1985 Audi ur quattro. Immaculate/museum investment condition. 1 of only 73 produced in 1986 for the U.S. market. If you are looking at the listing you probably know the technical aspects of this famous rally cult classic and know as Sports Car Market magazine stated last month that finding one in this condition is "like finding the holy grail." Rare Titian Red (metallic). Ordered new by the owner of the largest Audi dealership in DC area at the time. Only 30,500 miles and looks even newer. All original except for euro lights, K24 turbo, water cooling kit, and 2Bennett chip to upgrade to euro 220 hp. Feels very fast and tight even by today's standards. Not as fast but more fun to drive than my 2008 RS4. There are ancillary gauges in the glovebox (seen in Photobucket photos - link below) which can only be seen when the glovebox is open. I do not know who installed the gauges or why. My mechanic could only guess that one of the previous owners did not trust 80s Audi gauges. Period correct Audi Sport steering wheel. Factory sunroof. Newer Blaupunkt CD player installed but orignal period factory Audi branded unit comes with the car. Only used for shows and rarely has even seen rain, absolutely no snow or salt. Only adult driven and never abused. Not one spec of rust or accident damage. When I had an expert inspection when I purchased the car in 2006, the inspector suspected but was not sure that the rear bumper had been repainted but no evidence of body damage or accident repair. Even the wheels do not have one scrape or nick. Not a door ding or scrape. Leather is as perfect as possible for a 1986 car, just one small mark on drivers seat but no cuts or tears. Passenger seat and rear seats look as new. Door panels and dashboard are perfect. Even the fragile door pockets and visor clips are perfect. Original floor mats are perfect. Fanatically maintained regardless of cost with all service documentation. Over $17,000 spent in the last 5 years on upgrades and maintaining this car to absolute perfection. Original perfect exhaust. Every single thing works perfectly (mechanical, electrical, etc.). Multiple first place and Best of Show awards. This is the best. I love this car and do not need to sell it immediately so low offers will not be considered. In person or professional inspections welcome by appointment. Additional photos at: http://s1132.photobucket.com/albums/m564/brianjpeters/
I have had a series of similar questions from Audi enthusiasts so I will summarize the questions and provide answers to those questions below:
1) Are the silver Audi rings on the door factory and original? Yes, the silver rings are factory and original to this car. The 1985 U.S. sales brochure pictures a car with silver rings. If you Google Titian red quattro's you will see other cars with the silver rings. The most common rings are the black rings found on, for example, the non-metallic red cars.
2) Is the paint original? As stated above, the paint is original. The exception may be the rear bumper per the original pre-purchase inspection I had. The car has been carefully examined by Audi experts when servicing the car and when judging the car in shows and there is no accident damage or body repair. It is apparent that the paint is original if the car is seen in-person.
3) Was the pinstriping removed? The car was apparently ordered without pinstriping. Again, the U.S. and European sales brochures for 1985 show cars without the pinstriping.
4) Some quattros had black plastic rear vents (on the rear of the car behind the rear side window) so were the rear vents specially painted? The 1985 sales brochure for the U.S. shows a black car so you cannot tell if the vents were painted or not. The European sales brochure, however, shows a red car with red vents. Painted vents were, therefore, factory standard in 1985.
Please note that the 1985 model had changes/improvements over the prior years. This is why the 1985 model is viewed by some as the most desirable of U.S. versions. In general, please note that this car is not the sometimes found 50,000 to 150,000 mile car advertised in "excellent" condition for $15,000 to $20,000 maximum. Those cars are still rare to find and may be great drivers, even good cars for local weekend car gatherings, but my car is an investment quality quattro that is in another league. Experts and enthusiasts go crazy when they see this car and stress that it the best example they have ever seen. If you want the best this is it. If you are interested and have any questions regarding aspects of this car that cannot be addressed via email then please invest in an independent expert inspection or come see the car in person.
I cannot vouch for the information below but an Audi enthusiast was kind enough to provide it based on his research/data:
Out of the 5 Titian Red cars in my records:
4 cars have silver rings and 1 has black
Out of the 4 with silver rings 3 have silver pinstripes.
4 cars have graphite interiors (grey) and 1 has black.
3 have black door handle trim and 2 have chrome.
Hope this helps
4 cars have original paint (or claim to)
In full disclosure, I am providing a report on an inspection of the car that was done this evening by an Audi garage owner and enthusiast who is interested in purchasing the car. Contrary to the pre-inspection report that I recieved and the car show judge's reports, this individual stated that he saw evidence of the front spoiler, front right fender, and front right door having been repainted. He stated that it was most likely repainted early in the car's life as the paint was a perfect match. I must admit that I was very surprised as there are not the typical signs (clear tape lines, difference in paint texture, orange peel, etc.) of repainting that I am normally quite astute at finding. He did not find evidence of accident damage but based his conclusion on the way the clearcoat felt at the edges of the fender and door. He stated that the good news was that the fender and door had not been removed which was evidence that any damage needing to be repainted was not serious. There was also evidence based on the clearcoat (minute marks) that a small dent had been repaired on the rear trunk lid, again most likely early in the car's life. Finally, while I stated that the original exhaust was in perfect condition, when we looked underneath the car with a flashlight there was clearly a hole in the middle of the exhaust which he stated would require $400 to $500 to repair. The frame and other aspects of the car described previously were found to be perfect. He stressed that the car was indeed beautiful but there were nonetheless the above stated questions of originality. In any case, if you are interested in this car I again encourage that you see the car in-person or have it inspected by an expert so that you are confident in what you are purchasing. I have another inspection being performed on Monday so I will report those findings if they contradict anything based on this evening.