THE AUDI 100 COUPE S – A CELEBRATION

In the early 1970s there was one car of choice for the executive who wanted a grand tourer more exclusive than the Ford Capri GXL, more ‘Continental’ in looks than the Reliant Scimitar GTE and more comfortable than a Triumph Stag. It was, of course, the Audi 100 Coupe S.

The Coupe debuted in November 1969, a year after the saloon. Dr. Ludwig Kraus, a veteran of Mercedes-Benz’s racing team, headed Audi’s development department, and he devised the fastback version of the 100. Power was from a 1,871cc engine with twin Solex carburettors and the top speed was in the region of 115 mph.

In 1970 the Audi was a star of the London Motor Show although its price tag meant it would always be an exclusive sight in the UK. At £2,418, the Coupe cost over £600 more than a 100 LS Automatic saloon as well as being 25% more expensive than the Scimitar GTE. Five years later ownership of this fine machine would have set you back £3,890, as compared with £3,132 for a Capri 3.0 Ghia Mk. II.

But, as Car magazine put it, the Audi struck “a very near balance between good all round dynamics and saloon car refinement, comfort and accommodation”. Meanwhile, Motor Sport noted of the engine layout:

A lot of people do not realise that Audis are front-wheel drive and thanks to the excellent handling and weight distribution a good number would still not realise this even after driving the car. Just over 60% of the weight is over the front wheels, which makes sure of excellent get-aways, although the acceleration is not as good as something like a Ford Capri 3000E or a BMW 2002Tii. But the Audi scores highly on high-speed cruising, which it does in a most unfussy manner.

Plus, in a memorable example of 1972-vintage sexism, “the speedometer on the test car was just the thing for either impressing or frightening the girl-friend”.

Audi regularly updated the Coupe, and by 1972 the twin carburettors were replaced by a single unit as it suffered from poor fuel consumption. A year later the specification included new headlamps and the welcome option of power steering. The last of 30,687 units departed the factory in 1976, with the introduction of the C2-series 100.

46 years later, the Coupe is sometimes referred to as “The Poor Man’s Aston Martin”, which if anything, underplays its importance to Audi. Just five years before its launch, most European motorists associated the four-ring logo with inexpensive two-stroke engine family saloons. But with the 100 Coupe S, Audi targeted buyers who aspired to the Mercedes-Benz 250CE – “performance, design, & comfort” indeed.