This Audi 5000 Sold for $280K, and It’s Not Even the Speed Record-Setting Car

Words: Joe Kucinski

Last month we featured this fascinating 1986 Audi 5000 CS quattro Speed Record Prototype in our Find of the Day column. It was scheduled to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s in Monterey. At the time we ran our feature the car was presented as the car that hit 206.3 mph at Talladega with Bobby Unser behind the wheel. The preauction estimate was $250,000 to $300,000.

However, prior to the auction, RM Sotheby’s issued an addendum to their auction listing. “Please note that though this car is understood to have played a role in the Audi speed record program, it was not the record-setting car,” read the addendum. OK, so with the record set straight, the car crossed the block without reserve. And it sold for $280,000 all-in. Right in the middle of the original preauction estimate.

Record setting car or not, collectors realized the importance and specialness of this incredible Audi. The correction removed what appeared to be the car’s biggest claim to fame, yet bidders still valued it as a significant piece of Audi history. As they should.

All of the technical details about this car are still accurate. The modified 2.2-liter turbocharged five-cylinder engine is still under the hood. And this car did play a role in helping to set 16 world records. It may not be the Audi 5000 that went 206.3 mph around Talladega. But at $280,000, the market made it clear that being part of the team was special enough.