The Audi 80 celebrates its 50th anniversary

The Audi 80 is presented in July 1972, the same year that the Summer Olympics are held in Munich. In September, the new “compact saloon” of the Ingolstadt brand, known internally as B1, arrives at dealerships and establishes a new segment in the market, completing the Audi model range with a car packed with new technical solutions that could soon be found in many models of the Volkswagen Group. It is a bestseller celebrating its anniversary: ​​With the first Audi 80 launched in 1972, known internally as “B1”, the brand from Ingolstadt hits the mark. It pretends to be “modern, but not a fashionable car”, a reliable station wagon. In this, at the end of the 1960s, the then head of technical development at Audi, Ludwig Kraus, and Volkswagen AG, the new parent company, agreed. As in the construction of racing cars, Ludwig Kraus has every part checked to see where weight can be reduced without compromising quality, strength and long-term strength. The very light Audi 80, which went into production 50 years ago, impresses customers with its sporty handling and low fuel consumption, making it, at the start of the 1973 oil crisis, the right car at the right time. Winner of the prestigious “Car of the Year” award the same year as its launch, the Audi 80 also wins over the international specialized press. Oliver Hoffmann, Head of Technical Development at Audi, continues to praise the achievement of his predecessor Ludwig Kraus and his team: “Impressively, the Audi 80 proves that the slogan ‘At the Forefront of Technology’ is a tradition at Audi.” The Audi 80 and its successors have always pioneered great innovations. The four-cylinder TDI, the quattro drive with the limited-slip center differential, the dual-clutch transmission and the rear axle sports differential, not forgetting the five-cylinder turbo engines, as in the first RS model, are some examples. Designer Hartmut Warkuss helps shape the body of the first Audi 80 according to the new styling trends of the 1970s. In 1976, Warkuss is promoted to Director of Audi Stilistics, leaving an indelible mark on the design of several generations of Audi Stilistics. Audi B, C and D series. The Audi 80 leaves the assembly line in four generations (B1 to B4) until 1994/95, when it is replaced by the Audi A4, known internally as B5, a model with which the Ingolstadt brand introduced a new nomenclature for its cars. The current generation of the Audi A4 is the fifth edition of this model, called B9, and is available as saloon and Avant, in S and RS versions, and as Audi A5 in Coupé, Sportback and Cabrio body variants. The base model with a two-door body weighs just 835 kilograms: lightweight construction is one of the specifications set by Kraus, who is responsible for Technical Development. With a wheelbase of 2.47 meters and a length of 4.18 meters, the sedan was designed to be very compact. For the first time in a European series production vehicle, suspension engineer Detlef Banholzer implements a negative steering pivot radius, a solution that significantly improves braking stability. With the diagonal arrangement of the hydraulic braking system, Audi puts the safety of passengers and other road users at the forefront. The front wheels are controlled by a McPherson strut suspension system and trapezoids, while a torsion axle is used at the rear. The Audi 80 quickly becomes a bestseller The Audi 80’s engine is positioned longitudinally in front of the driven front axle, with the four-speed gearbox positioned behind. At the time of market launch there are four engines, with displacements between 1.3 and 1.6 liters, and with powers between 40 kW (55 hp) and 74 kW (100 hp). The design highlight of this four-cylinder engine is valve control via an overhead camshaft with toothed belt drive and maintenance-free hydraulic tappets. Ludwig Kraus inaugurated a modular design, with the overhead camshaft (OHC). Developed by engineer Franz Hauk and his team, the engine is known internally as the EA 827 and soon became the VW Group’s most widely produced engine. With the new generation of OHC engines and its many technical innovations, the Audi 80 quickly became a bestseller for the Ingolstadt brand: Until the end of production, in the summer of 1978, they rolled off the assembly line more than a million models of the B1 series. Since the production capacity of the Ingolstadt plant was soon no longer sufficient to meet the high demand, the Volkswagen plants in Wolfsburg and Emden became involved in production. MORE INFORMATION news If Ford Bronco, the first gallop of a legend The Asso di Picche, a coupé prototype designed by Giorgio Giugiaro and built by bodybuilder Karmann, demonstrates the sporting potential of the B1 already in 1973. The Audi 80 GT goes on to the series production in 1973, before being replaced by the Audi 80 GTE in October 1975; its engine has a power of 81 kW (110 hp). The benefits of the new model already hint at the dynamism that Audi would soon display. In 1976, the B1 received an update that gave the saloon large square headlights, visually aligning it with the new generation of the Audi 100. Light and with low consumption, the Audi 80 became very popular, especially after the oil crisis in 1973; the car is also a success in the US, where it is marketed as “Fox”.