1988 Audi Coupe Quattro

Firstly, make no mistake, this is not an Audi Ur quattro. That turbocharged rally beast is an entirely different animal. This model is built on the same basic platform but is in fact a B2 Audi Coupe Quattro. The word quattro in this instance simply refers to the firm’s four-wheel drive system. To further add confusion, Audi decided to stuck the Ur quattro’s rear badge and screen graphics on this, quattro-lite coupe. It’s even got the proper quattro’s rear wing!

This Coupe Quattro is even closer to the real thing as it shares the Ur’s 2226cc five-cylinder displacement. So, we can understand if you’re currently doing a bit of head scratching. Basically, this is an Audi Ur quattro, sans turbocharger and flared wheel arches. Phew.

A well driven and loved example, this Coupe Quattro has covered a displayed 169,065 miles. It has been owned by the vendor for the past six years, three of used as his daily transport. The car has also been dry stored under a cover for 18-months and he’s now only parting ways as he’s in need of a more modern vehicle. He summed it up rather neatly; ‘Everything works, it's ready to go, I just found myself using it less.’ We’ve all been there…

This car sports what is quite possibly the greatest option ever fitted to a four-wheeled machine. Perhaps that’s over-egging it slightly, but it’s definitely up there. On a frosty morning, those following this Audi will be left in little doubt about its ability to tackle even the iciest of routes, because when you push the heated rear screen button, said onlookers will gasp in amazement as the element demists the word ‘quattro’ into the rear screen… Cool right? Heated elements in a logo shape, why hasn’t that caught on?

Though this Coupe is running (and driving well), not really a project per se, it’s a bit scruffy around the edges. There’s no one element of the bodywork that lets the side down, but instead, there are a number of areas in need of some light tlc. The bumpers front and rear for example, are faded, scratched and their chrome caps are lifting. The paint is largely holding up well, though we did notice some corrosion around the sunroof panel. There are scratches to the bonnet and the offside windscreen washer is held in with a cable tie.

A few small rust bubbles are also just beginning to peek out from the edges of trim or in hard-to reach spots. The most awkward of these can be found under the nearside rubber seal on the rear screen. We’d like to stress that these don’t appear to be too advanced at this stage. The front end is looking a little down at heel with its grille misshapen (especially around the headlights) and chipped at its top. The wonky fog lights aren’t helping either, yet these parts are easily replaced.

All of the wheels look in need of a refurb, but at least they’re fitted with matching (budget) Nexen tyres. Basically, this Audi is complete, but there’s plenty of tidying still to do if you want a show car. If not, then the vendor claims it’s good to press into regular use right away. He did drive it up from Cornwall to our Abingdon HQ after all.

It’s a similar story with the cabin. The elements are all in place but many are showing their age. The leather seat fabric looks good (especially in the rear), without unsightly tears, but the foam under the base of both front seats appears to have disintegrated – the fabric is hanging down loose. The strategic deployment of gaffer tape is evident too on this Audi in several places, but most notably covering the lower hinge on the driver’s seat. There are some nice Audi Sport decals on the handbrake and gear gaiters, but the former is ripped.

We couldn’t miss those fabulous ’80s graphics on the dials in the console denoting diff lock, volts and oil-temperature. A more modern Kenwood stereo and rear Pioneer speakers in the parcel shelf – the latter missing their grilles – spoils the 1980s time-machine illusion a little, however. There are scratches around the light controls and on the door and window handles. The latter winder (driver’s side) was fitted after the electric item began playing up. The vendor informs us that a replacement from an Audi 80 is included in the sale.

The door cards don’t have any horrible big holes cut in them for huge speakers – as was the tradition in the 1990s – but do still look a little worn. Both are held in with non-factory screws around their periphery – the nearside card has also come loose at the top. The headlining is generally looking sound but there are some stains around the corners of the sunroof, indicating possible moisture ingress at some point in the past.

The engine bay looks business like and what we’d expect from an unrestored survivor that’s now nearly 34 years old. We did notice quite a bit of surface corrosion on the engine; block, sump and rocker cover, though it looked dry and free of any fluid leaks. Another couple of cable ties have been deployed to hold the clutch fluid reservoir in place under the scuttle. The plastic trim for the latter is surprisingly still in good shape, as are the other engine bay plastics, which are hard to replace and often crack.

Underneath proper, there’s clear evidence of replacement parts among those surface rusted original bits. The front nearside subframe bush looks cracked and seems past its best but the MoT man doesn’t appear to mind. The roll bar and other rubber bushes and mounts look in good order. The floors and sills are still mostly covered in factory under seal, though a few spots did show some mild surface corrosion. It’s a similar story with the pipework under here too – these were mentioned as an advisory on the last MoT. There’s a replacement exhaust back box that’s apparently a little fruitier than standard and the vendor reports that it ‘makes it sound even nicer.’ We do love a nice five-pot warble.

The seven former keepers of this Coupe have passed on a good deal of its service history. There’s not enough room to go through it all here, so we’ll cover the recent work first. We have a VAG service schedule with delivery details from when the car was new and its first few services within the dealer network. Sadly, these ceased in ’92, though the car has returned to the network more recently, with some fairly substantial work carried out by Audi Truro in 2017. This included a transmission oil refresh a free health check, fitting some new handbrake cables, replacing the exhaust manifold gasket and fasteners and performing an MoT. That year also saw a little welding and just a year later, in 2018, the rear diff oil and its filler bung were also replaced. An axle set of brake discs and pads were also changed at the same time (though it wasn’t noted on the invoice which ones). May 2018 also saw those Nexen tyres fitted (£43 each).

A bit further back, in 2016, an auto electrician was called upon to trace and remove some troublesome old immobiliser wiring that was causing the car not to start. Back in 2014 a new timing belt and idler was fitted by Gregory’s Garage at a cost of £163.14. In September of that same year a new fuel pump, its rubber mounts and associated new braided fuel lines were fitted by ARM (BMW & Motorsport specialist) at a cost of £288.

In danger of going too far back now to be relevant, in 2002 exhaust rubbers and front wishbone bushes were renewed as well as a single brake caliper and the front flexi hoses – the invoice from Anderson’s Garage, Saltash shows a bill for £398.70. The vendor points out that the clutch and slave cylinder were replaced 15k miles ago (invoice from Classic Quattros from April 2018) and the engine had a cam service in April of last year. The latter saw the lifters, timing belt and its tensioner all replaced. A replacement second hand rear differential was also fitted in August 2018 at a cost of £770.40.

The vendor himself describes this car as ‘a bit rough around the edges, well used and certainly no museum piece’, though he’s keen to point out that the car has been well maintained. He tells us that he’s ‘put around 38,000 miles on the vehicle, and as you can see, all the relevant service costs have been paid.’ Indeed, the care lavished on this car’s running gear is clear when you tally it up – it comes to more than £6000 in the past six years alone.

Though it’s certainly not a project, mechanically at least, there’s a good deal of cosmetic tidying still left to do. Though the hunt for parts needn’t be too exhaustive as the vendor is also keen to point out that he has a large selection of parts available under separate negotiation.

The basis for a great car is already here if you want to go down the restoration route, or you could just use it as a rolling cosmetic resto and gradually improve things as you go. Whatever the preferred route, we think you’ll need £10,000 - £15,000 to make that decision.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; 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’.