These Are Your Favorite Audis

Earlier this week Audi revealed the Concept C, an electric roadster based on the upcoming Porsche 718 that is our first glimpse at Audi’s new design language. Inspirations for the two-door sports car included original Auto Union racers and the first-gen TT, and it got me thinking about my personal favorite Audi designs. For me it’s easily the A2, a super efficient city car with aluminum construction and a totally unique design. The A2 wasn’t a big hit, but it was highly influential to the industry at large, and it has so much character and charm.

So I posed a question to you dear readers, asking what your favorite Audi production car is. Some of you said concepts or race cars, both of which don’t count, but otherwise we’ve got a lot of great answers to look through. As usual I picked my personal favorites out of the bunch, so keep scrolling to read them all.

My pick: The 1980-1991 Audi Quattro. I’ve always loved four wheel drive cars, AND it’s a hatchback! Also, so 80s with sick graphics and LCD instrument cluster.

The Ur-Quattro has to be on or top of the list. Great proportions, and two Audi signatures, a slightly unusual turbo I-5 driving all four wheels.

Submitted by: Pabst302, GreySpace

The Quattro will only feel more influential as time goes on.

I’m only chiming in because I am shocked that this article has been up for 2 hours and nobody has mentioned the RS 2 Avant! One of the original fast wagons, co-developed with and built by Porsche. It’s a Jalop’s dream!

Early 90’s RS2. Perfect mix of 80s power and 90s finish. All in a wagon body.

Submitted by: Frosteeman, bb1313

There’s a bunch of these running around LA these days, I always get a kick out of seeing one.

The S8 from Ronin.

Submitted by: TheDuke

Of course.

Best production car, definitely the B7 RS4. Amazing engine, sweet manual transmission. A great car, absolute icon.

Submitted by: Bones

I’m surprised more people didn’t say this one.

The RS6 Avant V10. It checks all the boxes for me. Its a wagon, its “fast”, “functional”….BLUE.

The only thing keeping it from being the perfect car(for me) is the fact it doesn’t come out the factory with chrome BBS LM-R. 

Submitted by: Marcus C

Without question my favorite RS car.

I’m going to go with the early 80s Audi 4000. My girlfriend and I bought a used one when we were just out of college and it was an eye-opening introduction to the world of european cars- bright red in a way american cars could never be, that cool boxy “yeah, a 4-door can be cool” styling, small yet comfortable, handled like it was on rails compared to the big-ass american float boats we grew up with and… amazingly unreliable. Like, wow, this thing was a nightmare. We got AAA just for the free towing because of this car. But it really was the full european car experience and when it worked it was awesome.

Submitted by: Buckfiddious

Sounds like the ideal German car experience.

I’m a fan of my ’08 Audi TT 3.2L VR6 Quattro with the 6-speed manual. Fun to drive and decently efficient.

The MK1 TT in Papaya Yellow, whether manual or DSG, is just stunning. It’s accessible for those who can’t afford supercars, yet fast and playful enough for drivers who don’t push cars to the limit like automotive journalists do in their tests. It’s also practical — perfect for two people with plenty of luggage. Maintenance is cheap, and it has one of the most beautiful interiors of all time. With all-wheel drive and convertible options, a well-maintained one still turns heads on any street beacuse of its timeless design. It’s affordable enough to be a project car or a second or third car in your garage without much worry. And if you enjoy working with tools, it’s not a difficult car to wrench on or to find parts for.

Submitted by: msuitepyon, Danilo Dantas

I love every generation of TT, but especially a first-gen in a good color.

1984-88 5000 quattro wagon: so sleek, yet practical; so high tech, yet available with a 5-speed. A cool, comfortable, and classy ride. Every time you drove or even looked at it, you felt like congratulating yourself for your taste and intelligence.

Paradoxically, the ‘unintended acceleration’ slander that nearly killed Audi in the US made it possible for me to get a nearly new one for an astoundingly depreciated price.

Submitted by: Matt Donner

An excellent design.

1999-2005 A6 Allroad Quattro 2.7T, and it’s not even close.

In it’s lowest suspension setting it’ll match Corvettes on a skid pad. In it’s highest suspension setting you can follow Land Rovers off road. In the meantime, it’s fast as hell, roomy, comfortable, and looks like nothing else on the road. If there was ever an automotive Swiss Army Knife, this is it.

The reliability is subpar and the maintenance costs are outrageous, but you won’t care while you’re driving it.

Submitted by: MustangIIMatt

Plus you could get plaid seats!

My favorite Audi was my 1975 100 LS…

One owner, 75k miles (in ten years) and originally sold in Montana of all places 🤔

It was my first car and I learned how to drive a manual in it before I got my license, sadly it’s life was cut short after being t-boned by a Honda Civic while I was driving home from seeing ZZ-Top’s Afterburner Tour in ’86.

Submitted by: Kenneth

How did it hold up in a crash like that?

The Audi A1 Quattro. Cute looks and rad wheels. Too bad you can’t bring it stateside until 2037-38 if you do manage to find one of these.

Submitted by: Giantsgiants

Another one of my favorites. I saw one street parked in Vienna two years ago and it stopped me in my tracks.

We had the big Audi, a 1990 200 Turbo Quattro 4-door sedan with 5-speed manual transmission. Big sedans with manual transmissions are sexy beasts. It was the best vehicle in many ways that I’ve ever owned or am likely to own. Bought it as 1.5 yr old used vehicle with 60,000 miles (so a lot of highway) and kept it until 190,000 miles at which point we were looking at a bottomless pit of maintenance and it was time to move on. Whichever of us had the kids got the Audi. Super capable highway cruiser. We had a long curved uphill gravel driveway that was a nightmare in winter and would leave most cars stranded at the bottom but the Audi managed to almost always claw its way up. The key was to get a dump-the-clutch running start from the road and stay hard on the gas all the way up. At about 120,000 miles, due to a nonworking parking brake, it rolled backwards out of the garage and down the hill in the front yard until it was stopped by a tree. The insurance totaled it. I bought it back and had the back end rebuilt, and we kept it for several more years. The only downside was the upkeep was expensive especially as we got past 90,000 miles. We found an independent shop focused on VWs and Audis and they never did anything unnecessary, but repairs were always in multiples of $300 ($600, $900, $1200) usually twice per year. Due to the maintenance and the known Satanic reputation of the local Audi dealer I’ve never gone back to another Audi even though I really enjoyed that car.

Submitted by: Michael Rosenfeld

This is the kind of QOTD response we love here at Jalopnik.

When I bought my Q5, there was an A7 sitting in the showroom—I was smitten, but it was out of my price range. In 2020 I finally picked up this 2017 A7 used, and it’s still one of the most beautiful profiles I’ve ever seen, especially from the back. Simple, elegant, and in my opinion better looking than the current version. It’s a sedan-hatch that turns heads and drives like a dream 

Submitted by: Theo Fels

These still look incredible.