It isn’t too often that we can highlight a vehicle that hasn’t been shown before on Barn Finds. Here’s a well-handling, two-door German car with a bigger engine than usual, and a 5-speed manual transmission. What’s not to like? Well, maybe the price, but other than that… This 1981 Audi 4000 5+5 can be found listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Hawthorne, California, and they’re asking $24,995. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Jack M. for the tip!
The Audi 80, known as the 4000 here in North America, wasn’t quite in the same league as some of the other European cars as far as performance went. They were nice drivers, fun to drive, and nicely-equipped, but not exactly stoplight drag race winners. That’s not the best description for how underpowered they were, as I don’t think of a car like this ’81 Audi 4000 going against anyone in a race.
5+5? What’s that all about, SG? It turned the 4000 into a much better car by adding the bigger 2.1-liter five-cylinder from the Audi 5000 (100) and a 5-speed manual. Oddly, the bigger five-cylinder engine still only had 100 horsepower, which is crazy to think about now. The same horsepower as my 1980 Dodge (Mitsubishi) D-50 Sport pickup, which also has a 5-speed manual. I know which one would be more fun to drive (the Audi). The U.S. only got a reported 119 versions of this model, so you won’t likely see one parked next to you at any car event.
Sadly, the seller is pretty slim on photos, and the ones that are shown aren’t the best. A lot of them are cut off, and there are really no good overall views of the exterior at all, other than the first photo shown of the passenger side. There is not one photo showing the entire rear of the vehicle, none showing the back seat area, no trunk photos, no underside photos, and worst of all, for a car that’s mostly about the engine, there is no engine photo. Thanks for nothing, 2025.
On a good note, though, the mysterious bits and pieces that are shown reveal what looks like a very, very nice car. The engine should be VW Group’s 2.1-liter (2,144-cc) inline-five with 100 horsepower and 112 lb-ft of torque. Sending power through the 5-speed manual to the front wheels, it’s slower to 60 mph and gets fewer MPG than most new Minivans, but we all know that isn’t what vintage vehicle ownership is about. If you like unusual vehicles, this CB-radio-equipped Audi 4000 5+5 should be on your radar. Now, about that asking price…
Looks like a Audi Fox later A Volkswagen Fox and some BMW cars of the same years they all have the same basic lines and if you covered the badging up most people couldn’t tell the difference.And no I wouldn’t buy it because I like my cars to be dependable and parts not stupid expensive
This model was the successor to the Audi Fox. The VW Fox was an unrelated smaller car developed for the Brazilian market where it was made.
I haven’t seen an Audi 4000 in any iteration in years. I’ve never seen a 5 plus 5, never knew one existed. Who knows, maybe there was a 6 plus 6 too, with a V6/6-speed? Anyway, at that time Audi was selling the Fox, 4000 and 5000, the 5000 getting a bad rap for going into gear on its own if the car was running and the door was shut, and occasionally running over its owner. Sales slumped ( the potential of your own car doing a Christine on you will do that) and Audi was in danger of disappearing from the US market until the A4-6-8’s came out in the 90s.
The Audi 4000 was the next-gen (B2 platform) replacement for the Fox (B1 platform), so they weren’t marketed at the same time. The later VW Fox was on the BX platform, a Brazilian evolution of the B1 platform. There was no Audi V6 engine until the B4 generation (’91-95).
While I’m at it, minor correction to the write-up: The 5000 was known abroad as the 100 and 200, not the 90, which was a higher-spec variant of the 80/4000 abroad.
The bad rap for the 5000 wasn’t anything about “going into gear on its own”; it was about “unintended acceleration” when put into gear. The actual issue turned out to be a combination of faulty idle-control unit and pedal placement just different enough from other cars (esp. GM cars in particular) that drivers unaccustomed to the Audi would put the car in gear and be startled by the abrupt take-off at high idle, then stab the “brake” in a panic but hit the gas instead due to muscle memory from their usual car, leading them to report the car “took off on its own” and “could not be stopped” despite “standing on the brake” (or so they thought) as hard as they could.
Dang it, thanks for the correction, SubGothius!
Yes, my adopted father worked for Porsche Audi during that time. He said all their investigations showed NO BRAKING SKID MARKS. But it did see some driving wheel “spinning” skid marks. Meaning brake not applied.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I’ve always believed that the Quantum Syncros that I owned in the past were built on Audi Quattro chassis. Your thoughts ?
@connbackroads – That’s mostly correct. The VW Quantum (aka Passat and other names abroad) was based on the same B2 platform as this Audi, and the Quantum Syncro wagon used the same 5-cylinder AWD powertrain as the Audi 80/4000 Quattro sedan (without the turbo of the ur-Quattro coupe).
However, the Syncro wagon used a unique floorpan and (IIRC) rear suspension to avoid intrusion into the rear cargo area. The standard FWD B2 pan had no center hump (or at least not large enough) for the rear driveshaft, and the Quattro sedan pan and rear suspension was not quite suitable for the wagon.
As for why VW-Audi only offered the Syncro as a wagon, or indeed offered any VW with the Quattro driveline at all, the idea was to expand the market for their AWD system without cannibalizing Audi sales too much. The B2 VW was already available in a wagon variant while its Audi sibling was not, and the Audi 5000/200 wagon was a size class larger (C3 platform), so they made the Syncro as a wagon only.
While I’m at it, Syncro was just VW’s brand for any AWD/4WD driveline at the time, not denoting any specific system as Audi’s Quattro brand did, so the Syncro systems offered in the Passat/Quantum, Golf, and Transporter/Vanagon were all unrelated.
I always thought the “5 cylinder” was a diesel, but apparently, they made a gas version as well. Not sure why odd number cylinder configurations never made it. 3,5,7,9(?), just never caught on. I have seen in line 2cycle Detroit diesels in odd numbers, or motorcycles and radial engines, but not many passenger cars. In fact, I think this is the only one, aside from Geo or Saab 3 cylinders. I think this is a really nice car, and not sure about the CB ( static noise) and most today wouldn’t have a clue as to what that big “5+5” means( what’s an Audi “10” grandpa?) and a quick check shows parts are available, just hope there’s no limit on your credit card.
Mercedes made a 3.0L 5 cylinder diesel for years in the 300D, TD, etc. I had an ‘81 many years ago.
If you really want to see an “odd” engine, look up the Olds V5 diesel. I believe there is one in the GM museum. It never went into production, as GM pulled the plug on the Olds diesel just before this went into production.
If you want to see a “wierd/cool engine. Let’s get Chris Beebee to post his drawing of a W30 that he rebuilt. Come on Chris, post it!
TL;DR: Inline 5 cylinder gas engines weren’t feasible for passenger vehicles until the advent of electronic fuel injection.
Inline 5 cylinder engines don’t run well with common carburetors due to uneven distribution of fuel to the intake runners, and a dedicated carb for each cylinder is infeasible for cars (complicated, bulky, expensive, peaky and inefficient), so they need fuel injection to meter fuel to each cylinder individually.
Diesels have always used injection, so Mercedes introduced inline-5 diesels with mechanical injection slightly earlier than Audi’s gas I-5, but early mech FI for gas engines was a niche, expensive, low-volume rarity in any case, let alone for mass-market 5s in particular. Electronic FI finally made the I-5 feasible, efficient, and cost-effective at scale.
Great video covering all the details, including why I-5s still aren’t very common even after the advent of EFI:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSyEwzAfHCY
Inline three cylinder engines are actually pretty popular for passenger cars, just not in the US. If you go to Europe, Japan, or really just about anywhere else, you’ll see all kinds of small cars powered by all kinds of small I3s (even some diesel ones).
Inline fives have only really been done for passenger cars by six companies: Mercedes, Audi, Honda, Volvo, VW, and GM. Notably, the only one currently manufacturing an I5 is Audi, and even they are trying to get out of it (funny enough, they have the same problem as VW with the Beetle, and Porsche with the 911: they want to stop making them, but customers keep lining up to buy them!).
Both really only exist for packaging reasons, so you can get as much engine as possible without having to make your car larger. However, they create a lot more vibration and noise as they aren’t naturally balanced. Companies accept that for the I3, as there are still a lot of cars where it makes sense (and most of them are cheaper, so a little NVH isn’t as big of a deal). But the I5 has been ruled out in favor of smaller six cylinder or larger four cylinder engines, making about the same amount of power in about the same amount of space.
I remember Audi getting more popular during those years. I especially remember the Fox. But I don’t ever remember seeing a 5+5 before. The condition of this one looks great to me. Both inside and out. As for the price, if there’s someone out there Jonesin’ for an Audi like this, it’ll sell. I don’t think you could restore a late 70’s early 80’s Audi for that kind of money. Cool find Scotty, and I got to learn about another rare car that existed when I was a kid that I didn’t even know about. ( Now……. About that drop top version Scotty….. Just kidding……) Great and unique find too Jack M. Thanks. I enjoyed it.
This combo was popular in the Audi Coupe. (Sans the turbo) The almost as rare is the 2 door body style as most 4000s were 4 door sedans. I have had the honor of owning a 2 door Coupe 80/Fox AND 2 door 4000 (4 cylinder 5 speed) Both very rare. I still have the Fox. Built in ’72 and titled as a,’73 gray market car. And yes, I had heard and seen one of these before. A couple of times in the past. I wish I had kept the 4000. Good mechanicals very poor gauges, particularly the speedometer.
Wow, never thought I would see a 24K 4000. Not even one at half that price.
I would really like to have this car. But not at this price! Not even at half the price.
We had a 86 4000s , different but similar. We loved it. But alas we were just starting out and it was 16 years old , maintenance cost were too high at that time for us so we sold it. Missed it ever since. 5 cyl don’t forget Volvo. Another of my favorites
This was the precursor to the Audi Coupe that we got in 1982. VW also shared the same platform and we got it as the Dasher and Quantum on our shores. I have only seen one 5+5 in the wild back in the 80’s as a technician. The cool thing is with platform sharing you could mix and match parts across the model range. I had a 76 Fox that I fixed up with Audi Coupe GT seats. Just slid right in. Also has a Dasher grill because I couldn’t find an Audi grill. Great cars and with 4 Nokia snow tires it was virtually unstoppable in the snow. The 5cyl engine is slow by today’s standards but that sweet 5cyl sound as you rev it to redline made driving a slow car fast entertaining.
Dasher and Quantum (both aka Passat and other names abroad) were a generation apart; Dasher was on the same B1 platform as the Audi Fox (aka 80 abroad), Quantum on the successor B2 platform along with the Audi 4000 (80 abroad).
Didn’t the Dasher come in both platforms? I seem to remember seeing a Dasher with the longer nose like this 5+5.
Dasher was only ever an American-market name for the B1 Passat, and only ever equipped with various inline 4 engines (no I-5). The B2 Passat was only ever called Quantum in the American market.
However, the B1 and B2 platforms did originate at Audi, so they both had a longitudinal FWD layout with the engine ahead of the transaxle, resulting in more front overhang than transverse FWD cars tend to have.
I’m not sure if they are related, but we had a 2007 VW Bug Convertible with the 2.5 liter 5 cylinder. With a 5 speed manual and 150 HP, it was fun to drive, even if it was considered the base engine.
Supposedly, it was half of the R8 V10.
Wow, I never heard of that engine on a Bug. What years was that available?
Wayne, it was available from 2006 through 2014. In some of those years, it was the only engine available. I always thought that there was an upgraded turbo engine available, but that didn’t come out until later on.
My first car was a 81 5+5 4000 in Alpine white with dope Mag wheels. A hand me down from an older brother that I dragged out of a field and got back on the road. I wrecked it in reverse the first day I got it. I think I broke and fixed just about everything on it till I couldn’t fix it anymore. Unbelievable in the snow and lots of fun, but this price is absolutely ridiculous for the least desirable color imaginable. However, it’s probably the lowest mileage 5+5 in existence. My odometer was broke when I got it in 94’ at 185k.
I don’t know. I kinda like the color. But mostly cause I had a 78 Volvo 245 that same color in my collage years. So it’s sentimental to me now. I can see why most might hate it