7 Audi/VW Barn Finds That Are Diamonds In The Rough
1. Quattro
This Quattro was found among a plethora of other euro cars, some mundane and some amazing, all collecting layers of dust. The full-time all-wheel-drive car is a cult classic among enthusiasts of the world and a highly sought-after collector's item. It ran from 1980 to 1991 and is remembered for not just being a more than capable road car, but also for the rally race exploits it was originally intended for.
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2. 80L
This particular model, the 80, ran for 30 years from 1966 to 1996. It was available as a sedan and station wagon respectively. The coupe and convertible variants were not badged as an 80, but they were on the same platform and had the same parts. The 80 lineup came in different engine forms with models ranging from the fuel-injected "E", carbureted "S", diesel "D", "turbo diesel TD", and the turbocharged diesel injection "TDI".
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3. 225 Avant
Monetarily speaking, one of the biggest barn finds was perhaps this one, unearthed at a villa in France. The Front 225 Cabriolet is believed to be an example from 1936 and was among 60 other cars including a very rare Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder. The cars are said to have belonged to a French businessman who fell into a difficult patch and resorted to storing his cars in buildings and on the grounds of his chateau. The car looks relatively intact, and the odometer shows almost 70,000 kilometers. Unfortunately, the manufacturer's plaque is missing, but the car does match a bill of sale for a top model of the time for sake of authenticity.
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4. MK1 ABA Scirocco
The previous owner of this meticulously kept example of a Scirocco stowed the car away, with 64,000 miles on the odometer, into his barn back in 1999. The gentleman passed away a few years later and the car languished until his son-in-law listed the car for sale on Craigslist with a couple of not-so-great pictures to boot. Enter the current owner who was the only one who took the time to come out and see the car, and thankfully didn't have to engage in any bidding war that the model would have most likely come down to. After updating the Scirocco with some goodies like a cold air intake and exhaust system, the car is running like a champ and leaving a smile on its new owner's face.
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5. SP2
This SP2 was found far from home in the UK, residing in a barn with not much else about known about the vehicle. The SP was a product of the Brazilian subsidiary of Volkswagen for sale in Brazil since there was no sports car for the market after the Karmann Ghia retired. The SP was built on the frame of the Variant and had the same engine but was upgraded to 1700 cc of air-cooled goodness. However, the car debuted with only 65 horsepower and a 1600 cc engine and was discontinued after only 88 cars. The SP2 is the model that built true to spec in regards to the prototype with the 1700cc engine, but it could not save the car from extinction.
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6. The Mother Load
The heartland of America is kind of an odd place to come across almost two dozen air-cooled Volkswagens, but that's exactly what happened. From looking at pictures of the find, there appears to be about 13 hardtop Beetles, 3 Beetle convertibles, a Karmann Ghia coupe, Type 3 station wagon, Karmann Ghia convertible, and a Type 2 stake-bed. Along with all of these completed cars are a ton of spare parts that range from fenders to hoods and engine blocks in various states of condition. How all of that ended up hidden in a barn no one knows for sure, as the walls had to be removed to get everything out.
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7. 5000 Sedan
This Audi is another example of what could be the result of high maintenance costs in luxury cars, pushing owners to park and stow their cars instead of repairing them. The Audi 5000 sedan was the car that helped to kick sales up 48 percent back in 1984 by being a 4-door powerhouse of a car. The car suffered a PR nightmare with "unintended acceleration" that hit a pinnacle with CBS's 60 Minutes program (who doctored up an Audi 5000 for the sake of exciting television).
In 1989 the NHTSA cleared Audi of any wrong doing with the car and declared that the unintended acceleration was the fault of the motorists by mistakenly pressing the gas instead of the brake. But the damage was already done, and Audi faced staggering losses compounded by the addition of Lexus to the luxury market. Add to all the aforementioned woes the lawsuits by owners, and you see why Audi nearly left the U.S. market back in 1993.
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