The best of the best?
Yes, you read the headline correctly.
This 1990 Audi quattro 20v could set a world record for the model at auction when it crosses the block at the Classic Car Auctions sale on 18 June at the Warwickshire Event Centre.
Let’s check it out.
We’ve been there before
Gary Dunne, Classic Car Auctions’ Sales Manager says: “In recent years we have sold some quite outstanding Audi quattros, setting a world record in 2021. This car is very well placed to achieve a similar result.”
When Classic Car Auctions set that record, it was with a 1990 quattro 20v with just over 48,300 miles on its odometer, which sold for £85,470.
Heading up
However, that was on 26 March 2021. A few months later, at Silverstone Auctions’ The Classic Sale on 31 July-1 August, the bar was raised significantly.
A right-hand-drive example, believed to be the last one built and with fewer than 10,000 miles on the clock, sold for £163,125.
Above and beyond?
Classic Car Auctions is describing this 1990 Audi quattro 20v as ‘possibly the most original example available today’, and it could equal the auction house’s 2021 figure, but it will have to go quite a way beyond its £80-90,000 pre-sale estimate if it is going to eclipse Silverstone Auctions’ result.
Only time will tell.
In the meantime, let’s find out more about this car.
From the boss
This 1990 Audi quattro 20v was delivered by the local dealer to its current custodian’s home in November 1990, because the owner had asked his local dealership to source him one.
It came from the manufacturer as a management car and had 4231 miles on its odometer.
The beating heart
It is powered by the 20-valve RR-spec, five-cylinder 2226cc engine with 217bhp and a 143mph top speed.
We’re pleased to hear that, after requesting this car, its owner has used it, taking it from a little over 4000 miles in November 1990 to 32,622 at the point of consignment.
Numbers game
That mileage is confirmed when you look inside the car, the wonderfully period orange numbers still bright, crisp and clear.
This classic Audi’s mileage is also backed up by the wealth of paperwork being sold with this car.
Sweet music
This Audi quattro’s original Blaupunkt radio cassette player remains in place.
All the labelling and lettering on it and also on the heater controls above look as good as new.
Under cover
As you might expect from a classic car sold by the manufacturer at three months old to a serious enthusiast, it is in superb condition.
This is also thanks to the owner keeping it under its bespoke Audi car cover.
Famous lines
We bet that, even with its cover in place, this quattro looked rather epic.
There is no mistaking those strong lines and that famous shape, which was surely part of the appeal in the first place.
Few and far between
According to Classic Car Auctions, fewer than 300 right-hand-drive RR-spec Audi quattros were produced – and with this being effectively a one-owner car, it is a special example.
The ‘RR’ went on sale in August 1989 and was the final development of the quattro model.
Gathered together
This car will cross the block with a history file the auction house describes as ‘comprehensive’ – and we can see why.
It includes every single MoT certificate in the car’s life, its original black service wallet with its stamped maintenance schedule, as well as a price list from 1990 and its aforementioned branded cover.
Feeling fresh
The cabin looks to have been as carefully preserved as the exterior.
In Classic Car Auctions’ condition report on the car, all six areas of the interior – the door cards, seats, dashboard, carpets, boot and headlining – each get four stars out of five.
Round the back
And there is that boot.
Plus that car cover and toolkit. It definitely appears that this quattro has truly been cherished for the past 32 years.
Room for more
By the look of those sculpted rear seats, they’ve not been sat in too many times.
We suspect it might be a bit of a squeeze, though, if you were to use all three seatbelts at once.
Wheely good
We are sure you’ll agree that this classic Audi quattro’s wheels look rather fantastic.
This is because, other than the car being lovingly cared for and used relatively lightly, the wheels were recently refurbished. One fewer job for the winning bidder.
A fine example
Gary Dunne of Classic Car Auctions describes it as, “possibly the most original quattro Turbo available today.”
And adding to that is the commemorative booklet to celebrate 25 years of the quattro, which is included in this sale.
Pristine condition
Just look at that switchgear.
While we are sure this classic car was cleaned and polished prior to being photographed for this auction catalogue, details like this show how as-new it really is.
Feisty five
A big part of the quattro’s appeal, both when new and today in 2022, is that it demonstrated that a brand which to that point was seen as demure or maybe even boring, could be a technological tour de force.
Along with the Bugatti Veyron and the Porsche 917, the Audi quattro is one of Ferdinand Piëch’s defining high-performance projects.
New tech
The quattro was based on the Audi Coupé, which was derived from the 80 saloon, but it had new front and rear independent suspension.
As well as the famous four-wheel drive and that five-cylinder, turbocharged engine.
Beefed up
The Audi Coupé’s shape gained flared wheelarches to emphasise the quattro’s technical advances.
These added 41mm more muscle, while new bumpers made the quattro 55mm longer.
All right
The Audi quattro made its debut on 3 March 1980 at the Geneva motor show, however all the very earliest cars were left-hand drive.
It took until October 1982 for right-hand drive to come on stream. But then this is a late example from 1990 – production ceased the following year.
Sweet music
As we said earlier, this Audi quattro has a cassette player – and heads to auction with an Eric Clapton cassette.
A 1987 RAC road atlas is also included, in case you’d rather ditch the sat-nav.
Time to settle in?
So, can you see yourself behind the wheel of this 1990 Audi quattro?
And it you were the winning bidder on Saturday 18 June 2022, would you add to its mileage or not?
The clock is ticking
Described by the auction house as ‘unrepeatable’ this 32,622-mile Audi quattro will go under the hammer with Classic Car Auctions at its Summer Sale and you can see the full catalogue here.
And whether it sells within its £80-90,000 pre-sale estimate or smashes a new world record for the model, we just hope it finds an appreciative new home.