Audi /Thomas Kunert Audi 100 Coupé S in the driving report
03.08.2016
W while a few chrome accents on modern cars In order to convey high quality, in the 70s they put in chrome what could be put in chrome: window frames, headlight rings and grille surrounds sparkle in competition. Loriot's grandpa Hoppenstedt is right: there used to be more tinsel. According to taste at the time, it was considered sporty that the coupé, unlike the sedan, looked out onto the road with round double headlights.
By today's standards, the cockpit looks skilfully detoxified. At that time, the tachometer also implemented sporting ambitions in terms of instruments. The thin steering wheel ring then reminds today's driver to be more moderate and genteel. In the Coupé S you simply sit very differently than in a modern car. The seats do not provide any lateral support, the gearshift lever would also look good on a commercial vehicle and a wooden trim strip in the interior provides a somewhat clumsy touch of class. v-A_-article__inline__img '>
Audi /Thomas Kunert
The 1.9-liter four-cylinder unit develops 112 hp, which in the Audi 100 Coupé S is enough for a very decent top speed of 183 km /h.
Parts from the American can be used in the Coupé S -Limousine are coming
With a pleasant interior climate, it is quickly over in the blazing summer sunshine - thanks to the lack of air conditioning and large windows, the indoor area is heated interior space in a flash. It only helps to wind down the side windows - electric window lifters were available back then, but not for the Coupé. And nothing against the large windows: These make the interior nice and bright and provide a good overview. And electric windows as wellAir conditioning was available for the 100 S sedans that went on the US market. They were all 'full hut', as Achim Duwendag, master mechanic and responsible for technical issues at the Audi 100 Coupé S Club Deutschland e.V. (ACCD) explains. Some collectors have bought the American saloon equipment and built it into their Coupé S.
The steering of the Coupé S is somehow okay - sporty directness was probably only invented a few years later, especially since power steering through its absence shone. But that can also be solved via the US detour. The Coupé S is no stranger to side tilt, but you never have an unsafe feeling when cornering. The car, which is quite light by today's standards at 1,100 kilograms, can actually be moved a bit agile and it comfortably cushions modern road bumps.
A resourceful ACCD club member has developed a way of closing the torsion bar suspension on the rear axle against struts replace. After all, the internal gearing of the torsion bar suspension wears out and replacements are not available. The rim size of the Audi 100 Coupé S was normal at the time, from today's perspective 14 inches are tiny. According to Duwendag, it is important to have the right tires on your Coupé S: “Then it works really well. The Coupé S can quickly understeer with the wrong and old tires. ”In order to keep the unsprung masses low, the brake discs are not located in the rims, but near the center tunnel. Braked axles were popular back then, the DS from Citroën and the Alfetta from Alfa Romeo had that.
Audi /Thomas Kunert
Chic, no-frills rear of the Audi 100 Coupé S.
Difficult spare parts situation for the Audi 100 Coupé S
The engineers have placed the engine at the front as far as possible, so the traction on the driven front axle fits. The 1.9-liter four-cylinder unit develops 112 hp, which is enough for a very decent top speed of 183 km /h. The unit, with two valves per cylinder, loosens happily and sounds unspectacular. The gears can be inserted a bit gristly and with a lot of play - you can't blame a 43-year-old gearshift for that.
The main problem with the Coupé S is the supply of spare partsa disaster. Duwendag says that there have been no parts for the four-speed gearbox for 30 years, the shift gate of which is hidden under the center console panel. Sliders, springs and reversing levers - nothing is available anymore. Out of desperation, Duwendag installed a five-speed gearbox from another car.
And a Coupé S driver needs spare parts. When asked what are the critical points on the car, he says: “Everything breaks, really everything. I'm more likely to say what hasn't rusted on my car than what has already rusted. Chassis, electrics, body - you need spare parts for everything. 'The Audi fan and master mechanic looks enviously at the drivers of Mercedes, BMW and Opel:' At classic car fairs, the kilometer-long wallpapering tables with spare parts for the three brands collapse . For us Audi drivers there are only ever spark plugs. Audi and VW simply missed out on supplying spare parts for classic vehicles, ”says the expert. In addition, the clientele who drive classic Audis are different from those who like to call a Mercedes Pagoda their own. Achim Duwendag found a company that would manufacture brake discs for the Coupé S. A model of the discs has already been made. In order for the order to pay off for the company, a certain minimum number of items would have to be purchased - 'But then suddenly people have a hedgehog in their pockets.'
The frustration over the struggle to keep his Coupé S alive , it should be noted to Duwendag: “The Pagoda driver simply drives his beautiful car to the Mercedes authorized workshop. When I come to the Audi workshop with my Coupé S, the 20-year-old apprentice first looks for the OBD socket. They can only refill fluids and change spark plugs there, ”he says of his displeasure. When he went to Coupé S meetings eight years ago, there were still 130 vehicles. 'Now there are maybe 30. The others have given up and partially deregistered their cars.'
Audi /Thomas Kunert
'Animated the top model of its series the drivers at the beginning of the 1970s for heating, you feelnowadays more drawn to a stylish Sunday excursion. ', says editor Gregor Hebermehl about the Audi 100 Coupé S.
Actually a nice car - actually
That's a shame, because it is fun to drive the car and today it certainly attracts more looks than it did back then - only friendly looks, because the Coupé S is unruly elegant. The Audi 100 Coupé S was With 112 HP it was really expensive at the time: 15,090 DM (according to today's purchasing power a good 23,000 euros) were due in 1973, 4,000 DM more than for an Opel Commodore with a six-cylinder engine. Its just thoroughly refreshed successor A5 (as a 2.0 TFSI with 252 HP from 49,100 euros ) can show off with all imaginable ingenious technology and as the sports variant S5 with an output of 354 hp - even if the basic idea of the sporty, chic coupé has been retained, the A5 naturally drives in a different world of the few Audi 100 Coupé S. te, should therefore be aware that the spare parts situation could hardly be more tense - there are simply no more parts. Achim Duwendag is happy to help competently and he arranges contacts to ACCD club members who may still have a part left. The search takes place Europe-wide, there are club members in France, Belgium, England and Greece - whereby the Greek ACCD has a single member. Anyone who sees a Coupé S driving in the wild should be pleased: The car is now rare and the owner is taking an enormous risk - even minor accidents can mean the loss of a vehicle that is still drivable due to the availability of spare parts.
