I’m somewhat ashamed to admit that my wife and I get some pleasure from watching the television show Hoarders. Thankfully I don’t believe that we’re in danger of being categorized as people who hoard anytime soon, but the show holds a certain fascination for me. One of my favorite games watching the show is to try to identify the cars that almost inevitably litter the yards of some of these hoarders. Discarded, covered in mountains of trash and sometimes partially disassembled, it’s always a bit of challenge to attempt to correctly identify what make and model that individual decided to hoard. It’s usually complicated by the fact that many of them are obscure cars from the 1960s and 1970s, such as this NSU Prinz 1000. Few were originally sold in the U.S. and even fewer remain in serviceable condition today. Looking through the photos provided by the seller, though, only reminds me of that game I play against myself; without the brochure, build plate and the two older photos of the outside of the car, go ahead and try to figure out what you’re looking at:
Tag: TT
Tuner Tuesday Turbo Quattro Coupes: 2004 TT 3.2 quattro HPA Turbo and 2009 R8 4.2 Heffner Twin Turbo
When they launched the original Quattro, Audi redefined how performance could be packaged. With supercar performance but day to day practicality, the Quattro established a niche that made Audi unique amongst not only German manufacturers, but indeed the automotive world. Since then, however, the idea of all-wheel drive and turbocharged platforms have spread not only to sister companies Porsche and Volkswagen, but indeed to Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche, Opel and even outside Germany to Japan. So Audi once again redefined its packaging; in the case of the TT, they brought expensive styling to the masses, and in the case of the R8, they brought supercar performance and packaging to a 911 budget. But it’s not just Audi that has raised its game; tuning firms are held to much higher standards then they were in the 1980s. Go back and look at some early Callaway turbo setups, for example, and you’ll see what was cutting edge in the 1980s – levels of fit and finish that just aren’t acceptable today, along with driving characteristics not suitable to most owners. Computerized engine management has transformed what is possible in the tuning world to the point where today’s packages often retain OEM-levels of driveability with otherworldly performance on tap. Two great examples of this can be found in HPA’s turbocharged Audi TT and Heffner’s twin-turbocharged Audi R8:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2004 Audi TT 3.2 quattro HPA Turbo on eBay
Comments closedOkay, hang on folks, this is a long one – what’s the most class, speed and style that you can get for $10,000 these days in German motoring? I’ve lined up some of the examples of just how much you can buy – which is your favorite?
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1997 Audi Cabriolet on eBay
4 CommentsIt’s not often that you get to see an NSU these days, especially in the United States. It’s even more rare to find an NSU race car in the U.S.; but especially rare would be the cars that have substantial race history. In the case of this car, that history includes being raced since new – something very few cars can claim. Want some history? This car was extensively upgraded to a 1200CC motor some 47 years ago. Take that, Porsche crowd! The TT was renowned as a good racer, with plenty of balance, braking and light weight to make good use of its relatively modest power output. Looking ready to hit the track still nearly 50 years later, this TT is for sale today on Ebay:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1967 NSU TT on eBay
3 CommentsAll wheel drive is great, but math doesn’t lie – 4×0=0, and if you’re running sticky wide rubber on your performance Audi in the white…
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