Audi Sport Quattro Expected To Bring Nearly $500,000 At Auction

YAHOO AUTOS

                    

By Jeff Glucker

 

 

 

 

                        

There have been many memorable and legendary Audi vehicles produced over the years. The R15 and R18 race cars are nearly unrivaled in their endurance racing dominance; the forbidden fruit (for us in the States) that is the RS 6 Avant twin-turbo V-8 wagon.

 

There is, of course, also the never-to-be-forgotten Group B racers that changed the face of rallying forever. One of the all-time great Audi machines, and possibly the greatest ever made, is the Audi Sport Quattro. It's an extension of those Group B insane-o cars... and it's built for the street.Now there's one for sale, and it's expected to command a hell of a lot of money.

The RM Auction of Scotsdale is set to see a 1984 Audi Sport Quattro cross its block. Pre-auction estimates have the value pegged between $350,000 and $475,000. Don't scoff at that price just yet, seeing as this is most likely the finest example of said vehicle anywhere in the world.

It comes to the U.S. by way of its original owner in Japan. There the car amassed just 8,300 kilometers. It was sold to an American collector, and it's now heading to auction. These cars were never sold in America, and just 214 examples were built for homologation purposes.

 

The racing version of the Sport Quattro saw 450 horsepower from its inline five-cylinder turbocharged engine. Audi detuned the road car to a slightly more manageable 302 horsepower. I say slightly and I mean it, as all reports say that driving these beasts took serious effort thanks to the tremendous turbo lag and short wheelbase.

The RM Auction gets underway in mid January. Look for the Audi to cross the block on Friday the 16th, and also look for lots of money to leave someones bank account while their garage gets one hell of a new resident.