February 10, 2019 by Carter

Update 3/25/19: This Audi 50000S quattro sold for $1,500.

Did I say ‘trio’ of Audis? Well, when a clean older quattro pops up for sale, it’s always worth a look, so here’s numero quattro. As with the 80, the 5000S was an interesting addition to the marketplace for Audi. When the Type 44 quattro was introduced in the U.S. for the 1986 model year, it was solely available as a top-tier turbocharged 5000CS model. That continued for the ’87 model year, but in ’88 – the last year for the ‘5000’ moniker – Audi started to bring the C3 in line with its European counterparts. In Europe, Audi had offered the 100 quattro and 200 quattro, the latter being the turbocharged model. That would be the same in the U.S. starting in 1989. But in 1988, both models were termed “5000” and, as it did with front-drive models in the large-chassis range for 86-88, the “S” or “CS” would denote naturally aspirated and turbocharged models, respectively. This was somewhat confusing as the same naming convention did not carry to the B2 chassis.

To make it even more confusing, it was reasonably hard to tell the 5000S and 5000CS quattros apart – at least, from the side. There were no body differences and both wore aerodynamic 15″ wheels, also associated with the Turbo model. This was changed in 1989 as the naturally aspirated 100 moved to 4×108″ wheels and brakes, although the quattro model had BBS wheels that visually matched the 200 model. Both models moved to the new, smaller chromed badges. One easy way to tell the models apart was from the front, where instead of the dual-chamber European-look headlights the 5000CS and Turbo models wore, the 5000S quattro shared the normal single chamber 9004 U.S. DOT lights. Peek inside and you were much more likely to see velour instead of leather. And, of course, pop the hood and the motivation was completely different:

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1987 Audi 4000CS quattro

1987 Audi 4000CS quattro

Published December 27, 2018 by Carter

Update 1/2/19: Relisted on Craigslist at $7,800.

Okay, I did my due diligence and covered a BMW 325ix. But as I said, I can’t help but love my first car, the Audi 4000CS quattro, even if the BMW soundly out-performed it in most measures. While performance typically comes to mind, the 325ix also outpaces the quattro in pricing in the used car market.

For quite some time, the 4000CS quattro was a $2,500 car in good shape. I paid exactly that amount in 1995 when I bought mine. When I sold in 2003, it moved along for $2,500. And a further eight years after that, barring that it wasn’t destroyed, I’d have estimated its value at $2,500.

But with Coupe GTs and especially the Quattro heading into collector territory, it certainly follows that the 4000S/CS quattro will be there soon too. So how does that affect this one?

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Double Take: 1980 and 1981 Audi 5000Ss

Double Take: 1980 and 1981 Audi 5000Ss

Published December 2, 2018 by Carter

Update 12/2/18: The manual 1981 5000S has been relisted with a reserve auction and opening $6,500 bid price. It bid to $5,100 last time around and I was surprised it didn’t sell. Based upon the other Type 43 sales recently, the current listing seems ambitious so we’ll probably see this one remain for sale for a bit.

Update 11/11/18: The 1980 5000S sold for $2,600.

I wasn’t particularly effusive with praise for the Type 44 Audi 5000S, although it was almost certainly the car which kept Audi’s doors open and lights on in the U.S. during the 1980s. Part of the reason that the Type 44 was so successful was that it was a major step forward from the Type 43, a car designed in the 1970s that felt…well, decidedly like it was from the 1970s. It was big, boxy, not particularly efficient and not particularly technically advanced – especially when compared to the model which replaced it.

However, there were some great qualities about the Type 43. It was the model that introduced mass turbocharging to Audi with the 200 5T, a de-tuned version of which would appear in the U.S. as the Audi 5000 Turbo. Audi used that idea to launch the Quattro a bit later, and the rest is history. The Type 43 was also quite a handsome car, though like many from the period its looks were hampered by the DOT-approved bumpers. Although well reviewed by magazines and offering class-leading features and technology, the Type 43 never really sold in great numbers. A total of 163,442 sold here between its 1978 launch and 1983, the last model year before the Type 44 replacements rolled into dealers. That was just a bit better than the C1 Audi 100 had sold here, a car with a less-than-stellar reputation. Clearly, the Type 43 spent most of its time erasing the memory of the C1, and consequently it is important as it laid the cornerstones for the more successful Type 44.

Today C2s are pretty hard to come across, though we do see a regular flow of them across these pages. Today’s examples are the more pedestrian (and more common to find) 100 horsepower naturally aspirated versions rather than the early Turbo. Still it’s a bit of a treat to get two at the same time, so here we go:

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Qualified Quattro: 1985 Audi Quattro 20V

Qualified Quattro: 1985 Audi Quattro 20V

Published November 22, 2018 by Carter

Update 1/20/19: Now listed on Bring a Trailer on a no reserve auction!

Update 11/22/18: Back to my dream Audi garage! After disappearing off of eBay in the midst of hot bidding, this sweet 20V-converted Quattro is back, now listed on Audizine for $62,500. Included is a link to new photos which show the car off well.

Audi’s landmark Quattro has finally moved beyond cult status and into the greater automotive consciousness as a desirable model. That creates many problems, though. The first of these problems is that there just aren’t many Quattros out there. Audi only imported 664 examples of the original, meaning you’re statistically a little better than twice as likely to see an E28 M5 cruising around than you are a Quattro.

But in actuality, you aren’t. The chance is probably more akin to three or four times as likely, if not more. That’s because of the second problem – though the Quattro existed as a cult car since new, the fact is that for a long time they were pretty cheap. Pretty cheap cars generally don’t make collector cars, or at the very least receive collector treatment. You can see that in the M5; cheap for a long time, plenty have high miles and are basket cases though from the start they were touted as collectable. But the Quattro? This was a car intended to live in harsh conditions. Oh, and they didn’t apply any undercoating, or even fender liners. Problem three creeps into every seam on the car.

And then there’s an unpleasant truth: in its original U.S. form, the Quattro wasn’t a stellar performer. Toting around 2,900-odd pounds of early 80s tech, the lag-prone engine developed only 160 horsepower. The result was a car that could be caught off-guard by most economy hatches: 0-60 in 7.9 seconds, the quarter mile in 16.1 at 85. Forget the typical Camry or Accord joke; this is the kind of performance you get today from a Hyundai Accent.

Of course, the Quattro wasn’t about straight-line speed, and cars from the 80s all fall short compared to modern technology. This car, then, is more a time-warp to another dimension. A personal expression of devotion to rock-flinging rally monsters and television stars that liked to do things a bit differently. And those that have survived have been loved by their owners. Often, they’ve been upgraded, too, with later parts that solve the performance gap to their original European form. The result? Wow:

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