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Audi 90 2.3E quattro - when 90 is not bigger, but still more than 80

Name: Audi 90 2.3E quattro 1988
Brand: Audi

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Created on August 18, 2022

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

Bruno von Rotz

Audi AG

Archiv Autowelt Bachmann

Archiv

Daniel Reinhard

Bruno von Rotz

Audi AG

Archiv Autowelt Bachmann

Archiv

53 1

Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - the car offers less resistance to the air than most of its successors

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - thanks to power steering, cornering doesn't require big muscles

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - even as an all-wheel drive vehicle, the Audi tends to understeer

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - the B3 embodies the third Audi 80/90 generation

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - combined with the predecessor generations Audi 80 B1 and B2

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - in the style of the eighties

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - at first glance, this could easily be mistaken for the Audi 100, which was presented somewhat earlier

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - stocky front end

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - the bodywork is protected from small bumps all round by rubber surfaces

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - the aerodynamics are written all over its face

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - ready to go

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - neither spoilers nor sills spoil the now classic-looking design

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - back then the wheels were much smaller than they are today

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - in the typical Audi design of the time, similar to the Audi 100

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - short rear overhang

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - the trunk lid reaches down to the bumper

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - dominant broadband headlights

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - View of the interior, functional architecture everywhere

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - a fabric feel

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - Reference to the procon-ten safety system

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - five-speed gearbox

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - selectable differential lock

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - even inside it is explained that you are sitting in the more expensive Audi 80

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - the engine is tilted and therefore seems to sit more on the passenger side

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - Five-cylinder in-line engine with a displacement of 2.3 liters

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - fuel-injected five-cylinder engine

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - five-cylinder with catalytic converter

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - four rings and four driven wheels

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - rounded design at the front

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - smoothly designed aluminum wheels

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - smoothly fitted side windows

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - the wind should be resisted as little as possible

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - 15-inch wheels

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Audi 90 2.3E quattro (1988) - large rear lights

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Audi 80 (1986) - Advertising - Experience a new automobile from the ground up

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Audi 80 quattro (1987) - see-through drawing of the B3 series - the Torsen transfer case was the second stage of quattro development in 1987

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Audi 80 (1987) - Advertising - Safety system procon/ten

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Audi 80 (1987) - four-door sedan with cw 0.29

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Audi 80 quattro (1988) - the B3 was the first quattro of the new generation from 1987

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Audi 80 quattro (1986) - With 88 hp, the basic quattro was more for pragmatists. It was hardly any fun to drive

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Audi 90 quattro (1988) - quattro was the drive that catapulted Audi's image into new regions

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Audi 90 2.3E 20V quattro (1988) - with sports package

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Audi 90 quattro (1990) - with this second-generation "quattro", Audi achieved success in the mid-size class

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Audi Coupé (1990) - based on the Audi 80 B3

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Audi 80 quattro 2.6E Avant (1992) - photographed for a comparison test in the magazine sport auto

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Audi 80 quatro 2.6E Avant (1992) - photographed for a comparison test in the magazine sport auto

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Summary

Today, the almost 35-year-old Audi 90 2.3E quattro is hardly noticeable. At the time, however, the third edition of the Audi 80/90 series embodied innovation and top-class aerodynamics. You can still feel something of this today, especially as almost all the Audis that followed it performed worse in terms of aerodynamic drag. This extensively illustrated driving report explains how the Audi 90 feels today.

This article contains the following chapters

Aerodynamics as a sales argument
More flexibility with the equipment
Particularly safe
One class higher
Competition in its own stable
Also with all-wheel drive
Without spectacle
Two editions

Estimated reading time: 8min

Preview (beginning of the article)

In 1972, Audi launched the Type 80, which was not only the basis for a long series of successful mid-size vehicles, but also the platform for the even better-selling VW Passat. Front-wheel drive, lightweight construction and understated elegance were the hallmarks of the first versions. A visually significantly modified Audi 80 appeared as early as the summer of 1976, followed in August 1978 by a grown-up B2 designed by Giugiaro for the B1. From November 1982, it was also available as a quattro and with a five-cylinder engine, which laid the foundation for the third generation B3. Early on in August 1986, the press reported on the new Audi 80, whose basic features were very similar to those of the Audi 100, but with a Cd value of 0.29, it was supposed to be even more aerodynamic. The new 80 was expected to appear in September 1986, and in fact driving reports on the B3, as the model was known internally, appeared in the first weeks of September.

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