The primary Audi model sold in the USA was the first-generation 100, which made its debut here as a 1970 model and remained available through 1977. For the 1978 model yr, the second-generation 100 appeared in North American Audi dealerships, and its model name on this side of the Atlantic was 50 times more impressive: the 5000. Today’s Junkyard Gem is certainly one of those early 5000s, present in a self-service wrecking yard within the shadow of Pikes Peak.
The boxy second-generation 5000 was available in the USA through 1983, after which it was replaced by its sleek C3 successor and its wind-cheating curves and flush glass. While coupe and hatchback versions were available elsewhere, all of the 1978-1983 C2 5000s sold here were four-door sedans.
This automotive’s MSRP was $10,975 with gasoline engine and automatic transmission. That is about $43,402 in 2023 dollars, placing the 1980 Audi 5000 in in regards to the same price region because the similarly-sized BMW 320i ($11,810), Volvo 264 GL ($11,670), Toyota Cressida sedan ($9,199) and Saab 900 GLE ($10,690).
This 2.1-liter SOHC straight-five was rated at 100 horsepower and 110 pound-feet, quite a bit lower than its dirtier-running European counterparts.
A 130-horse turbocharged version of this engine was available within the 1980 5000, in addition to a 2.0-liter diesel I5 rated at 67 horsepower.
Transmission selections were the bottom five-speed manual and a three-speed automatic.
See that Apply foot brake when engaging Drive or Reverse decal, applied a bit crookedly to the shifter bezel? That is the results of the “unintended acceleration” fiasco that sent American Audi sales into the bathroom starting with the 1986 “60 Minutes” piece and continuing well into the Nineties. Ford had needed to apply similar decals to the dashes of 23 million automatic-equipped 1966-1980 vehicles, earlier within the Eighties, but the Ford “Park-to-Reverse” defects didn’t torpedo sales.
Because of this of the bad publicity (which resulted in a catastrophic downturn in sales for all Audi models here, not only slushbox-equipped 5000s), the 4000 got the European-market 80 name for 1988, while the 5000 got the 100 designation here for 1989.
This automotive was in fine condition for its age, and the odometer shows that it traveled just 133k miles during its 43 years of service.
These cars aren’t price much even when in very nice running condition, so this one didn’t stand much likelihood of rescue once it entered the junkyard ecosystem.
Makes it easy to live the great life under today’s conditions, which is a really Malaise Era thing to say.
A functional masterpiece and yet one of the crucial sumptuous cars ever to come back out of Germany.
This Article First Appeared At www.autoblog.com
