Audi keeps last RHD Quattro in undisclosed location
Click image to enlarge
The BBC's hit detective show, Life on Mars, has spawned a sequel called Ashes to Ashes. While the former was set in 1973 and featured a nifty Ford Cortina, Ashes follows Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Gene Hunt (the supervisor of Mars' lead character) to the early 80s, and the hero car is now a vintage Audi Quattro. Naturally, British fans' interest in the sweet Audi coupe is up, and incidentally, the TV car is very similar to a car that Audi UK keeps under lock and key. That car is the final RHD Audi Quattro to ever roll off the production line. It is a pristine, zero-mileage example that is kept in a secret, climate-controlled location. It's only removed for show duty and is returned to its hidey-hole immediately thereafter. Audi UK is emphatic about one thing: it will never, ever be sold. So have a look, friends. The car above is probably the most perfect Quattro in existence, and it is unattainable. Press release after the jump.
[Source: Audi UK]
PRESS RELEASE:
THE FAMOUS CAR AUDI IS KEEPING A BIG SECRET
Priceless original last-of-the-line Audi quattro is stored in secret UK location
Fame has returned to the sought-after original Audi quattro thanks to its starring role in the new BBC TV drama series 'Ashes to Ashes', set in 1980. The most priceless example of the legendary sports car that pioneered four-wheel-drive for production road cars is Audi UK's own unregistered car with zero miles, and will never be put up for sale.
So rare is this car - the last right-hand-drive quattro sports car ever made - that Audi is forced to keep it in a secret location and stored in a sealed, dehumidified environment. Similar to the TV star example seen nationally each week from February 7th, the as- new, just as it left the line Audi-owned example even shares the same bright red paint colour.
An untouched and as new car could actually be worth an unlimited sum to an enthusiast Audi collector. "We would never be able to replace this car and its value to the brand is inestimable" said Jeremy Hicks Director of Audi UK. "Whenever we have exhibited it, we have received a succession of surprisingly high offers, but sadly this particular car, the quattro that started it all for the company in the early eighties, will never be for sale".
In the final twist to the tale experts have spotted that the specimen of the model featured in the TV drama is actually a 1984 model year quattro identified by its single headlamp binnacles which , say the pundits, was not yet on sale in 1980. At that time the first quattro launch in March 1980 features twin headlamp lenses on each side.
"The unprecedented exposure from the TV show has thrown the spotlight back onto the original quattro for the first time since production ceased almost twenty years ago. We are seeing renewed interest in our classic cars and we fully expect demand for the first Audi quattro to rise dramatically this year," concluded Mr Hicks.
Audi has just launched the latest manifestation of the quattro line with the 580PS RS 6 quattro Avant priced from £77,625 on the road. Capable of up to 174mph, the RS6 - the most powerful road Audi ever made - arrives with its first UK customers in May.
Intriguingly, Audi has always spelt 'quattro' with a lower case Q.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Ben H. 11:46AM (2/05/2008)
Is the rear wheel bent???
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Tyo 11:47AM (2/05/2008)
Best. Audi. Ever.
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Seoultrain 11:50AM (2/05/2008)
Audi needs to build a light, turbo'd S2/Quattro coupe on the A3 platform. The A5 is beautiful, but too big and heavy.
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Will 11:52AM (2/05/2008)
I'm sure the wheel isn't bent. It's just running a lot of negative camber in the rear.
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El Stigõ 12:13PM (2/05/2008)
Muy el sexy.
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MemphisNET 12:16PM (2/05/2008)
outstanding!
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Alex 12:18PM (2/05/2008)
My damn neighbor won't sell me his '84 (i think) Quattro. The car just sits in his garage with crap piled all around it. He doesn't even know the jewel he has sitting there.
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Todd 12:34PM (2/05/2008)
Best car ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6skNSFMgNDc
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JDL 12:50PM (2/05/2008)
well, I have an UrQ and let me tell you that all Audi (at least AoA) cares about WRT the UrQ is to use it in commercials or feed some BS to us about how the A5/S5 C-pillar is styled like the C-pillar in the UrQ.
Parts support? Nil. BMW makes tons of parts for its old/historical cars, but Audi can't be troubled. ZERO support for owners, but they're damn good at sending out press releases about the car.
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Big Rocket 12:59PM (2/05/2008)
Would anyone care to explain why this is the best Audi ever, better than even the R8?
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Alex Nunez 1:04PM (2/05/2008)
Without this, there is no R8.
Big Rocket 6:20PM (2/05/2008)
Alex: Without the Ford Model T, there would have been no Mustang -- or, for that matter, any vehicle manufactured on a production line. But I wouldn't call the Model T the best Ford ever.
why not the LS2/LS7? 1:07PM (2/05/2008)
What? A cop driving a Cortina in the 70s made sense. Driving an Audi Quattro in the 80s is just paid product placement, pure and simple. It might as well be a Mustang Shelby GT500KR.
Shame on you Tony Jordan.
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Xcountryflyer 1:10PM (2/05/2008)
A true automotive classic! Audi put out some great cars in the 80's, the Coupe Quattro, the 4000CS Quattro, the 5000CS Turbo Quattro, even the base 5000 was amazing in its future forwardness and innovation. Damn 60 minutes derailed Audi in the US for 10-15 years until the A4 brought them back in the mid-90s.
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EricDJ 1:19PM (2/05/2008)
4000CS Quattro, oh yes, I want one so badly.
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The Doctor 1:24PM (2/05/2008)
Sorry to be a pedant, but I thought the car that pioneered four wheel drive in a road car was the Jensen FF...
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Sp33drac3r 1:54PM (2/05/2008)
I gotta say, i just test drove an A5 yesterday, and while it's a beautiful car, it drove like a car with no soul. I felt very uninvolved. After driving it, I'd have to say it's a chic car, and only hope the S5 isn't plagued with the same problem.
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zamafir 2:06PM (2/05/2008)
Sweet Jesus, I'd pay anything for that.
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lovice 2:19PM (2/05/2008)
without this there won't be any audis around. and there won't be any imprezas or evos, either! in fact, wothout this the wrc now we know won't be the same!
o, and there won't be any cheap suvs, either.
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MCS05 3:01PM (2/05/2008)
there used to be a guy that lived near me in the late 80s or early 90s that had the short wheel base version called the quattro Sport. That was a road going Gruppe B car if I am not mistaken.
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