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1985 Audi Coupe GT

1985 Audi Coupe GT

Published June 17, 2018 by Carter

I’m certain there’s a sect of the readership that gets pretty sick of me droning on about the Audi Coupe GT. I’ll acknowledge a very large soft spot for this relatively unloved Audi oddity. But it’s Father’s Day, and so as a treat to myself I’d like to look at another. And, I think you’d like to look at it too.

As we write up cars constantly, for me there’s always a point of thinking ‘Right! That’s it. There can’t be another clean original one out there!’ Because, at some point that certainly must be true. How many completely original, low mile and low ownership examples can there be out there. Who, for 33 years, would care for a car so much that basically everyone else gave up on when it was five years old?

Yet occasionally they turn up, and here’s a prime example. According to the seller, this 1985 GT has turned just 67,000 miles and he picked it up when GTs were still on dealer lots. Alpine White with the unique blue tweed interior and matching blue dashboard, he obviously loved the B2 as much as I do:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1985 Audi Coupe GT on Syracuse Craigslist

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1984 Audi Coupe GT

1984 Audi Coupe GT

Published July 6, 2017 by Carter

Like the 1984 Audi 4000S quattro, the 1984 Audi Coupe GT was a bit of an odd bird in the U.S. market. The GT was a light revision of the earlier Coupe; the major difference that was noticeable immediately was the Quattro-inspired 14″ Ronal R8 wheel design and raised spoiler shared with its bigger brother. Coupled with the deep chin spoiler and 4-quad headlight design, the Coupe GT introduced in mid-1983 looked like a fitting tribute to the turbocharged halo model.

Power now came from a 2.1 liter inline-5 (code WE) which cranked out 100 horsepower. Matching its European “5S” counterpart, the U.S. spec GT got an overdrive 5-speed manual with a 4.90 final drive; it helped economy slightly, though the slab front end certainly didn’t. But the new close(r) ratio box over the early economy-minded 5 speed helped acceleration little. Despite the lightweight 2,500 lb curbweight, Audi claimed the GT could hit 60 in a little over 10 seconds and it was out of fizz at about 109 mph. Despite this rather tame performance for a ‘Grand Tourer’, the GT’s numbers were on par with the GTI and better than the Scirocco. Plus, the longitudinal engine layout with equal length driveshafts coupled with a longer wheel base made them quite fun to drive.

But what was really unique about these cars was that they were an intermediary; the end of the Type 81 Coupes before the Type 85 Coupe GTs launched with heavy revision and more power (along with bigger brakes) for 1985. So while the later Coupes were basically a front-drive quattro, the 83-84 Coupe GT was like a 5-cylinder powered VW in some ways. They retained the smaller 4×100 mm bolt circle on the hubs with 239mm (9.4″) front disc brakes and rear drums, which is a blessing for wheel and brake upgrades should you want to go that route.

But on an example like this ’84, I hope someone keeps it stock!

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1984 Audi Coupe GT on eBay

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1985 Audi 4000S quattro

1985 Audi 4000S quattro

Published April 28, 2016 by Carter

I was sure I had seen this car before. Tornado Red and Brazil Brown Kensington Velour? Check, but there are quite a few 4000 quattros that fit that description. But a 1985 model narrows the pool slightly, though numerically Audi reports selling more 4000 quattros at nearly 5,000 in 1985 than any other model year. Pacific Northwest and under 120,000 miles? And in very good survivor condition? Yes, surely this is the car that I wrote up in February, 2014.

But I was wrong. It’s not the same car. It’s another that is in even better condition with less reported miles. Does lightning strike twice? The air sure feels pretty electric around me as I poured over the details of this 1985:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1985 Audi 4000S quattro on eBay

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1984 Audi 4000S quattro

1984 Audi 4000S quattro

Published April 10, 2016 by Carter

The 1984 Audi 4000S quattro is a bit of a unique beast. Though it appeared for all intents and purposes identical to the 4000S Limited Edition from the same year, underneath the two shared little in common. Indeed, when you lifted the covers much more of the quattro model was shared with its bigger brother, the exotic Quattro – the so called “Ur-Quattro” by fans. Herein lies part of where things get confusing in Audi history, since the actual development mules for the boxflared rally wonder utilized the 4000 (née 80). You could make a pretty convincing argument that the small sedan was the original, but that’s neither here or there at this point and is generally semantics (though, it’s occasionally nice to splash the waters of reality on enthusiast’s ill-informed fires of unshakable belief). Whoever was technically first, there’s no denying that the 4000/80 model brought the idea of permanent all-wheel drive to a much more affordable market of rally-bred enthusiasts who eagerly snapped up the roughly 4,500 examples of the first year model. Radical looking changes came for the 1985 model year with a thorough refresh, and there are those who love both generations with equal aplomb. Admittedly, I’m a fan of the post 85 models, sometimes referred to the as the “sloped grill” cars. But you don’t have to go far to find fans of the more square ’84 model. One reader of ours tasked me with the goal a few years back of keeping an eye out for a clean ’84. Easy, right? Not so fast…

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1984 Audi 4000S quattro on eBay

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Litmus Test Part 2: 1986 Audi Coupe GT

Litmus Test Part 2: 1986 Audi Coupe GT

Published January 23, 2016 by Carter

In yesterday’s Litmus Test article, I broke down a reportedly “excellent” Audi Coupe GT to see if the pricing had actually risen on the model lines. While a few years ago such a car would have likely been a $1,500 example, yesterday bidding ceased at $3,050. Now, that’s actually above the condition Hagerty lists a condition 4 car. So, $3,000 is our baseline for a model that’s reasonably clean but has quite a few needs and some question marks. What price would a much better example command?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1986 Audi Coupe GT on eBay

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