On Friday afternoon, while visiting my mom, I left for a run around the neighborhood (well, a walk, to be honest). I took a route that led me towards this German Classic and it seems its working days are not quite over.
From the front, it looks good — it has all of its trim, it even has a modern set of wipers and aftermarket wheels (the jury is out concerning those). But go round the back…
Whoa! He’s not messing about, is he? This 1984 Audi 80 is littered with all types of racks. Very useful should you encounter something that needs, well, carrying.
I’ve actually captured this 80 on dash-cam some time ago along with other classics, and made a video. I didn’t upload it because I wasn’t happy with the footage’s quality, but now I guess it might be fitting to attach it here (and you get more CCs for your money):
In Israel, Audi 80s like these were very expensive at the time, but sold reasonably well. Sadly, not many have survived. I have only one more photo of another CC, more neglected but without any rack:
Related Reading:
Curbside Classic: Audi Fox/80 (B1) – The Foxy Mother Of The Modern VW/Audi Era
Why should the bick rack be welded to the chassis? It’s clearly screwed on to the tow hitch. zinc coated aluminum bike rack, screwed on to the black hitch which is now hidden.
Agreed. No sign of being “welded on”. Bike racks that attach to tow hitches are very common. And tow hitches are usually bolted to the chassis, not welded. I’ve edited that out.
Welding a hitch to a unit body car is never a good idea. Trucks/rigs with separate frames however, another story. Both of mine on my Ranger (one front, one rear) are welded.
I haven’t seen one of these in the UK for a long long time. This one seems to be a bit of an amalgamation; the front end has the sloped headlights from the lightly revised version which appeared around ’85, mated to the earlier rear end with smaller taillights and less wraparound bumper.
agonynine:
In at least one picture it looks like the paint on the front 2/3rds of the car is a slightly darker hue, perhaps a less than perfect collision repair?
I always thought these were a decent enough looking car, and in this case I think I prefer the bigger U.S. market bumpers. The way this car looks, IMHO, it appears as though it has no real bumpers but the area where the bumpers would be was smoothed off and painted flat black.
Owned a Couple of 80 in the 80s and up into the early 90s They were known as the 4000 here in the states. A capable car that handled well. Would love to find another, But even here in the rust free southwest they are extremely rare. Last one I spotted was at a dealership auction, but I was occupied with another chore and never made it back to find any info. An underappreciated car, most suffered the fate of cheap wheels and were driven into the ground by owners who looked on them as just another appliance. A terrible fate, Audis don not take well to being ignored.
Neither do Alfa Romeos or Nissan 240sxs. 🙁
I’m used to seeing them with the massive US-spec bumpers. The car is pretty without them. These cars developed a (deserved, imho) reputation for being fragile and tempermental, around here.
I had an 1985 Audi 80 GL – it was remarkably reliable – only needed a clutch cable and a battery during my ownership, and was still going strong when I punted it with nearly 200K on the clock
My second car was an early Audi 4000 (1980 vintage). I enjoyed it immensely and it was quite reliable overall.
Here’s the second COAL entry I ever wrote…
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/coal-1980-audi-4000-the-boy-embraces-his-heritage/
Just a couple of months ago I drove a later model 4000 quattro on the ice at Georgetown Lake again. Just unending traction from that little car, lots of fun. Chuck it around a corner and catch it at will.
Nice find. The 4000 was never a threat to the 3-series’ market dominance here, and they’ve become rather hard to come by these days. It always seemed there were far more 5000s about, though perhaps they blended into traffic less. Most of those have gone now, too–the oldest Audi one will see with any frequency would be a late C3 100/A6 (seemingly always a wagon) or an early A4.
I remember reading an article concerning Israel in an old National Geographic magazine from the 1980s. All the cars in the street scene photos had two reflective candy cane stripe stickers on their rear bumpers like the ones on this Audi; I presume it was a requirement back then in Israel. I wonder what the reasoning for the reflective stickers are…better visibility if the cars were driven in the desert?
These Audi 4000s, were a lot more reliable than it’s sibling, the 5000.
Plus, they were never plagued with the sudden acceleration scare of the 80’s…Even said so, in a 1986 60 Minutes segment, by Mike Wallace.
Two of these came up for sale in MA, recently, both very cheap…One ad expired, running good for only $695 or BO.
This is the other, for $750, running, but issues, and a WRONG filled out title.
Knew it was too good to be true. 😉
Hi
I was looking for some parts for my car and suddenly I see a pic of my car, which cannot be mistaken with all possible racks on…,!!
It was a pleasant surprise to see appreciation from fellow classics admirers!
I am starting a rejuvenation of my beloved car which I own for the past 14 years with alllllll original bits!
Thanks for the lovely gesture!
Guy