An Audi V8 sedan, seen in 2019 in the mountainous Miyun District to the north of Beijing by Friend of the Site Arjan Philips, thak you for the photos! The sedan was part of a small but precious Audi collection.
This is the same car as on the first photo, with the bonnet up. The Audi V8 (Typ 4C) was made in Germany from 1988 to 1993. It was the first Audi powered by a V8 engine.
The car on the photos was originally sold in Japan, imported by the famous Japanese Yanase dealer group. In the 1980’s, 1990’s and early 2000’s this company imported all kinds of luxury left-hand drive European and American cars, whereas Japan is a right-hand drive country. Quite a few of these cars were later re-exported to China. The company still exists today. It is now the official importer of brands like Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, Chevrolet, BMW, Audi, Porsche, and Volkswagen.
The car was fully restored in China and fitted with a new 4.2 liter V8 engine. An impressive achievement, as parts for these old Audi’s are not easy to find here.
The Yanase & Co. LTD type plate.
On the right side of the A8 stood an Audi 80, also an Yanase car and still in drivable condition.
Now some really special stuff. This is an Audi V8 Lang, the long-wheelbase variant of the Type 4C. Wheelbase was extended by 31.8 centimeter compared to the regular V8, resulting in an overall length of 5190mm. The extension was located behind the C-pillar, instead of behind the B-pillar, which is the more common way of stretching sedans. In Europe, production of the Audi V8 Lang was outsourced to Steyr-Daimler-Puch in Austria, a company specialized in building low-volume special series.
But the V8 Lang was also assembled in China by the FAW-Volkswagen Audi joint venture, using CKD kits send from Austria. Thecar on the picture was assembled in China in 1994, still fitted with the original BBS alloy wheels.
The cars were intended for government use. Production started in 1993, and at least a few dozen cars were made. Most cars were later sold on to the private market. China’s famous Hongqi brand, owned by FAW, used the design of the Lang for several of their own limousines, like the Hongqi CA7200E3L.
On the left another Audi A8 Lang, but this car is again an Yanase re-export from Japan. When Arjan visited the collection the car was being restored. On the right stood another standard-wheelbase Yanase Audi V8. This car wasn’t in a very good shape but the pretty blue color is pretty rare.
The Audi V8, standard and long wheelbase, was powered by a 4.2 liter V8 32 valve petrol engine mated to a six-speed manual or a four-speed automatic, sending power to all four wheels.
Output was 276hp and 400nm, good for a top speed of 250 kilometer per hour. The manual did the 0-100 in 6.8 seconds, the automatic in 7.7, making for a mighty fast limousine!
Arjan saw many other interesting cars up in the mountains, including some other rare Audi’s. More on those great cars in upcoming posts.