1990-1991 Audi Quattro Coupé
Average asking price*: $6,500
Collector status: Buy and drive
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The mere mention of the word “quattro” conjures up images of Michelle Mouton power sliding around a snow-covered hairpin on a stage in Rally Finland. The word and what it represented, the first rally car to take advantages of FIA rule changes that allowed 4WD in competition, marked a transformation of Audi as a sensible family car to a champion of motorsport, which lives on today in endurance racing and touring car championships. Out of the successful rally car was born the Ur-Quattro road car. With its longitudinal four-wheel drive system, turbocharged five-cylinder motor and box-flared fenders, there wasn’t anything like it. It was a darling of the press, all whilst the rally car continued to rack up wins. Collectors have recently taken note of the Ur-Q’s significance and their values have risen sharply in the last two years. They’re still a relative bargain at $20-25K, but outside the parameters of this discussion. Its successor (though they were sold concurrently outside of the US), the B3 Audi 80 quattro Coupé, or simply quattro Coupé, didn’t see any notable rally competition nor did we get to enjoy the turbocharged S2 version in the States. Nevertheless, the quattro Coupé was a more refined, advanced car in just about every way. The Ur-Q’s manually-operated center locking differential was replaced by a more sophisticated torque-sensing system with push-button lock and the B3 featured standard creature comforts such as leather upholstery, climate control, and Zebrano wood trim. Naturally, this came at the expense of added weight, but the normally aspirated, 20-valve inline five is still a capable performer, with 165 horsepower and 190 torques, and it makes for a comfortable grand tourer that would relish any twisty road you could throw at it. Like many of their compatriots of that era from BMW and Volkswagen, for example, their affordable nature leaves them open to modification and not all of it tasteful. That said, well-maintained, low mileage, original examples still exist and given their low numbers (fewer than 1,200 quattro Coupés sold between 1990 and 1991), they are sure to be a sound investment.