1969-'76 Audi 100 Coupe S

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the postwar rebirth of the venerable Audi marque, which was reintroduced with a four-stroke, four-cylinder development of a three-cylinder, two-stroke DKW. That 1965 Audi--its singular name--was a plain, three-box, two-door sedan, and a far cry from the sophisticated beauty that would appear as the 100 Coupé S, just four years later. This little-known car, built in limited numbers through 1976, would decades later influence what some consider this automaker's most excitingly styled sedans, those of the A7 family.

The first postwar Audi that was fully developed as such was the "C1"-chassis 100 series, a front-wheel-drive, mid-sized executive-class car that debuted in the fall of 1968. It was powered by an 80-100 hp development of the 1.8-liter four-cylinder in the contemporary Audi 90. The handsome four- and two-door 100LS/100GL sedans would be joined by this two-door fastback derivative, the 100 Coupé S, at the 1969 Frankfurt Motor Show.

The new model was built on a 100 sedan platform shortened by nine inches, and according to Audi Tradition historian Ralf Friese, its fashionable lines were penned in-house by Hartmut Warkuss, who would be Volkswagen's design chief from 1993 to 2003. "Warkuss started in Audi's design department shortly before the 100 Coupé S went on the drawing board, and he got the order to make a sporty coupe for [Audi director of development] Ludwig Kraus," Ralf told Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car. "Kraus wanted a two-door coupe because he had no children and was keen on coupes at that time. He gave the order to change the design of the two-door sedan to a fastback. If you look at the side line, you see Warkuss was clearly inspired by Maserati, but no Italians had a hand in drawing that car."

While the Coupé S was smaller than its more formally styled siblings, it shared most of their mechanicals. The aforementioned four-cylinder engine--designed by engineers at Daimler-Benz, which owned Auto Union before Volkswagen--was an overhead-valve unit that, in this application, displaced 1.9 liters, had a 10.4:1 compression ratio and twin two-barrel Solex carburetors and made 115 hp. A drop in compression and swap to a single Solex two-barrel carburetor in late 1972 meant three horsepower were lost, and it made 107 hp in its final years, although this was still enough to motivate a four-speed manual version to 62 MPH in bit over 10 seconds, and on to 114 MPH. The S's servo-assisted rear drums were shared with the sedans, but its inboard front discs--used until 1975, when these were replaced with conventional outboard discs--had larger, vented rotors that were clamped by four-piston calipers. The independent front suspension featured double wishbones, coil springs, tubular shocks and an anti-roll bar, while the solid rear axle was supported by trailing arms, a Panhard rod, anti-roll bar and struts. This model's wider tires on 14 x 5-inch wheels improved handling.

The fastback was positioned as a deluxe model--costing the contemporary equivalent of more than $5,000 by 1974--and it sported upgraded interior fittings, as well as a standard tilt steering wheel and a large tachometer in the instrument cluster. Vinyl/fabric upholstery was combined with chrome and wood trimmings for an upscale touch. The rear bench seated two in comfort, a feeling aided by this car's large rear side windows, akin to the similarly styled Fiat Dino Coupe.

Production of the 100 Coupé S was only a fraction of its C1 sedan counterparts, amounting to 30,787 out of more than 800,000, and coupe production ended one year before sedan production did. Fewer than 1,500 right-hand drive S's were assembled from knock-down kits in South Africa, including the Rallye Red 1974 example belonging to noted Audi collector Rob Petschke. Rob's car--which won the special Audi class at the August 2014 Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car Show--is one of five 100 Coupé S's in the United States, and the only right-hand-drive version. And another one of those five fastbacks was recently borrowed by Audi of America for a special display with the A7 to show where the new model's fetching roofline came from.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 1,871-cc (114.2-cu.in.) OHV inline-four

Horsepower @ RPM: 107-115 (DIN) @ 5,600

Torque @ RPM: 112-118 @ 3,500

Transmission: 4-speed manual

Suspension: Independent front/live axle rear

Brakes Front disc and rear drum, power assist

Wheelbase 100.8 inches

Length 173.15 inches

Curb weight 2,385 pounds