AUDI 100S COUPE

AUDI 100S COUPE

As a refined and luxurious coupe, the Audi 100s launched at the Geneva Motor Show in 1969, had few peers in the 2 liter class in the early 1970s. With a top speed of 112 mph (179 km/h) and doing 0-60 mph (96 km/h) in 10 seconds, the Mercedes designed , in line, 113 bhp, four cylinder engine canted over to give a lower bonnet line, packed a punch that was much heavier than its size would suggest. What’s more, the front drive handling was solidly predictable, and the brakes vented inboard disc at the front – superb. A svelte fast back with space for four (this was no cramped two plus two) and a big boot, critics at the time loved the car’s build quality and pace, praised its 30 mpg (9.5 liters/100 km) economy and compared the styling with that of the Aston Martin DBS. In fact, the body was identical to the sober Audi 100 saloon up to the widescreen, which was larger and more steeply ranked. The wheelbase was shortened by 5in. (12.5cm), but the 100S featured the same suspension and running gear, with wishbones at the front and a beam axle on trailing arms and torsion bars at the rear. The four speed manual gearbox, with closer ratios than the 100 saloon came as standard, with the option of three speed VW automatic transmission for those that wanted it.