Shed finds an odd-spec Audi from long before the days when the four rings were 'cool'
The Audi 80s of the late 1980s and early 1990s (the B3/B4, to be geeky) has always been a bit of an odd proposition.
It's a kind of adolescent Audi product, created at the cusp of the company's transition from a maker of 'slightly posher VWs' to a purveyor of Vorsprung durch technik cool, a genuine rival to the prestige car dominance of Mercedes and BMW.
As such, an 80 might not have the brand kudos of a contemporary Merc or BMW (or later Audis), but nor does it mark you out as a yuppy (expletive deleted). It is the thinking man's junior exec, for the chap who wants that hewn-from-granite feel that luxury car makers in the 1980s did so well (and the Audi 80 manages particularly to convey) without the brash blue and white roundel or three-pointed star on the bonnet.
This week's find has been on Shed's radar for a while now, and has just been resubmitted by the vendor having taken - if Shed's collective memory serves - a tumble of a couple of hundred quid on the asking price.
The reason we've been umming-and-ahhing over whether or not to feature this particular 80 is its peculiar specification. Cloth seats and plastic wheel trims are not uncommon in junior execs of the 1990s, but matched to the top-spec 172bhp 2.8-litre V6? That does seem quite strange to us.
It's also got a manual gearbox (which we like) but misses out on the four-wheel drive option that every self-respecting high-end Audi ought to have.
However, it looks to be a clean, straight car, with just 114k miles clocked up in its 17-year life, two owners from new and an MOT with nine months left to run. It's got no tax, but for 650 notes you can't have everything, can you?
Audi 80 2.8 V6 2WD 114000 Miles, 10 Months MOT K Reg (1993) 114,000 miles £650
Metallic Black With Black Velour Interior, ABS, Central Locking, PAS, Electric Windows & Mirrors, Factory Sunroof, Autojack Immobiliser, Nokia In Car Phone Kit, Mudflaps, 9 Months Mot, I Have Owned This Car Since 2001, Just Had New Water Pump And Timing Belt Fitted. Only 114000 Miles, Lots Of Service History, 2 Owners From New. No Road Tax But I Can Tax For You At Cost Of The Tax. Excellent Condition Throughout
I was thinking the same thing as you Kinky, even so it is still a cracking motor for small pile of folding. Had I not just bought the 9-5 I would have seriously considered it.
At last I am cool!! I have one of the very same car However mine is bright red, has alloys (that need some work), an auto box and 79k on the clock with a huge file of receipts n stuff. It has just had a radiator, heater matrix and full service. Needs fuel pipes (on backorder) and all it needed was a n/s lower arm for MOT. It does need rear shocks and bushes due to a bit of knocking but thats about it
I love it and prob will never part with it, unless someone offers me a figure I cant refuse
I was thinking the same thing as you Kinky, even so it is still a cracking motor for small pile of folding. Had I not just bought the 9-5 I would have seriously considered it.
I wonder if the alloys and original interior were swapped out at some stage.
A cracking find though
You'll probably find it's the original spec i.e. it's a 2.8e and hence same trim as a 2.0e etc - you wouldn't get that so much now but remember the German cars of old were notoriously stingy with their standard equipment levels - the base model S-Class Mercs of that era still had plastic wheel trims as standard.
I'd have that Audi like a shot if I needed a smart second car - I used to have a 2.0 litre equivalent and loved it, wasn't the fastest or the most dynamic handling car but it had fantastic build quality and a sense of style which belied its age, often attracting compliments from those oblivious to it being 15 years old.
Wow, 650 notes and it's just had a cam belt and waterpump which probably cost a large slice of that price anyway. Got years left in it - they were really good quality in those days.
As with the various comments above, just as well it's too far away from me to go and have a look....
I wonder if the alloys and original interior were swapped out at some stage.
A cracking find though
You'll probably find it's the original spec i.e. it's a 2.8e and hence same trim as a 2.0e etc - you wouldn't get that so much now but remember the German cars of old were notoriously stingy with their standard equipment levels - the base model S-Class Mercs of that era still had plastic wheel trims as standard.
I'd have that Audi like a shot if I needed a smart second car - I used to have a 2.0 litre equivalent and loved it, wasn't the fastest or the most dynamic handling car but it had fantastic build quality and a sense of style which belied its age, often attracting compliments from those oblivious to it being 15 years old.
Good point actually I had forgotten this... I vividly remember my old man having a 730se BMW in 87' and having to spec a stereo as a cost option and I think electric rear windows. Also that had a cloth interior as standard and he bulked at the silly sum for leather. So in fairness it could well be the original spec.
Lovely. Looks well looked after. Nice v6 motor, and front wheel drive seems sensible enough to me - it's not like you're going to be drag racing it or taking it to the limit through the bends, so I'd have no problem doing away with the cost/weight/inefficiency of the 4wd system.
We had a few of these in four/five cylinder guise when I was young. They drove as Audis always did - a little uncouth riding but with dependable handling (bear in mind this model came out in 1985..). But it's the quality and solidity that have more than stood the test of time. I think the basic v6 lives on in the current v6, and a lot of the interior/exterior parts live on until at least the first generation A8.
I suspect you'd struggle to find so great a contrast in styles between this and a e30 3-series.
Hard to believe just how little audis have changed in all those years. In the same time BMW and Merc have been through huge developments in design language, but that audi could almost be a current model.
Strange that Jag used to be criticised so much for a similar approach...
I had a J reg 16v for a company car from 91-93. It was not the fastest thing about but it was a truly excellent car. One of the few cars without anything to not like about it. I did well over 120k miles in it with only very minor issues. Made out of solid granite as already said.
