Having revived the famous German name under VW in 1965, the first medium sized Audi was basically a facelifted DKW F102 with a Mercedes designed engine up front. Underwhelming in virtually every respect, who would have thought its replacement, the Audi 80, would provide the foundation for a whole generation of iconic water-cooled VWs…

The 80 was a smart all-new model, its overhead cam, hydraulic bucket tappet, four cylinder engine (code named EA 827) was all Audi’s own work. In its various guises it became VW/Audi’s most produced engine ever, even out-stripping the air-cooled engine that powered the Beetle, bus and all manner of other classic air-cooled Dubs – read about the history of the water cooled VW engine here.

The rest of the car was equally ground-breaking. At launch in 1972 it was praised for its stability, dual circuit braking and clever steering geometry which meant that in the event of a front blowout it would still pull up in a straight line.

It was the Audi 100, developed four years earlier under the auspices of chief chassis engineer Detlef Banholzer, that set Audi on course for becoming a credible rival to BMW but it was the smaller, technically advanced 80 that proved the real gamechanger. In fact it proved so popular VW had to step in by offering part of its Wolfsburg production line to help satisfy demand. An impressive 1.1 million 80s were made in just six years, of which just a small proportion were exported.

Besides its truly inspired engine, the 80 pioneered another important trend in the automotive world concerning fit and finish. The fact that it was simple, devoid of frills but at the same time beautifully engineered and ruthless in its Teutonic efficiency is something other manufacturers have tried to mimic ever since.

Moreover, with its taut suspension and relatively low kerb weight, it felt surprisingly lithe compared to other cars of that era – it’s tidy handling likely to have acted as a benchmark for the Mk1 Golf when it arrived just a few years later.

A facelift in 1976 added more squared off styling, with the first generation of cars being phased out in 1978, at which point it was replaced by the Giugiaro-styled badge-engineered Santana. In that time, however, the 80 had spawned a whole generation of iconic Audis, including the new 80 Coupé and quattro, both of which were derived from the same basic platform. The engine itself, obviously featured in basically every car in the VW/Audi group thereafter.

Today, early chrome bumpered Audi 80 models are rare, but if you seach hard enough you might get lucky and  find one for around £2000-£3000. The most sought after model, of course, was the 100bhp 1.6 GT with its stiffer suspension and twin headlamp grille which was introduced in 1973. It was a shame Audi waited until 1976 to fit fuel injection otherwise the course of hatchback history could have been quite different…

Ian

The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of VW Heritage.