1990 Audi Coupe E

This Coupe is one of the earlier models, first registered in May 1990. As a 2.3E model it's more-or-less top of the range; you could have also had Quattro 4WD – although this adds weight and complexity for subsequent owners – while the 20v head and S2 models didn't arrive until later in the year.

It has spent its life in the UK in and around the south-east.

As the vehicle history shows, it's a car that's been used for much of its life, racking up around 6,000 miles a year fairly regularly, and averaging a little under 3,000 miles a year. However it's also been very well cared for, with bills showing it's not wanted for anything and any minor fault or niggle has been addressed.

It's in pretty remarkable condition inside and out too, despite there being no evidence of any restoration. Many Coupes escaped the fates of their myriad rivals – with values bottoming out in the 00s and alternatives like the Corrado becoming popular with modifiers – but this one barely seems to have aged at all.

That makes this example a time-capsule of a car, and as it's both cosmetically and mechanically sound it would make for an excellent show car you could drive to events.

It's very hard to see how this Audi Coupe is 33 years old. While many red cars of this era experience fading, the Tornado Red is still as bright as it ever was across all of the panels and trim.

Looking around the car, there's almost no signs of age, damage, or even careless washing. With the exception of a small chip on the bonnet's leading edge above the offside headlight – and you almost have to know it's there to see it – there's no obvious marking anywhere on the body.

That includes the usually troublesome plastic areas, like the wing mirrors and that large rear spoiler, which often attract some kind of mishap but appear unblemished here. The secondary black lower trim also all looks to be in excellent condition. Even the badging is clear and largely showing no signs of age, with only a little fading in the “Audi” item on the nearside trim ahead of the door.

All four of the wheels – six-slotted 15x6 aluminium items – are in great condition. There's a little evidence of kerbing-like damage on the offside rear and nearside front, but no major scores or grooves. The wheel nut holes are undamaged and all four centrecaps are present. Each wheel wears almost brand new Pirelli P1 Cinturato tyres.

The vehicle glass is in excellent condition, with no marks, cracks, chips, or delamination. This Coupe pre-dates the trend for modern “privacy” glass, so it's clear windows all round. It also sports a moonroof – with a solid, body-colour panel rather than glass – which is in the same excellent condition as the rest of the paintwork.

All of the lighting is similarly undamaged, with no cracked lenses or scratches anywhere. That includes the common hotspot on the offside rear cluster; the design incorporates the key hole for the liftback release and often sees damage from missed attempts and dangling key fob baubles, but there's no evidence of that here.

The cabin is a mixture of leather on the dashboard and door handles and light grey cloth on the seats and door card trim pieces – and even some wood trim, which is a rarity in a sporty coupe!

Its condition reflects the high quality exterior, again presenting remarkably considering the car's age and mileage.

Unlike the TT that technically followed it, the Coupe is a true four-seater with an additional centre seat and belt good for shorter journeys with five. All of the vehicle seats are in excellent condition, showing no signs of wear or damage at all.

Ordinarily you'd expect 90,000 miles to show in the seats ranked by order of use, but even the driver's seat looks brand new with no wear even on the common outside bolster area. There's no fancy technology to go wrong with the seats either, with manual slide, angle, and lumbar adjusters – and no seat heating – so it all continues to work as it did when it left Ingolstadt.

The darker grey carpets are also in showroom condition as far as we can tell, with some additional – and also new-looking – overmats bearing the four-ring Audi logo. Again, even the carpeting on the lower edge of the door cards, a common wear location, is in the same excellent condition.

That extends onto the dashboard, with again no signs of any wear at all. The four-spoke steering wheel doesn't have so much as a stitch out of place, and all of the instruments, buttons, and switches are all bright and still clearly marked.

There is one single difference in the cabin compared to the original, 1990 interior: a head unit upgrade. This Sony item adds USB support for media storage devices, and Bluetooth and NFC for mobile phones – and in this black with red LED colour scheme appears entirely in keeping with the rest of the cabin.

This version of the Coupe uses the 2.3-litre inline five-cylinder “NG” engine, with the earlier 10-valve head. It produces 134hp and 140lbft of torque, and an interesting soundtrack courtesy of that odd number of cylinders.

With front-wheel drive and a five-speed manual gearbox, the Coupe hits 60mph in around nine seconds and reaches around 130mph – more than good enough to keep up with modern traffic!

There's no particularly common faults with this engine, which was also used on the Audi 80, 90, and 100 – and even the A6 – and with around 90,000 miles on the clock it seems to be in the prime of life.

Recent work to the engine includes a full suite of filter changes, along with the spark plugs, water pump and an oil change, and the car starts up first time with no hesitation or awkward noises.

A previous owner had also recently replaced the exhaust system with a new stainless system from the catalytic converter to the exit, so that distinctive five-cylinder thrum is now even more satisfying. There's also been a complete replacement of braking friction components.

Looking underneath there's nothing concerning; it's clearly a car that has been used and enjoyed, with some of the expected signs of age, but you'd be hard-pressed to tell it's a 32-year old vehicle. There's no obvious corrosion or leaks.

There's a large folder with the Coupe that encompasses bills and invoices for work across the board, including minor items and services. You'll also find a complete MoT history – including advisories and the occasional fail, along with receipts for work done to rectify any faults, which should reassure that there's nothing nasty lurking in the history. The car also has a current MoT, until February 2024.

An original owner's handbook also sports a stamped service book right up to the car's current mileage, including official Audi dealer stamps

The B3 Coupe was effectively the Audi TT of its day. It tapped into the 1980s rally era with its Sport Quattro-like proportions, along with a new design language that helped drag Audi into the conversation of sporting premium German brands.

This particular example is a five-owner car that has been used as intended but well cared for, before being preserved in excellent condition and stored at a specialist facility; it's unlikely you'll find another example as nicely presented, original and unmodified, and as ready for the road.

We estimate this car to fetch between £8,000 - £13,000 in auction.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; we are open weekdays 9am-5pm, to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.