The late 1980s and early ’90s were rough times for Audi in the U.S., with sales falling off after 60 Minutes reported on alleged “unintended acceleration” in 1986, but the company did the best it could to press on, following its signature path of technological innovation and still managing to produce some exciting cars. One of these was the 1991 200 Quattro—an example of which is offered here on eBay out of Brentwood, Tennessee. Reliability gremlins, too, mean that not too many of the already-rare Audis of this period survive, but this looks like an exceptionally clean example. Let’s take a look.
Just how rare is rare when it comes to this all-wheel drive, four-valves-per-cylinder, stick-shifted turbo supersedan? It’s hard to say conclusively, but it’s a safe bet that original sales figures were solidly in the three digits. Audi reported U.S. sales of 1,078 Quattro-equipped 100 and 200 sedans and station wagons in 1991; one source, which isn’t really verifiable but claims to have been informed by Audi, says that 348 of those were 200 sedans like this. A base price of $42,400—well over twice what a visually nearly identical 5000S had cost just a few years before—probably didn’t help matters, and nor did the fact that the basic car was several years old and due to be replaced the following year.
The C3-generation 5000/100/200 was an aero-styled trendsetter when it emerged in 1983, but by 1991 its nose-heavy proportions were looking a bit dated. A view of the clean underside of this 119,000-mile car gives away the logic behind those looks: the inline five is mounted longitudinally, not transversely, entirely ahead of the front wheel line. 0-60 performance of the 217-horse turbomotor was reported to be sub-7 seconds when new, appropriate for an attempt at a serious BMW competitor.
Of course, the advantage of hanging the engine way out front is that more of the 105.8-inch wheelbase becomes available for interior space, and the 200’s leather-lined cabin was indeed luxuriously roomy. This interior is in exceptionally nice condition for its age and even for its not-terribly-high mileage, with all features said to be fully functional—except for one rear window motor. It is an Audi, after all; I’d be suspicious if absolutely everything worked! I also would be shocked if the original Audi-branded car phone still worked, but it’s awesome that it’s still there. The only restoration work noted is the installation of a new headliner.
Fifteen-inch BBS-style cross-spoke alloy wheels round out the BMW-style sport sedan look, and also required the 200’s most notable stylistic deviation from its C3 platform mates, flared wheelwells with a full opening instead of a partial skirt at the rear. In true Audi fashion, the ’91 200 Quattro was loaded with technology, performance, and functional innovation without being showy about it, a car for the discerning buyer. Old Audis are for the discerning collector, and not the faint of wallet. This one seems poised to fetch well-above average bucks (if it cracks the reserve), but its rarity and condition, added to its traditional Audi attributes, might just be worth it!
The design of the Toyota before it looks almost the same🤔
That front subframe appears caked with old fluid/oil & has been wiped off. See the same kinda stuff on the exhaust pipe & cat ? Prop shaft support bearing doesn’t come cheap. Wonderful cars when repairs were covered under warranty.
“Subsequent investigation revealed that 60 Minutes had not disclosed they had engineered the vehicle’s behavior – fitting a canister of compressed air on the passenger-side floor, to pump fluid via a hose to a hole drilled into the transmission” (Wikipedia.org) – so essentially 60 Minutes manipulated the vehicle in negative way just to make for a more dramatic story!?!
I cannot comprehend how anybody is still trusting the media…
Beautiful car. I’d love to have this as a fairweather driver, but the volatility of the aged electronic and mechanical components is a huge deterrent…too expensive to maintain vs the fun factor. Even on a new car, I avoid bells and whistles as much as possible, although it’s getting near impossible.
I owned for many years the Avant version of this car, with Bilstiens a chip and stronger wastegate spring = 305 hp claimed. This was/is the best car I ever owned, and I’ve had many and driven more. The maintenance was expensive, and the UFO front brakes were troublesome, needing a change to Porsche discs. Loved the car and its galvanized no rust body, but it started to rust after 10 years in Rochester, NY at 20+ years of age, and a prior history in Boston.
what a awsome car, just came back from a sunday afternoon ride with my 93 Audi convertible. Interiour is same colour and the same seats. Mine is one of the first with the wonderful 2.8 L V6
Always liked this generation of Audi’s, never believed the garbage of unintended acceleration. Consumer reports bull and fawning over the rust bucket Toyota’s turned me against Toyota and all of its devil spawn makes. Always loved my VW, Audi, Porsche
60 Minutes was sued by Audi and ultimately settled. But their rigging damaged Audi for a long time. Resale values plummeted. Even though the issue was only about the automatic equipped cars and the quattros were 5-speeds, their resales values tanked too.
Ultimately government investigations in multiple countries conclusively proved that “unintended acceleration,” in Audis and other makes, was caused by “pedal misapplication” aka “driver error.” Basically there was overlap between the placement of the pedals in some cars relative to the cars the owners previously owned, so their memory of where the brake was in their previous cars overlapped with where the gas pedal was in their new cars.
I got a great lease deal on a 1992 Audi V8 and enjoyed that car for several years. However, I am glad that it wasn’t my responsibility anymore once the warranty expired.
The car phone isn’t going to work. In 1991, that would have been an AMPS unit, and the carriers in North America switched off their AMPS networks something like 10 years ago.
Still cool to see an original built in phone…