A bestseller is celebrating its anniversary: With the first Audi 80, identified internally as the “B1”, the Ingolstadt-based firm hits the bull’s eye in 1972. It is meant to be “modern, but not trendy,” a dependable household automotive. On this, then Head of Technical Development at Audi Ludwig Kraus and Volkswagen AG, the new mother or father firm, agree in the late Sixties. As in racecar development, head developer Ludwig Kraus has his staff examine each half to see the place weight may nonetheless be decreased with out compromising on long-term high quality, solidity, and power. The extraordinarily light-weight Audi 80, which works into manufacturing 50 years ago, impresses prospects with its sporty dealing with and low consumption, making it, at the begin of the 1973 oil disaster, precisely the proper automotive at the proper time. Winning “Car of the Year” the similar yr, the Audi 80 additionally wins over the worldwide commerce press.
Oliver Hoffmann, Member of the Board of Management of AUDI AG for Technical Development, nonetheless appreciates the achievement of his predecessor Ludwig Kraus and crew: “In an impressive way, the Audi 80 demonstrates that Vorsprung durch Technik is a tradition at Audi.” The Audi 80 and its successor fashions have at all times been pioneers of main innovation. The four-cylinder TDI, the quattro drive with the self-locking middle differential, the dual-clutch transmission, and the rear-axle sport differential – to not point out the five-cylinder turbo engines as in the first RS mannequin – have repeatedly demonstrated Audi’s experience in Vorsprung durch Technik. Designer Hartmut Warkuss helps form the design of the first Audi 80 in the new objectivity model of the Nineteen Seventies. In 1976, Warkuss is promoted to Head of Audi Stilistics, leaving an enduring impression on the design of a number of generations in Audi’s B, C, and D sequence. The Audi 80 rolls off the meeting line in 4 generations (B1 to B4) till 1994/95, when it’s changed by the Audi A4, identified internally as the B5. With this mannequin, the Ingolstadt-based firm introduces a brand new nomenclature for its automobiles. The Audi A4 is now in its fifth version; the B9 is out there as a sedan and Avant, as an S and RS mannequin, and as the Audi A5 in the Coupé, Sportback, and Cabriolet variations.
1972–1978: The Audi 80 B1 – Founder of a brand new phase
The Audi 80 celebrates its world premiere in the yr the Summer Olympics are held in Munich: In July of 1972, the Ingolstadt-based firm presents the automotive to the media, and in September – after the Olympics – to sellers. The B1 establishes a brand new market phase: the “compact sedan” or B sequence for brief. The newly developed mid-size automotive rounds off the then mannequin vary of the model with the 4 rings. The mannequin’s know-how introduces quite a few new options and might quickly be discovered in lots of Volkswagen Group fashions.
Consistent light-weight design and different technical improvements
The two-door base mannequin weighs in at simply 835 kilograms – strict light-weight development is one in all the specs set by Head of Technical Development Kraus. With a wheelbase of 2.47 meters and a size of 4.18 meters, he develops the sedan to be extremely compact. Suspension engineer Detlef Banholzer implements adverse steering roll radius for the first time in a European mass-produced car – an answer that drastically improves stability throughout braking. With the diagonal format of the hydraulic braking system, Audi places the security of passengers and different highway customers entrance and middle. A torsion crank axle with spring dampers serves as the rear suspension. The entrance wheels are managed by McPherson struts and wishbones. The engine of the Audi 80 sits lengthwise in entrance of the pushed entrance axle, the four-speed transmission behind it. Four engines can be found at market launch; the displacement ranges from 1.3 to 1.6 liters, with energy outputs starting from 40 kW (55 PS) to 74 kW (100 PS). The design spotlight of the energetic, easy four-cylinder engine is the valve management by overhead camshaft with toothed-belt drive and maintenance-free hydraulic tappets. Head of Technical Development Ludwig Kraus comes up with the thought of a modular-design sequence, designing the four-cylinder overhead camshaft (OHC) engine. Developed by engineer Franz Hauk and crew, the engine is understood internally as the EA 827 and turns into the most generally constructed engine in the VW Group.
“Car of the Year 1973” and an actual gross sales hit
With the new technology of OHC engines and its many technical highlights, the Audi 80 shortly turns into a gross sales success for the Ingolstadt-based firm: By the finish of manufacturing in the summer time of 1978, a couple of million B1 fashions may have rolled off the meeting line. With the manufacturing capability at the Ingolstadt plant quickly not ample to fulfill the excessive demand, the Volkswagen vegetation in Wolfsburg and Emden are concerned in manufacturing.
The Asso di Picche, a coupé idea automotive styled by Giorgio Giugiaro and constructed by coachbuilder Karmann, demonstrates the sporty potential of the B1 as early as 1973. The Audi 80 GT goes to sequence manufacturing in 1973, earlier than being changed by the Audi 80 GTE in October of 1975: Its engine has an influence output of 81 kW (110 PS). The driving efficiency of the new high mannequin already hints at the dynamics that Audi would quickly unleash. In 1976, the B1 receives a mannequin replace that offers the sedan giant block headlights, visually aligning it extra carefully to the new technology of the Audi 100. Light and fuel-efficient, the Audi 80 turns into highly regarded, particularly after the 1973 oil disaster; the automotive can also be successful in the USA, the place it’s bought as the “Fox”.
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