The word “rare” gets tossed around an awful lot, and if I’m frank we misuse it often. We talk about rare color combinations, rare drivetrain configurations, or rare specifications. But how about an entire model line that’s rare these days? Now, that’s worthy of taking a second look, and while all early Audis fall into that category, the Type 43 large chassis cars are truly not often seen anymore. There are a few reasons that; Audi’s focus in 1984/5 shifted towards the more popular all-wheel drive models as they looked to go upscale in the market with the new Type 44 chassis. Additionally, many of the early Audis that were sold in the U.S. were sold in areas that left their rust-prone metal fatigued. And the Type 44 chassis was so thoroughly modern, it instantaneously rendered the still fairly new Type 43 a dinosaur of design. If “Video Killed the Radio Star” in 1978, aerodynamics, modern design and quattro killed the first 5000 in 1984. Looking back, though, the 5000 was a lovely design; sure, it was boxy and the U.S. didn’t really get the top-spec European 200 5T model. But by 1983 there were 3 different options to choose from; the base model was the 5000 S, available with the 2.1 inline-5 found also in the 4000 5+5 and the Coupe GT. At 100 horsepower, it wasn’t much of a match for the weight of the Type 43 chassis, but it was available with a 5-speed manual. Step up to the 5000 Turbo, and you got a healthy bump to 130 horsepower but could only select the dim-witted but reliable 3-speed automatic. But the sleeper of the trio, and the one that was seldom selected, was the 2.0 liter turbocharged inline-5 diesel option:
