It’s a sigh of relief to see a market correction in classic Audi’s favor. For such a long time, Audis were simply unappreciated; but innovative designs, great looks and solid build quality mean that those who hung on for the depreciation ride are now smiling a bit more. There’s simply more appreciation for the classic Audis now then perhaps ever; even perhaps more than when they were new. That’s because back then, no one knew what they were, really – but today, the legend of Quattro has spread and thanks to the proliferation of internet video, we still get to hear the raucous barking and watch the belching flames from the turbocharged inline-5. This past weekend, I took my Coupe GT out for a ride. I grabbed my cousin and we went to look at a new car for him; a 2009 Subaru WRX. Much like a modern interpretation of the original Audis, it’s apropos that we arrived in an Audi to take a look at it. What was perhaps more striking, though, was the reaction of the Subaru crowd. We showed up to a Subaru speed shop where the WRX was to be view, and instantly once within earshot, all of the crew at the garage came out to see the approaching Audi. It was a genuine show of respect, smiles, and thumbs up from a crew you wouldn’t automatically assume would know their history. Even more shocking, though, was the resounding appreciation they showed for the old car – more than often is seen at Audi-specific events. That’s the legend and the importance of the Quattro:
Tag: legend
Back in January, this GTi popped up in strong, mostly original condition but with an even stronger asking price. I suggested it was unlikely to sell at $9,500 – and it appears I was correct, as it’s back up for sale with a substantial 20% price drop to $8,000. While that price is getting more realistic, it still strikes me as a bit strong considering the similar cars we’ve seen sell recently. Still, what other legendary classic car could you purchase for under $10,000 and enjoy at 10/10ths? Finding original examples of the hot hatch will continue to be difficult and always make me smile!
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1984 Volkswagen GTi on eBay
The below post originally appeared on our site January 3, 2015:
1 CommentDespite my general love of all-things-Audi, even I have a hard time coming up with good condition examples of the marque from the early 1980s. For U.S. fans, there just isn’t a plethora to choose from. For example, when you search eBay for Mercedes-Benz, Porsche or BMW models and sort by age, you’ll find usually several pages of examples before you get to the 1980s, where inevitably there will be a flood of models. When you switch to Audi, you’ll find three cars – and this is a good week. Fortunately for Audi fans, one of those three cars is the daddy – an original Audi Quattro. Few of these quite expensive turbocharged all-wheel drive Coupes made it to the U.S., and even fewer remain today; as I mentioned in the Coupe Week 1983 Quattro post. There was an excellent example of a low mile Quattro that had been repatriated to Europe, a trend which seems increasingly popular for the model which has more respect in the Fatherland than amongst U.S. enthusiasts. In fact, recently on our Facebook page one of the Quattros I posted prompted an enthusiasts to remark that the boxflared-fenders were reminiscent of the E30 M3 – without any acknowledgement that the Audi came on the scene well before the DTM star. So here’s your opportunity, Audi faithful, to keep one of the better examples of the limited-run Quattro on U.S. shores with this excellent 1983 Mars Red example:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1983 Audi Quattro on eBay
5 CommentsI know what you’re thinking from the earlier post; “Really Carter? You’re going to do a Coupe GT and not a Quattro? Don’t be silly! Of course, the legendary and original turbocharged all-wheel drive Coupe is on my list for Coupe Week, and Paul spotted this stunning example on Classic Driver. It may be one of the lowest mile Quattros in existence, and certainly one of the best outside of the museum. While interest in the Quattro has surged thanks to Audi finally acknowledging in their ad campaigns that they made cars before the A4, the truth is that too long the Quattro was an unappreciated giant of automotive design. How unappreciated? Well, even as interest grows we’ve seen quite an odd trend; Europeans have been reverse-importing U.S. spec cars back to Europe. Such is the case with this example; originally a U.S. spec car that is back up for sale after returning to European soil:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1983 Audi Quattro on Classic Driver
4 CommentsJust the other day I caught the Wheeler Dealer episode where they restored a Mk.1 GTi. For me it was a trip down memory lane; my GTi also suffered the electronic woes and shift linkage problems that the one on the show did. Unfortunately for me, I was not nearly as talented a mechanic as Mr. China is – resulting ultimately in the end of my ownership of the now-legendary car. Of course, when I owned it they were still throw-away cars – while people liked seeing them, no one really considered them particularly collectable in the 1990s. However, since then clean and unmolested original GTis have steadily increased in value to the point where we’ve documented a few examples north of $15,000. Those were exceptions to the rule, though – we’ve also seen nice original condition cars struggle to make even half that amount. Today’s example seems to lie in the middle; clean and mostly original, lower mile and good condition with a $9,500 asking price: