Warning!
We have 15 years of archives. Links older than a year may have been updated to point to similar cars available to bid on eBay.
This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.
One of our readers not so subtly pointed out to me that I mention a certain box-flared car from a certain manufacturer perhaps a bit too often when reviewing Audis, and perhaps he’s right. Isn’t the Quattro enough of a legend to stand on it’s own? The answer is that until quite recently, no – it wasn’t. In part that’s due to the experience of the diluted American market version and Audi’s near denial that it built any cars before the A4. 160 horsepower with the best part of 3,000 pounds to haul around isn’t even enough for most Subarus these days, so it should be no surprise that the Quattro’s performance suffered in U.S. spec. What also suffered was buyer’s pockets; at $40,000 in the early 1980s, this car was the equivalent of nearly $100,000 today. Though the driving dynamics were more than the sum of their parts, ultimately Quattro was dropped after a short run in the U.S. market with 664 sold. Despite the relative sales flop in the U.S., the Quattro had a greater impact in Europe, where its fresher and lighter face was paired with 40 more horsepower and steadily improving performance and technology coupled with its major rally successes. Indeed, the last of the RR Quattros continued on alongside the replacement S2 until the end of 1991. It was so stellar, there was a whole segment of forced induction, flared WRC candidates that copied its blueprint. Remember the Celica All-Trac Turbo? Sierra Cosworth? How about the 323GTX? Golf Rallye? Lancia Delta Integrale? Subaru Impreza 22B? All of them are legendary cars born from the Quattro. As there is more appreciation for Audi’s 80s halo car in Europe, we’ve seen a steady stream of nice examples head back to the homeland from U.S. shores. Perhaps it’s time to turn the tide?
Few motorsport images are quite as evocative as the legendary period of Group B; flying machines spitting stones and belching flames as they skirted trees and rocks at breakneck speeds with crowds only inches away. The ever more powerful cars hurtled their drivers in increasingly lighter and more delicate evolutions of cars towards immovable objects – an act which is some cultures would probably be akin to ritualistic suicide. By 1985 the writing was on the wall; it was a deadly sport that needed to be reigned in. But perhaps more than any other period, this is the time that rally fans and motorsports fans in general identify as one of the most memorable and important periods in racing history. Obviously, the big winner of the period from a reputation standpoint was Audi. The car that helped to define and end the period of wild turbocharged excess, the Quattro has obviously been the spawn of many replicas, such as this one for sale today in England:
If the GTi from earlier was expensive for an economy car in 1984, the Audi Quattro was near ridiculous in its pricing; at over $35,000 in 1982, it was more expensive than most Porsche models at the time, including the 911. But the Quattro was the R8 of its day, redefining Audi’s place in the market and introducing exotic performance to a more mainstream crowd. It wasn’t revolutionary in any one particular way; turbocharging and 4 driven wheels has previously hit the market in other applications. But the Quattro combined World Rally Championship performance in an everyday package that could comfortably carry 4 adults with luggage in style. They’ve been legendary since new, but not always appreciated as such – though Audi’s recent acceptance and acknowledgement that it did indeed build cars before the A4 has helped the rising market value of these models. Arguably the most valuable in general are the last model year; updates to the weak point computer and fuse box, coupled with the perfect stance 8″ Ronals and updated interior, along with slightly revised headlights and trunklid meant these were special cars amongst an already rare bunch. Less than 100 made it to these shores, so coming across them today is something of a treat:
Need something to tow with your recently acquired Audi Service Van? What better item than a proper Audi Quattro. But this isn’t just any Quattro – not that they’re particularly common in any event. No, this is one of the uber-rare Treser cars. Treser cars are certainly polarizing, and much like the extreme tuners of the day such as DP and Koenig the Treser cars look pretty dated now. However, when they’re well presented they still look neat, a glimpse into a time period that many want to forget. Apparently, this seller wanted to forget it so much he reverted this Treser to it’s original Audi panels. For that, most of us are thankful:
