Weekly Treasure: 1990 Audi Coupe Quattro

The Audi Coupe first arrived way back in 1980. Essentially a liftback two-door version of the 80 sedan (an earlyA4ancestor), it also shared its general bodywork with the legendary Audi Quattro, aka the Ur-Quattro, to this day one of themost recognizable rally cars. If you didn't already know, theQuattro was the first rally carto take advantage of new rules permitting the use of all-wheel driving in the sport. Finding an original Quattro road car can be a little difficult, especially for one in overall good condition with relatively few miles.

Prices are reasonable now but they're expected to climb. Alternatively, there's the Audi Coupe. It still sports that same body shape though it lacks the ridiculously cool knife-edge fender flares. Another major difference is what's under the hood. Instead of the more powerful 2.1- and 2.2-liter inline-five engines found in the Quattro, the coupe came with a naturally aspirated 1.9-liter base engine, also an inline-five.

Throughout its lifetime, this was upgraded to 2.0-, 2.1-, 2.2-, and 2.3-liter fuel injected inline-fives. And in case you're wondering, the Coupe was simply called by Audi "the Coupe." It worked at the time. Finally, in 1984, Audi offered the quattro full-time all-wheel drive system on the Coupe, which further enhanced its appeal. But it was still the Coupe Quattro that enthusiasts clamored for. They knew what they were getting. And some owners went above and beyond to get that true rallying experience.

This 1990 example currently up for auction onCars and Bidsis the ideal example. It's been heavily upgraded into what's essentially a road-legal rally car. Now, truth be told, it's not in ideal condition. It's been driven quite a bit.