Collectible Classic: 1990-1991 Audi 90 Quattro 20V - Automobile Magazine
Once upon a time, when the German car companies had only just begun one-upping each other with continually increasing horsepower numbers, Audi's 80/90-series was the 97-pound weakling of the small-sedan crowd. Its buffest competitors, the 158-hp Mercedes-Benz 190E 2. 6 and the 168-hp BMW 325i, boasted in-line sixes that made mincemeat of even the most powerful Audi 90 -- that is, until 1990, when the Audi 90 Quattro 20V showed up to challenge the big boys. Of course, the Benz and Bimmer engine blocks had one thing the Audi was missing: a sixth cylinder. Others, upon hearing its gnarly, haunting exhaust note, are helplessly transported to a rally stage where a Group B Audi Quattro might pass a throng of frenzied spectators, creating thick clouds of dust as it claws for traction in full opposite lock. Well, if they had, their work would have been in vain, because a look under the hood of an Audi 90 confirms that a six would never have fit. Besides, everybody loves a good six, but a great five would play directly into the hearts of Audi's rally fans. Audi wasn't able to tell us just how many 90 Quattro 20Vs it sold here, but the number might not have even broken the four-figure mark. Source: www.automobilemag.com
