20v Avant (Lago)

The Final Conquest?

I’ve officially lost count of how many Audis I’ve owned, but I believe the number is closing in on 50. A lot of these cars have manifested their way to me unexpectedly, but some cars have been long-term chase downs. As the collection stands: most of the cars I truly want I already have. The last holdout was a collector-grade Lago 20v Avant. No, I’m not a stranger to Lago wagons, but as we know a lot of the survivors are chugging away with a lot of wear and tear. The Lago 1:18 diecast Avant in my display cabinet had been staring me down for long enough, so we set out to find the best Lago Blue example we could and I think we did pretty well!

SIGIL OVERVIEW

Personality Profile: This 20v Avant presents and drives more like a proper dad-car than some of its sixth-owner boy-racer-aspirational counterparts (note: nothing wrong with that, but we don’t do that thing here). We don’t have high mileage, rust, or true mechanical problems on this vehicle (yet). It may very well be the most untouched and original Lago of the 149 bunch.

1991 Audi 200 20v quattro Wagon (Production 08/90)  2.2L Turbocharged I5 (3B) | 5-Speed Manual (016)  

Lago Blue LY6Z | Platinum Comfort Seats 

MSRP: $43,905

Origin Dealer: Prestige Audi, Lakewood, CO (now Audi Lakewood)

Dealer Delivery Date: January 31, 1991

Factory Options: None

Dealer Installed Accessories: None

Member of T44Brian Since 3/13/2026 

Special Plate: 200 20V

Status: Completed Restoration, Permanent Collection

Usage: Seasonal Daily-Driver

Odd & Unique About This Car: As unique as the 20v Avants are, there’s nothing terribly remarkable about this example outside of its level of preservation. 20v Avants came fully equipped from the factory like their V8 quattro siblings with only choice of comfort or sport seat configuration (at no added cost) and paint color (also at no added cost outside of opting for Pearl White). 20v Sedan and Avants are configured with the same equipment outside of factory cell phone and Bose audio system, which were never available on Avant body styles for this generation.

Name Origin: Sigil derives from Latin; sigillum for “little sign” which is believed to hold occult power in astrology or magic. These cars tend to have their own chaotic aura, and they seem to present that energy to me in satisfying, strange, and frustrating ways.

Trying to document the remaining 20v Avants hasn’t been the easiest feat. But what we do know of the remaining examples is that a lot of them are starting to show their age and mileage. Now, there’s only so many of these that were imported (149), and with the lack of Audi Tradition for easy US ordering of parts, these and their other vintage Audi brethren will continue to degrade. Simply put: whether you’re looking at a pristine car or a rough 300K-mile example, they *all* exhibit the same common age-related annoyances and failure points. In turn, the market is everywhere, but the better examples are fetching prices we definitely didn’t even fathom even a few years back. In my opinion, no matter how much you pay for one of these, there is no perfect example that exists. But, we can try and get close and then work some magic, and that was exactly the goal in mind when we set our eyes on this particular car.

This Lago example is now the sixth 20v Avant I have owned. Yes, six of the 149. That’s literally insane. I started cutting my teeth on Audis in 2013, but not specifically 20v examples until 2019. I did not have the greatest luck with my first example, which was a Vermont car that was rotted out, my second Avant ended up being another ambitious project that I chose to part ways with before scope-creep soured me on it, and my third one was a rescue I then traded for my ‘85 5000 Wagon. It wasn’t until the fourth car, Weissmar, that I felt I had a good base to work with long-term. With a couple more years of knowledge under my belt, I feel as confident to tackle issues with these 20v engines as I would any 10v car.

We did try to secure a Lago 20v Avant in 2024. That car was believed to be the lowest mileage and nicest one left, but upon further inspection there was evidence of poor repair work stemming from a hard hit early in the car’s life (as well as a rebuilt title that proves it’s had a troubled past). A month after this disappointment I did end up buying my Alpine white Avant Weissmar (this Lago wagon search drama is covered more in depth over here on its page).

So what do we know of this Lago Avant? We know this car was sold out of Colorado originally, and then several years later was sold to a long-term owner in the Seattle area. It stayed there until around 2014 when it was purchased by an Audi enthusiast who then moved the car to Tennessee with him. Facing another move, it was decided that this car must find another home. Knowing the owner from some past chats and his participation in my 2020 20v Avant registry project, I reached out to see if we could work out a deal. This was around late January, but finally a plan was made to go down to Tennessee and drive the car back to CT on March 13. It did not disappoint at first sight, and we also purchased some extra parts to make the light “restoration” I would do easier. This also included some parts for the other 20v Avants in the garage, brand new UFO rotors and another set of 16” BBS wheels (which once on the car make such a subtle difference and put the original 15” ones to shame). With a cargo area full of parts and a 15-hour drive home, we also further complicated the plans by spending way too much time at two Buc-ee’s locations and then renting a van out of Charlottesville, VA to pickup three windshields in Maryland. One of these windshields would immediately go on this car as it had a huge chip which had now cracked the glass almost the full width. Other than that visual annoyance, the car drove perfectly home; like a true well-maintained and untouched car should.

Over the course of two months we’ve done quite a bit to bring an already very nice car closer to near-perfect. And since we now know better than to ignore certain problem areas on these 3B engines that can pop up at the worst times, we were proactive in replacing sensors, cleaning up grounds, and fixing some wiring that was looking questionable. This is still a very fresh acquisition, but we have the rest of eternity to keep going with it. This car is definitely going to be a permanent fixture of the collection!

Notable Mods & Changes

2026: New Purchase

• 16” OEM Euro V8q BBS Wheels

• Blue Coco Mats
• NOS Front Bumper Chrome Trim
• NOS UFO Rotors and Pads
• 044 Fuel Pump Upgrade with 034 Billet Adapter
• New Injectors
• Late MY 1991 Audi Gamma radio with correct amber backlighting
• Front Chrome Grille Trim Strips with New Clips
• Front License Plate Frame with “Take Control” Vanity Plate
• New Headliner
• New Wood Shift Knob
• Front Splash Guards
• Refurbished Left and Right Euro Headlight Assemblies with NOS Clear Corners
• NOS Corner Light Rubber Filler Trims
• New Side Mirror Glass
• Refurbished Instrument Cluster
• NOS Plastic Screws for Spark Plug Wire Cover
• NOS Fender Marker Lights
• Replacement Zebrano Wood Trim on Doors, Dash, and Center Console
• NOS Window Anti-Theft Decals and Genuine quattro Stickers from Tradition