Page 61 - Wayne Carini's Guide to Affordable Classics

THE BACKSTORY
The Audi company name derives from the Latin verb “audire,” which means to listen. It was a play on words because the company founder’s last name was Horch, which means “to hear” in German. That was in 1915 and the Audi name persisted through numerous acquisitions and mergers, ultimately forming part of the Volkswagen Group in 1964 after a short period of ownership under Daimler-Benz. The first Audi imported to America in significant numbers arrived in 1969 in the form of a 1970 model year station wagon with pronounced VW roots.
Through the 1970s, Audi remained a sort of slightly upscale VW alternative with models like the compact Audi Fox and the ill- fated mid-size Audi 5000, which was the subject of a scandal over unintended acceleration in the mid-1980s. The kerfuffle turned out to be a case of “pedal misapplication” by the drivers but the damage to Audi’s reputation was severe and almost resulted in the brand’s departure from the American market.
Small Car, Big Engine
The Audi Coupe was unveiled before that scandal broke, arriving late in 1980 for the 1981 model year vehicle. The Coupe body was conceived at Design Giugiaro, which had also penned the successful Volkswagen Rabbit and Scirocco, and you don’t have to squint to see the family resemblance. Internally, the Coupe was known as a Type 81.
The Audi Coupe and Quattro used the first gasoline-fueled, inline five-cylinder engine in a production car. At a time when many cars were moving to transverse engine locations, Audi chose a longitudinal configuration.
five-cylinder engine from the Audi 5000. That engine produced 100 horsepower and 112.4 lb ft of torque, which was impressive for a small car of the day. The Coupe delivered that power to the front wheels through a sporty five-speed manual transmission, which neatly avoided the driver-induced unintended acceleration problem. In the rear, the Coupe used the same U-shaped solid axle and trailing arm design found on other FWD Volkswagen Group products, which delivered good ride and handling at an affordable
Under the skin, the two-door Audi Coupe was built on the same
platform as the two- or four-door Audi 4000 sedan (known as the
Audi 80 in Europe), but it carried the larger 2.2-liter (2144 cc) production price.
Audi Coupe and Quattro
The Coupe was derived from the Audi 4000 sedan and offered all-wheel drive.
Wayne Carini  Affordable Classics  59