The Audi 4000 was the North American nameplate for Audi’s compact B2-era sedan line, introduced for the 1980 model year as the successor to the Audi Fox. In the U.S. market, the 4000 carried Audi’s then-new front-wheel-drive, European-style packaging into the mainstream import sedan segment, helping establish the brand’s reputation for restrained design and solid road manners. It shared its underlying architecture with the broader Audi 80 family sold in other markets, but the 4000 badge was used specifically for North America rather than as a global model name.
Across its run, the 4000 evolved from the early B2 cars into the later facelifted versions that gave the model a cleaner, more contemporary appearance and broadened its appeal. Audi also offered more upscale and enthusiast-oriented variants, including quattro all-wheel-drive versions and, in some years, higher-trim 4000 CS models that reflected the brand’s growing focus on technology and traction. Those cars are especially significant because they connected the everyday 4000 sedan to the quattro era that would soon define Audi’s image.
The nameplate ended after the 1987 model year, when Audi’s North American lineup moved on to the 80/90 family. Because the 4000 was a single, continuous production run with no later revival, its history is best understood as a distinct late-1970s-to-1980s Audi sedan that bridged the Fox and the more modern 80/90 series.