103,000 miles

- Original example, complete with factory book pack

Introduced in 1988, the Audi V8 marked an important moment in the history of the Ingolstadt marque.

Until this point, Audi had established its reputation through technically sophisticated executive cars and, above all, through the revolutionary quattro four-wheel-drive system.

The V8 represented something more ambitious: a deliberate move into the territory occupied by Mercedes-Benz and BMW at the very top of the European luxury-saloon market.

Conceived as Audi's flagship, the V8 combined understated, almost deliberately conservative styling with considerable technical sophistication.

Beneath its restrained exterior sat an all-new 3.6-litre, 32-valve V8, coupled to Audi's permanent quattro all-wheel-drive system.

In an era when four-wheel drive was still regarded by many as a specialist technology associated principally with rallying, Audi offered it in a refined luxury saloon intended to compete with the Mercedes...