By DAVID PIKE

In 1976 Audi dropped the stylish 100 Coupe S but four years later the company launched another coupe simply known as the Quattro Turbo. This car did much to transform Audi's previous pedestrian image and turned rallying on its head. Some months later the new Audi Coupe, based on and resembling the quattro turbo, emerged and went on to sell six times as many models as the 100 Coupe.

The early models had unusual gearing with a high top for economy running. Floorpan and suspension were pure Audi 80, with the quattro's power steering and impressive two-plus-two styling giving good interior space, including a huge boot.

The engine was the 100's well-proven five-cylinder, with its stroke shortened to make it oversquare and fast revving as well as falling within the 2.0-litre category. Spacious, comfortable and refined, it was a sure footed front-wheel drive package that was well received by the motoring press. A relatively high price for its class seemed to be the only criticism.

For the fuel-injected coupe, launched in 1982, Audi went for a more sporting package with no automatic transmission option and significantly lower gearing to give rapid acceleration. Because of competition from other marques' coupes which offered equal or better performance, Audi ensured that their emphasis remained on performance, though the Audi was always relatively economical.

Over the life of the model Audi fitted four different five-cylinder engines to the coupe, all within 205cc of each other. Their capacities ranged from 1921cc to 2226cc. A 1781cc four-cylinder model using either a carburettor or fuel injection was also used. This cheaper model, especially in carburettor form, lacked many of the items fitted as standard to GT models.

Audi policy was to offer four-wheel drive across its range so in 1984 a Coupe Quattro was offered. The quattro came with all disk brakes whereas other models had only dual circuit front disks and rear drum brakes. This attractive package suited those who wanted the nearest thing to a rally car without the expense and complexity of the turbo running gear. It was still lower geared with excellent acceleration.

In 1984 the 2226cc fuel injected hydraulic tappet engines were introduced with bigger front brakes and hydraulic clutch. Externally the facelift included new bumpers, grille and skirts with a new dash and controls inside. This 2.2 Coupe also offered the quattro option with four-wheel drive and all-disk brakes. This was a particularly popular model.

All of these Audis were well built and when well maintained proved capable of hundreds of thousands of kilometres of pleasant motoring. In 1988 production of the Coupe Series 2 ended and the Series 3 hatchback Coupe was introduced. In the period from 1980 to 1988 a total of 173,747 Coupes were built.

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