Audi's own catalog didn't quite add up: the four-wheel-drive 80 quattro weighed more and was slower than the larger, cheaper, front-wheel-drive Audi 100 with the identical engine.
Lead trim: 4000 1.7 (North America, 74 hp) · up to 134 hp
Audi 801978–1986
- 0spots by members
- Unclaimednobody has spotted one yet
- 0sets it belongs to
Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Audi 80 yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactAudi's own catalog didn't quite add up: the four-wheel-drive 80 quattro weighed more and was slower than the larger, cheaper, front-wheel-drive Audi 100 with the identical engine.
The B2 Audi 80 (Typ 81) was presented in September 1978, with four-door sedan deliveries beginning a few weeks later in Europe and the fuel-injected GLE and two-door cars from early 1979; it reached North America in 1979 as a 1980 model, badged Audi 4000, and was the Audi 5+5 in Australia. Its body was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. No Avant was offered because the Volkswagen Passat filled that role, as the B2 moved the 80 upmarket from the mid-sized family segment to a compact executive car pitched at the BMW 3 Series, and it acted as a de facto replacement for the NSU Ro 80. The 80 first became available with four-wheel drive in 1983, essentially an Ur-Quattro without the turbocharger and with saloon bodywork, and the 80 Sport based on the GTE was introduced in the UK in 1983. After a mid-1984 facelift the Audi 90 was launched as a larger-engined 80 with five-cylinder petrol engines. In North America the 4000 5+5 was launched for the 1981 model year with the five-cylinder engine of the 5000, the 4000S was the more pedestrian, well-equipped four-door, and the 4000 quattro debuted in 1984. 1,680,146 were built: 1,405,506 80s, 105,593 90s and 169,047 Coupés.
Collectors Spotted in the Audi 80 Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Audi 80 yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
9 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.6 turbodiesel (70 PS) | 1984–1986 | 1.6 L Inline-4 | 69 hp | 98 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| 4000 1.6 (North America, 76 hp) | 1980–1981 | 1.6 L Inline-4 | 76 hp | 83 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| 4000 1.7 (North America, 74 hp) | 1981–1986 | 1.7 L Inline-4 | 74 hp | 90 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| 4000 5+5 2.1 five-cylinder (North America, 100 hp) | 1981–1986 | 2.1 L Inline-5 | 100 hp | 112 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| 4000CS quattro 2.2 (North America, 115 hp) | 1984–1986 | 2.2 L Inline-5 | 115 hp | 126 lb-ft | — | AWD | — | — |
| 4000S 1.8 (North America, 102 bhp) | 1981–1986 | 1.8 L Inline-4 | 102 hp | 105 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| 80 quattro 2.1 five-cylinder (136 PS) | 1983–1986 | 2.1 L Inline-5 | 134 hp | 130 lb-ft | — | AWD | — | — |
| 90 2.0 five-cylinder (115 PS) | 1984–1986 | 2.0 L Inline-5 | 113 hp | 121 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| 90 2.2 five-cylinder (136 PS) | 1984–1986 | 2.2 L Inline-5 | 134 hp | 137 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
The RS2 Avant, the hottest B4 of all, wasn't built on Audi's own line — it was at least partly assembled at Porsche's Rossle-Bau plant in Zuffenhausen.
This Audi had crash safety before airbags were common: a hidden system of steel cables yanked the steering wheel into the dash and tightened the seatbelts on impact — no electronics, no airbag, just cables routed behind the gearbox.
Audi's own catalog didn't quite add up: the four-wheel-drive 80 quattro weighed more and was slower than the larger, cheaper, front-wheel-drive Audi 100 with the identical engine.
Audi's own chief engineer called the car the B1 replaced a 'bastard' — a mongrel of a DKW body and a Mercedes engine — and built the 80 to erase that legacy.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
It briefly served as senior sibling to Marquette, a GM companion brand cancelled after just one year.
Nissan hired former BMW engineers to help develop the 510's suspension, which is why period reviewers frequently compared its handling to the BMW 1600/2002.
A Trabant 601 won its class at the 1970 Monte Carlo Rally, with a second 601 right behind it in second.
The 600 was a stopgap: the P50's body over the 601's mechanicals, and for a while its estate was built alongside the new 601 saloon.
The G80 Sport brought a 370 PS twin-turbo 3.3 V6, a mesh grille and copper-tinted chrome with copper stitching to match.
The Vigor was sold only with a five-cylinder engine, an unusual configuration Honda used to fit a longer engine transversely under a short hood.
The GS/E coupe earned the nickname "German Charger" for its long hood, short deck stance borrowed from Detroit muscle cars.
This DeVille/Fleetwood was the first production car anywhere to mount its V8 sideways, Cadillac's front-drive gamble on the new C-body.