Page 62 - Wayne Carini's Guide to Affordable Classics
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Audi sold 2,553 units of the Coupe in the 1981 model year, and 4,524 units in 1982. Audi’s overall US sales were about 50,000 and 45,000 units in those years, so the Coupe was not a big seller. Retailing at $11,875 at its introduction, the coupe cost more than any 4000 or the base 5000 sedan. Only the upgraded 5000S with its optional turbocharged engine cost more.
Einz, Zwei, Drei, quattro
The history of the Audi quattro all-wheel drive system goes back to 1977, when Audi was looking for a differentiator to put a little distance between its brand and the parent Volkswagen image. Audi took an AWD system that VW had developed for military vehicles and adapted it for performance cars and rally racing. The Audi Quattro was released in Europe in 1980, and it’s very similar to the coupe, adding box flares on all four wheels, a turbocharger to the five-cylinder engine, and of course the quattro full-time all- wheel drive system.
The US Coupe Quattro
1982 was the watershed year for the Audi Coupe in America, as this was the year the 1983 model year Quattro joined the product line. In America, the Type 85 Quattro was rated at 156 horsepower and 181 lb ft of torque from the turbocharged version of the 2.2-liter five-cylinder engine. The Quattro included a five-speed manual transmission, four-wheel disc brakes, independent rear
suspension, and a long list of extra features including front and rear spoilers, cruise control, power steering, enlarged 23.8-gallon fuel tank, a tachometer, and a boost gauge.
The 1983 Quattro arrived at a jaw-dropping $35,000 MSRP, compared to $12,680 for the basic Coupe. The price was comparable to a Porsche 911SC or a Jaguar XJS of the same year, and more than twice the cost of any other Audi except the 5000 Turbo. The Quattro was sold in the US through 1986, with a total of 664 cars delivered to US dealers. Of those, 525 were sold in 1982 and 1983, and just one Quattro was sold in 1986.
An AWD Halo for the Coupe
The Quattro may not have sold in significant numbers, but the elite performance model gave the basic Audi Coupe some additional panache. Audi wisely put the rear spoiler from the Quattro on all 1984 and later Coupes, giving them the possibility of being mistaken for a Quattro if you didn’t look too closely. Starting in 1983, the 4000 and 5000 also overtook the Coupe on price, placing the well-performing sport model in the middle of the Audi price walk.
1983 was also the first year that a three-speed automatic transmission became available for the Coupe, expanding its available market. Still the Coupe sold only 3,598 units in 1983, and that sales volume held steady until 1986, when it began to decline. In this period, Audi added quattro all-wheel drive to the 4000 sedan in 1984 and to the 5000 sedan in 1986. These AWD options cost just a little more than the FWD Coupe, cannibalizing sales.
The 1984-1987 Coupe GT
To keep the Coupe relevant as the rest of the line advanced, Audi added a GT designation in 1984, but there was more to the change than just the name. The new Coupe GT also got a revised close-ratio five-speed transmission and vented front disc brakes. European buyers could also get quattro AWD with the basic Coupe engine, but sadly that combination was never offered in America.
A mid-cycle facelift in 1985 also helped keep the Coupe attractive, with up-to-date styling that reduced aerodynamic drag, and a small displacement boost to 2226 cc that brought horsepower to 115 and torque up to 126 lb ft. That improved the already attractive performance of the Coupe, which was by now second- cheapest Audi one could buy. With a sticker price of $15,250 in 1985, only the base 4000 sedan was cheaper.
For the final years of its life, Audi celebrated the Coupe with a series of special editions. None did much to boost sales, however. Mid- year in 1987, the Coupe and all five-cylinder naturally aspirated Audis saw the engine size rise to 2309 cc, with a horsepower boost to 130 and torque to 140 lb ft. Still, just 278 buyers opted for one of these enhanced 1987 Audi Coupes in 1988.
The Audi Coupe and its Quattro halo car did one critically important thing for Audi: they moved the brand’s image from a badge-engineered Volkswagen equivalent to a premium
Quattro, quattro, and Sport Quattro
Audi uses some peculiar nomenclature when it comes
to its all-wheel drive system. The quattro system has always been spelled without a capital Q, even though it’s a name that would ordinarily be capitalized. The Audi Quattro (also called Ur-Quattro, which means Original Quattro in German) refers to the specific coupe model with all-wheel drive that was produced from 1983-1991. The Audi Sport Quattro is the ultra-rare short wheelbase FIA Group B World Rally homologation model, of which only 214 were made from 1984 to 1986. Those are substantially more expensive than the basic Quattro.
60Wayne CariniAffordable Classics