Fire up the quattro!

Audi Press Office said:

Priceless Original Last-Of-The-Line Audi quattro Is Stored In Secret UK Location

Fame has returned to the sought after original Audi quattro thanks to its starring role in the new BBC TV drama series Ashes to Ashes set in 1981. The most priceless example of this legendary sports car that pioneered four-wheel-drive for production road cars, is Audi UK’s own unregistered car with zero miles and will never be put up for sale.

So rare is this car, the last right-hand-drive quattro sports car ever made, that Audi is forced to keep it in a secret location and stored in a sealed, dehumidified environment. Similar to the TV star example seen nationally each week from Thursday (7 Feb), the as new, just as it left the line Audi-owned example even shares the same bright red paint colour.

An untouched and as new car could actually be worth an unlimited sum to an enthusiast Audi collector . “We would never be able to replace this car and its value to the brand is inestimable” said Jeremy Hicks Director of Audi UK. “Whenever we have exhibited this car, we have received a succession of surprisingly high offers, but sadly this particular car, the quattro that started it all for the company in the early eighties, will never be for sale”.

In the final twist to the tale, experts have spotted that the model featured in the TV drama is actually a 1984 model year quattro identified by its single headlamp binnacles which, say the pundits, was not yet on sale in 1980. At that time, the first quattro launch in March 1980, featured twin headlamp lenses on each side.

Hicks added: “The unprecedented exposure emerging from the TV programme has thrown the spotlight back onto the original quattro for the first time since production ceased almost twenty years ago. We are seeing renewed interest in our classic cars and we fully expect demand and prices of the first Audi quattro to rise dramatically this year.

Audi has just launched the latest manifestation of the quattro line with the 580ps RS 6 quattro Avant priced from £77,625 on the road and capable of up to 174mph. The RS 6, the most powerful Audi roadcar ever made, arrives with the first UK customers in May.

Intriguingly, Audi has always spelt ‘quattro’ with a lower case Q.

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