RE: Audi Coupe: Spotted

RE: Audi Coupe: Spotted

Tuesday 10th July 2018

Audi Coupe: Spotted

It may not have the performance kudos of its famous predecessor, but this Coupe still has plenty going for it



Has there ever been a harder act to follow than the Audi Quattro? All Audi coupes since have been in the iconic car's shadow, so much so that today's Spotted represents the last time the German marque tried to continue its lineage, before giving up and starting afresh with the TT.

Appearance-wise the B3 Coupe is a rather handsome car. It's angles just rounded enough to remove it aesthetically from the realm of the B2, while that full-width rear light bar conjures up the later, B4-based RS2. Not only were the panels well styled, but they were well built, too, with each one fully galvanized to protect it from rust. As a result, properly maintained examples can be relied upon to provide years of faithful service.


I should know, as it was an Audi Coupe not too dissimilar to this which provided a great deal of my transport during many of my formative years. Contemporary reviews lamented the car's lack of power-to-weight performance, but I certainly don't remember speed being an issue for my mother as she flew down the South Walian B-roads in a desperate attempt to ensure I wasn't late for school, for once.

But I digress. This example ought to be reliable not because of rose-tinted childhood memories, but because of its seemingly relentlessly scrupulous owner. The ad demonstrates an incredibly meticulous approach, along with an invitation to see the fruits of that labour for yourself, which should put even the most sceptical buyer at ease.


Under the heading of 'good bits' fall the car's reasonably low mileage, the absence of any dents or dings, a fully functioning suite of electrics, four brand new tyres, and the fact that the car remains completely original. In the not so good column sits only the need for a little paint and wheel refurb and the common complaint of a worn driver's seat bolster. The seller claims that the Audi didn't put a foot wrong when his wife used it last winter, "although she is 27 years old now, she is in great condition that belies her age (the car, not the wife)."

According to the internet, the MOT expires this week, but with such fastidious maintenance it'll surely fly through many more. It may not boast the same status as its Quattro forebear, or the dynamic traits of its successor, but with only 60,000 miles on the clock and an asking price of just £3,250, it'll be hard to match the venerable Audi Coupe for interesting and reliable daily motoring on a budget.


SPECIFICATION - Audi Coupe

Engine: 1,984cc, 4-cyl
Transmission: 5-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 112@5,300rpm
Torque (lb ft): 124@3,250rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
First registered: 1991
Recorded mileage: 59,966
Yours for: £3,250

See the full ad here.

Author
Discussion

gforceg

Original Poster:

3,524 posts

179 months

Tuesday 10th July 2018
quotequote all
Pretty sure they aren't RWD as described in the details at the bottom.

I still quite like these.

rudester

658 posts

152 months

Tuesday 10th July 2018
quotequote all
I've always had a soft spot for these. They just ooze quality. It'd have to be the 2.8 for me though

Arese1973

51 posts

86 months

Tuesday 10th July 2018
quotequote all
Had an 'N' reg 2.0 coupe, it was quite slow around town but OK on the motorway when up to speed. Rear light clusters seemed to fill up with water frequently, ended up drilling a small hole in the bottom of the clusters. Would personally go for a V6 if I was looking for one for the reason above.

Helicopter123

8,831 posts

156 months

Tuesday 10th July 2018
quotequote all
Very sensible Coupe motoring for someone.

1781cc

576 posts

94 months

Tuesday 10th July 2018
quotequote all
gforceg said:
Pretty sure they aren't RWD as described in the details at the bottom.
Correct, not RWD, only came as FWD or 4WD

I had the FWD 2.0 16v and my brother had an S2 4WD back in the day both B4 derived, but the peace of the B3 is the quattro variant, heavy, but great cars

Ex Expat

56 posts

75 months

Tuesday 10th July 2018
quotequote all
Had a 2.8 Quattro one of these as a company car (inherited from my boss who went to an S4 Estate). Felt to be a very quick car back in 1992 with 174 bhp and the four wheel drive made you feel invulnerable! The lower powered front wheel drive ones I briefly drove were bit stodgy and understeery but the interiors and pillarless doors still gave them a special feeling. Probably still a nice daily driver but the S2 would be the one to have..

J4CKO

41,558 posts

200 months

Tuesday 10th July 2018
quotequote all
These were so well made, brilliant era for Audi.

I used a mates 2.6 estate for a while which sounded nice but wasn’t all that fast, quite a wheezy thing, I had the 2 litre 5 in an Audi 100 and loved it, not as fast as the V6 80 but closer than imagined with a lovely sound once the cat was replaced with a a straight pipe, which was legal as it was before they were required by law.

The mechanical bits are cheap, makes someone a lovely, fairly easy to live with classic.


Integroo

11,574 posts

85 months

Tuesday 10th July 2018
quotequote all
A week's MOT...no thanks

Gio G

2,946 posts

209 months

Tuesday 10th July 2018
quotequote all
I had a red one with the 2.0 16v engine and black cloth interior. It was my first Audi and I loved it. So sophisticated at the time..

G

Google [bot]

6,682 posts

181 months

Tuesday 10th July 2018
quotequote all
Nice car but that price, really?!

gforceg said:
Pretty sure they aren't RWD as described in the details at the bottom.


tongue out

hondansx

4,569 posts

225 months

Tuesday 10th July 2018
quotequote all
Ex Expat said:
Had a 2.8 Quattro one of these as a company car (inherited from my boss who went to an S4 Estate). Felt to be a very quick car back in 1992 with 174 bhp and the four wheel drive made you feel invulnerable! The lower powered front wheel drive ones I briefly drove were bit stodgy and understeery but the interiors and pillarless doors still gave them a special feeling. Probably still a nice daily driver but the S2 would be the one to have..
My dad had a black 2.8. I remember summer holidays going to down to Devon with 4 of us kids in the black singing to Blondie. Good times! I remember even being just 10 that the car oozed quality and was clearly built well. Like you say, the pillar-less doors were cool.

Cannons88

1 posts

69 months

Tuesday 10th July 2018
quotequote all
Google [bot] said:


tongue out
The Audi Coupe was most definitely FWD with Quattro versions being the obvious.

I have an S2, the pinnacle version of the Coupe, 2226cc 5-cyl 20v Turbo quattro cool and paid the same asking price for it as this Coupe.

smithyithy

7,245 posts

118 months

Tuesday 10th July 2018
quotequote all
When I was primary school my best mate's parents had the S2 of this generation in that really nice metallic blue, along with an E36 M3 cab in similar blue. Loved those cars!

Ex Expat

56 posts

75 months

Tuesday 10th July 2018
quotequote all
hondansx said:
Ex Expat said:
Had a 2.8 Quattro one of these as a company car (inherited from my boss who went to an S4 Estate). Felt to be a very quick car back in 1992 with 174 bhp and the four wheel drive made you feel invulnerable! The lower powered front wheel drive ones I briefly drove were bit stodgy and understeery but the interiors and pillarless doors still gave them a special feeling. Probably still a nice daily driver but the S2 would be the one to have..
My dad had a black 2.8. I remember summer holidays going to down to Devon with 4 of us kids in the black singing to Blondie. Good times! I remember even being just 10 that the car oozed quality and was clearly built well. Like you say, the pillar-less doors were cool.
Mine was Panther Black Metallic! Quite a cool paint name too cool

Google [bot]

6,682 posts

181 months

Tuesday 10th July 2018
quotequote all
Cannons88 said:
Google [bot] said:


tongue out
The Audi Coupe was most definitely FWD
Yes. Thank you.

Pericoloso

44,044 posts

163 months

Tuesday 10th July 2018
quotequote all
Is that a new record ?

A whoosh parrot for their first post......biglaugh

Robatr0n

12,362 posts

216 months

Tuesday 10th July 2018
quotequote all
I'm 99% certain that the car in the advert doesn't have a 5 cylinder engine. The Audi 90 had a 2.0 5 cylinder but it wasn't popular in the UK but was in Italy. The only 5 cylinder engines the 80 Coupe had were the 2.2 (KV I think it was?) 2.3 10v, 2.3 20v and the 2.2 20v turbo in the S2.

Before anyone asks, no, I'm not this much of a car nerd. I had a 1989 2.0e and a 1991 S2.

bluemason

1,070 posts

123 months

Tuesday 10th July 2018
quotequote all
Is the headrest supposed to have the middle bit missing?

s m

23,223 posts

203 months

Tuesday 10th July 2018
quotequote all
The Quattro version of this got a bit of a slating at the time

Handling likened to the Titanic in a CAR group test

Looks in good nick though but I'd want a years MOT for the money

J4CKO

41,558 posts

200 months

Tuesday 10th July 2018
quotequote all
Robatr0n said:
I'm 99% certain that the car in the advert doesn't have a 5 cylinder engine. The Audi 90 had a 2.0 5 cylinder but it wasn't popular in the UK but was in Italy. The only 5 cylinder engines the 80 Coupe had were the 2.2 (KV I think it was?) 2.3 10v, 2.3 20v and the 2.2 20v turbo in the S2.

Before anyone asks, no, I'm not this much of a car nerd. I had a 1989 2.0e and a 1991 S2.
I think you are correct,

From Wikipedia, list of available engines,

80:
1.4 L I4
1.6 L I4
1.8 L I4
2.0 L I4
2.0 L 16-valve I4
1.6 L diesel I4
1.6 L turbodiesel I4
1.9 L diesel I4
90:
2.0 L I5
2.2 L I5
2.3 L I5
2.3 L 20-valve I5
1.6 L turbodiesel I4

Basically a 90 was a 5 cyl 80, unless you got a diesel, but I dont think there was a diesel 90, dont think there was in the UK anyway.