words: Bill, photos: Bring A Trailer
I love the Coupe quattro…I may have mentioned it here before. So instead of gushing about my love for them, let’s take a closer look at this one. While quattro is great in the snow, how about a 6″ lift? And the lack of power of the Cq? No problem, swap in a 1.8T. Here’s the ad:
This 1990 Audi Coupe Quattro is equipped with a custom 6″ suspension lift and is powered by a turbocharged 1.8L inline-four and 5-speed Tiptronic transmission from a B5 Audi A4. Four years ago, the seller acquired the car out of Palo Alto, California as a rolling shell and has since performed the lift, engine swap, and reconstruction of the black leather interior. The lift includes 1″ extended control arms, subframe spacers, custom axles, and more detailed in the listing. The car is finished in white and is equipped with a B4 Audi 90 hood and headlights, manual climate controls from an Audi 90 Cabriolet, a roof rack with LED offroad lights, a high lift jack, and BF Goodrich all-terrain tires on factory Speedline wheels. This Audi is offered with an accident-free Carfax report and a clean Washington title in the seller’s name.
The car has been lifted just over 6″ using a custom fabricated suspension lift setup. The bodywork is finished in pearl white, and the seller reports that the clear coat has baked off and dents are noted on every panel. The seller performed a B4 hood and headlight conversion, and additional off-road lights are mounted to the roof rack.
The factory 15″ Speedline wheels are fitted with 215/75 BF Goodrich all-terrain tires, and the car is equipped with aluminum and HDPE skid plates. The tubular front bumper mounts a winch, and the car is equipped with a roof rack, hi-lift jack, shovel, and a full-size spare.
The seller has refreshed the black leather interior with components from his personal collection of Audi parts. The headliner has been re-covered in black fabric, and the gray plastic pillar trim has been re-dyed in black. The car is equipped with heated leather seats, and the seller converted the original automatic climate control to a manual control setup from a B4 Audi 90 Cabriolet. The fitted Alpine stereo is not hooked up as the seller found it drained the battery when not in use.
The factory instruments have been removed, and a B5 cluster has been installed. The seller reports that the cluster retains factory trip computer functions, and an OBDII port has been added. The fuel gauge is calibrated to read correctly when empty, though it only shows 5/8ths of a tank when full. The catalytic converter has been removed, and an emulator has been added so a CEL is not apparent from the downstream oxygen sensor. 155k miles are shown, between 10-15k of which were added by the seller. The true mileage is unknown.
Power is provided by an AEB 1.8T inline-four paired with a 5-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission from a B5 Audi A4. The seller reports that the car retains the push-button electrically-operated locking rear differential, and a GIAC ECU tune has been installed. A selection of spare parts are provided, including an un-tuned ECU. The intake snorkel is functional and is paired with a custom aluminum lower airbox. An oil and filter change was performed approximately 1,500 miles ago, and a transmission fluid and filter change was performed approximately 7k miles ago.
The seller reports that the suspension bushings, mounts, tie-rod ends, dampers, and other hardware have been replaced. The factory hydroboost system has been replaced with conventional vacuum-assisted power brakes. Additional photos of the underside are provided in the gallery below, and show the floors, suspension components, and skid plates.
The custom-fabricated lift kit includes modified subframes, 1″ extended tubular front control arms, extended rear tie rods, quick-disconnect sway bar end links, 5″ extended shock housings, and modified factory steering knuckles. The car utilizes stock-specification KYB EXCEL-G shocks with stock springs, and the seller notes that the control arms increase the track by 2″ at the front. A set of custom axles are fitted, and utilize RCV Performance Ultimate 930 CV joints with custom-made RCV Performance axle shafts. The seller notes that the axles carry a lifetime warranty.
The Carfax report shows ownership in California and Colorado prior to the seller’s acquisition, and in Washington since 2016. No accidents or other damage are noted.
A video of the car off-road is viewable above, and a video of it in the snow is viewable below. The build process is documented in a 19-page build thread.
This looks like a lot of fun and at the time of publishing, it’s gone from $1,990 to $4,135 in about an hour. It’s being offered with no reserve so if you want some high flying fun in the snow, you have 7 days to bid. You can find the ad HERE
