Audi 80 LS : 1973

It wasn't very long ago that Audi was an unknown brand to many people. Those who did know of it did not have fond memories, and some who are very familiar with the history of the brand recall when it was part of Auto Union.

Its pretty rare to see an older Audi on the roads today, but this 11,631 mile LS is currently available from 4 Star Classics, but you'll have to ship it here from the UK if you want it.

The Audi 80 was developed by Ludwig Kraus and used the same chassis as the Volkswagen Passat, also known as the B1 platform. The styling design of the car was influenced to an extent by the Audi 100 that had just been released and proving very popular. The 80 was first unveiled in Europe in early 1972 with production starting in May of 1972, it was Audis rival to the Ford Taunus and Opel's Ascona, quickly becoming a huge sales success for the company, hailed as the 'new performance class'.

The 80 was first produced with a base model 1.3 litre engine and a 1.6 litre inline 4 engine based on the successful Audi 100 engine, producing 74 bhp. Two and four door saloons were available in a base trim with the 1.3 litre engine, badged simply as the Audi 80. The LS model offered the more powerful 1.6 litre engine and higher trim levels and options. Under the bodywork the 80 was equipped with coil springs and telescopic dampers, MacPherson strut front suspension and a C-section beam rear axle.

Audis efforts finally paid off in 1973 when the 80 won the car of the year competition, beating other manufactures models such as the Alfa Romeo Alfetta and the Renault 5. The B1 platform came to an end in 1978 when Audi re-designed the 80 with a facelift (most noticeably replacing the round headlights for more modern square shaped headlights) and utilized the new B2 chassis.

Audi continued to manufacture the 80 in various forms right up until 1996, proving to be a very successful model for the company.

(source: 4 Star)