Lot 308: 1990 Audi Quattro Coupé

Launched at the 1980 Geneva Show, the Quattro immediately impressed the international motoring press with its driveability on snow-covered roads. The 4-wheel drive technology rapidly excelled in international rallying, too, with the new car taking three major victories in 1981 and team drivers Mikkola, Blomqvist and Mouton winning the championship of makes for Audi in 1982 and 1984. Indeed, it was the ‘standard’ Quattro - rather than the shorter-wheelbase, 500bhp Sport of which only 200 were produced – which won 21 World Championship events in just four seasons.
A total of 11,452 Audis of this type were produced at Audi’s Ingolstadt works between March 1980 and spring 1901, 2710 of them being ‘official’ imports. A former press car with full Audi dealer service history, this right-hand coupe has the MB Type 10-valve, 5-cylinder engine of 2226cc capacity with 8.6:1 compression ratio and smaller water-cooled turbocharger producing 220bhp, Torsen centre-differential and factory-fit sunroof features which were introduced in production from November 1987.
The property of a lady, a former international rally driver, and the 4-seater fixed head has been exhibited for the last four years along with a dozen other cars in a major collection and, though little used on the road, has been extremely well cared for during this time.
When inspected, the bodywork appeared to be near perfect, the paintwork in Opalescent White being excellent and the black cloth interior with dark grey and red-striped inserts above average for the year and 95,118 mileage displayed. The engine, recently serviced, started promptly and ran smoothly, and 5-speed transmission and electrics were working correctly. You would be hard pushed to find a sharper example of what is generally reckoned to have been one of the definitive performance road cars of the period.