Audi 80 model history

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The Audi 80's (one of the best-selling popular-class vehicles of Germany and Europe) first appearance on the market was not middle or end of the 70s, as many people assume. For those who know Audi's history a little, it is no news that all old type designations like 80, 90, 100, 200 or Audi 50 (which converted to the first VW Polo) were initially created from hp ratings. When in September 1965 the "Audi" brand was revived, this happened with a 4-door sedan with 72 HP, which was just called "Audi", without any further addition. In the following years many other models were derived from that car, at first the Audi L, which was a luxury version of the Audi, and then Audi 75, Audi 60 and Audi 80. As top-of-the-line model for that time the Audi Super 90 was launched additionally, of course with 90 hp. This car ended the type designation after hp rating.

With the introduction of the new Audi 100 at the end of 1968, the first model with an "artificial" type designation was made. Because of that, for a long time this car was supposed to have 100 hp, but the standard version had just 80.

In 1972 the first "real" Audi 80 was born, the predecessor of all generations to follow. In the beginning, it was only available as a 2-door version, and had a quite modern and progressive body shape for that time. In 1973 the 4-door version followed.

In 1976 this type was facelifted, besides other modifications the round headlights were replaced by rectangular items with large indicators adjacent, a design which (in principle) is still used in today's Audi models. The models with round headlights have now become very rare.

In September 1978 the all-new type 81 followed. The body had been enlarged significantly, but outwardly changed only in detail. You can compare this with the step taken from Golf 3 to Golf 4. Large portions of the mechanicals were taken from the predecessor. Now the 4-door version was introduced first, the 2-door sedan followed in 1979.

In 1981, the 5-cylinder was introduced in the Audi 80 for the first time, initially as carburator version, from the end of 1982 on as injection (115 hp). 1982 also was the year when Audi offered a 4-door quattro for the first time, with 5-cylinder engines only and 2.2l or 1.9l.

The facelifted version- from July 1984- which (especially at the rear) was styled to resemble the very succesful 100, can still be seen very often on the streets. The 5-cylinder engine was not available for this version until September 1984, when Audi reintroduced the type designation "90"- like they had done before with the "200"- as luxury version of the smaller range. The Audi 90 was exclusively available with 5 cylinder, had a more upmarket interior, better noise damping, quad headlights with indicators in the all-new bumper, side skirts and all exterior parts painted body colour.

Then, in September 1986, the big bang: While all older Audi 80 had a kind of "grandfather's car" image, Audi changed this radically with the introduction of the type 89, a completely new development - developed nearly from scratch- both in technical and in design terms. It hit the market like a bomb and out-sold the quite well-selling VW Passat. It even reached 3rd place in overall sales, directly behind the Opel Kadett and VW Golf! Because of its radical exterior, it was quite hard to understand why Audi had retained much of its predecessor's dated mechanical specification- the 1.8 with only 65 kW (90 hp) and carburettor, its disgracefully powerless 40 kW (60 hp) diesel, which had a lot of trouble propelling the comparatively heavy car. The gutless base engine, the 1.6 with 55 kW (75 hp) forced owners to have a very 'relaxed' driving style, unbefitting the modern and dynamic exterior. Catalysed engines with lambda-sond engine management weren't introduced until 1988, and came as standard in 1989.

An advanced feature for its time was the fully-galvanized body and the ensuing 10-year warranty against rust perforation- nothing else in the Audi 80's class could match that. Disadvantages of new 80 were the large glass area, which made it susceptible to heating up in sunlight, and Audi's poverty-spec base model with high prices for options. Even a 5-speed gearbox, seat height adjustment and a passenger-side door mirror were optional! An additional disadvantage was the badly-shaped, small boot (trunk)- a result of the fuel tank being situated behind the rear seat backrest. 1987 saw the introduction of the all-new Audi 90, an upmarket version of the 80 with much better standard equipment specification. If featured (like before) twin-bulb headlights, indicators and foglights integrated in the (painted) front bumper and thin chrome strips around the windows and bumper tops. The new 90 was, as opposed to the first-generation 90, very elegant and restrained. Once again, this car could only be ordered with the 5-cylinder engine, unobtainable in the 80, thus maintaining its superiority over the base-spec versions.

When sales started to tail off and some basic contruction problems started to surface, Audi decided to introduce a facelifted type 89 Audi 80. The internal designation of this car was B4. The front end was remodelled to have the grill integrated in the bonnet (hood), the car had larger, more pronounced flared wheelarches with 15" wheels as standard, new front and rear bumpers and at last a decent, useable boot. This was effected by putting the fuel tank in the boot floor, as had been the practice on the Coupe versions for years. This allowed the rear seat back to be laid flat (even partially!) to enable larger loads to be carried. The token 'hump' rear headrests of the type 89 were replaced by proper items on the B4.

In 1992 the Avant (Estate/Station wagon) version was introduced. Its rear end betrayed the type-89 origins of the design- its introduction had been delayed by Audi for a couple of years. In 1994, the door panels were changed, which had been carried over from the type 89. They now reflected the much more upmarket looks of the Coupe's items. 1995 saw another change to the design of the door panels as well as the dash. The shelf on the lefthand side and the glovebox lid were designed to look more 'voluminous' and the the front end of the storage bin on the door was raised to meet the dash.

The story of the Audi 80 saloon (sedan) and all Coupe versions except for the S2 ends mid-1994. Production of the Audi 80 Avant and the S2 Coupe ended in 1995. Nevertheless it's still possible to buy a new (even developed further) Audi 80 today- the Cabriolet!

This text is ©Copyright 1998-99 by Oliver Sprenger.
Do not publish or use without explicit permission.
English translation by Tom Nas

Ripped completely, with permission, from www.audi80.com

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Page last updated: April 28, 2003