Walking home Saturday night from my favorite beverage-serving establishment, coincidentally run by a guy who has emigrated here from upstate New York, I noticed an Audi 100 with short plates and bulkier bumpers. Instantly, my synapses made the connection: it had to be an American Audi, it had to be a 5000. It was too dark to get a photo, and the Audi was rolling down the street anyway. Sunday afternoon, I was luckier and noticed the 5000S parked on the street. Compared to a relatively common, everyday Audi 100, the 5000S is a touch more Western.
If you thought the Reatta was rare here, so is a Federalized, 5000-ised Typ44 Audi. Here are the photos.
Really, 5000S. It’s like 100 or 200 just wouldn’t cut it, neither would just slapping another zero in the end. It had to be 4000 and 5000 for the 80 and 100/200.
The US-model bumpers really look sturdy, but then again, they’d have to be, with all those unintended crashes into the garage rear walls? Hur hur, and that’s about the extent of how much I’ll delve into the 60 Minutes fiasco dug up every time the 5000 gets mentioned.
Note also the mandatory headlight washers that tag along on the bumpers. The grille hole is for the block heater plug.
I like the simple aerodynamic wheels complete with centre caps. They remind me of the VW GTI Pirelli wheels.
Goodwrench sticker is a reminder of the days spent in the Old West.
Even if the car is a pre-facelift model and thus had the old dashboard, I do like it. It hasn’t rusted seemingly from anywhere, which on the pre-facelift cars is more likely than on the newer ones, which seem to soldier on unscatched.
[Images: Copyright 2013 Hooniverse/Antti Kautonen]
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