Audi Coupé


The Audi Coupé was a liftback coupé version of the Audi 80, first shown in 1980. The bodywork was shared with the Audi Quattro. The second generation Coupé arrived in late 1988 and was based on the B3 Audi 80, albeit with a different suspension. The Coupé remained in production until the end of 1996 and spawned the Audi S2 series of sports versions. A convertible model arrived in 1991, called simply the [|Cabriolet], and remained in production until 2000.

Coupé B2 (1980)

The Audi Coupé was a two-door coupé produced and sold by Audi from 1980 to 1988. It was offered as a less expensive version of its turbocharged, permanent four-wheel drive Audi Quattro without turbocharger or four wheel drive. Later, quattro was added as an option. Typ 81 was the internal model code for front-wheel drive Audi Coupés.
The Coupé, first displayed at the Paris Salon 1980, featured a similar body shape to the Quattro, but without the knife-edged fender flares of the more expensive car. Mechanically, the biggest changes from the Quattro to the Coupé were the use of a naturally aspirated 1.9-litre carburettor petrol engine, 2.0-litre, 2.1-, 2.2-, or 2.3-litre fuel injected inline five-cylinder engine and a front-wheel drive drivetrain. Some lesser Coupés were also fitted with a 1.8-litre inline four-cylinder engine, injected or carburetted, and for the very first year of production a 1.6-litre "YN" engine was available. The short-lived 1.6 was the only Coupé not to be fitted with a black rear spoiler.
The Coupé was available as just plain "Coupé" or GL, "Coupé GT", and "Coupé quattro". From 1986 until the end of production in late 1988, the Coupé GT was also available with the 1.8-litre PV/DZ inline-four best known from the Golf GTi. For the last model year, the new 2309 cc "NG" five cylinder was available, offering at 5600 rpm. This engine became available during 1987 for the last of the Audi Coupés sold in the US, where it produced at 5,700 rpm as opposed to the at 5500 rpm available from the 2.2-litre five which had been used since the facelift for model year 1985. The Coupé had originally gone on sale in the US late in model year 1981 with the 2144 cc five-cylinder also used in the 5000.
For the 1983 model year, European models switched from having two separate headlamps to large integrated Bosch units. Apart from changing the appearance, this also provided improved aerodynamics and better lighting.

Facelift

The updated Coupé, introduced after the German industrial holidays in the autumn of 1984, was given new, slightly sloped radiator grille and headlights, a large wrap-around bumper with integrated spotlights and turn signals, plastic sill covers, and the large rear spoiler from the Audi Quattro. These changes brought the drag coefficient down to 0.36. A new dashboard was also introduced, as was a new interior. GL and standard versions were cancelled for model year 1987 and all FWD Coupés were from then referred to as "Coupé GT".
For the 1986 model year, the Coupés were available with more catalyzed engine options. Also, the entire B2 range received stainless steel exhausts.

Coupé quattro

Also in September 1984, Audi made available the option of the quattro permanent four-wheel drive system to produce the Audi Coupé quattro, a model which was rarer than the turbocharged Quattro model. While most common with the 2.2-litre engine, in some markets the 1.8-litre four-cylinder models were also available with four-wheel drive.
The Coupé and Coupé quattro models appear almost identical from the outside except for a few minor "quattro" specifics. While the GT had "COUPE GT" on the rear side windows, the CQ had the "quattro" decal as used on the Ur-Quattro. Similarly at the rear, the badging was "GT" and "quattro" respectively. The quattro versions also used the Ur-Quattro rear windscreen with "quattro" written into the heater elements, and the front grille was also adorned with the "quattro" badge from the Ur-Q. Inside, the cabin was identical except that the centre console received a differential lock switch, and LED bargraph displays in place of the GT's three analogue-style gauges. Some Coupé quattros were distinguished by a body-coloured rear spoiler.
Mechanically, the Coupé quattro depended on a combination of components from the GT and the Audi 80 quattro. The quattro permanent four-wheel drive drivetrain was almost identical to that used on the Ur-Quattro - the main differences being the use of the Coupé GT front struts, smaller diameter front brake disks, and lower ratios in the gearbox and rear differential. The damper and spring rates were also different from the Ur-Q. It was thus largely identical to the Audi 90 quattro and the North American Audi 4000 quattro. Wheels were 6.0Jx14", with steel or aluminium alloy rims dependent on the market. 7.0Jx15" Ronals, almost identical to the Ur-Quattro wheels, were also available. The CQ/90Q/4000Q also received their own exhaust manifold and downpipe.
From September 1980 to September 1987, 174,687 Typ 81 Coupés were built. Quattro production ran from late 1984 to 1988, and was in the total region of 8,000 cars.
Engine typeInline 5 cylinder
Displacement
Max. Power at 5,700 rpm
Max. Torque186 Nm at 3500 rpm
Compression ratio10.0
Fuel systemMechanical Bosch KE-Jetronic fuel injection with warm up regulator,
overrun fuel shut-off and idle-speed mixture stabilising
Gearbox5-speed manual gearbox
Service interval15,000 km or 10,000 miles
TransmissionPermanent 4WD with lockable centre and rear differentials
Wheel and tyre size6.0Jx14" / 195/60 HR14
Top speed
Acceleration0- 6.0 s
0- 8,8 s
Fuel consumptionconstant 56 mph = 38.7 mpg
constant 75 mph = 31.0 mpg
urban cycle = 21.9 mpg
Luggage capacity

Coupé B3

In October 1988, and after a brief hiatus for the Audi Coupé, a new three-door Coupé was introduced in Europe. This generation is known internally as the Typ 8B and is basically a Typ 89 saloon with a modified rear suspension and a new front suspension system which previewed what was to come in the B4 Audi 80. When introduced it was only available with either the ten- or twenty-valve 2.3E engine, which was later joined by the 2.0E and a number of other versions.
In February 1989 a 20-valve version of the 2.0-liter five-cylinder engine went on sale in Italy. This was the only version of the Coupé sold in Italy, where cars of over two liters suffer a high tax penalty. It was not offered anywhere besides Italy and Portugal as it was never fitted with a catalytic converter. The engine produces and this model was built until July 1991. Another export-market special built during the same period was an uncatalyzed, fuel injected 1.8-liter inline-four. A naturally aspirated, 2.2E was also sold in some markets until late 1991, including the United Kingdom and Spain. In September 1990 the sporty S2 Coupé was introduced, followed one year later by a more luxury-oriented 2.8-liter V6 version. The Coupé received similar updates to the B4 Audi 80 and remained in production until December 1996. The Coupé did not have a direct replacement but was effectively succeeded by the first-generation Audi TT coupé, sold between 1998 and 2006.

S2 Coupé

Together with Konrad Schmidt Motorsport GmbH, who had been responsible for Audi's DTM version of the V8 quattro, Audi developed a sports version of the Coupé in September 1990 called the Audi S2. This was meant to boost lagging sales of the Coupé and replace the famous Audi Quattro. It featured the well-proven 2.2-litre in-line five-cylinder 20-valve turbo petrol engine from the Audi 200 20V, which was a variant of the engine used in the Audi Quattro. A similar version of the engine was used in the Audi 100 based S4. The S2 came as standard with quattro permanent four-wheel drive, and featured a heavy-duty 5-speed manual transmission, and was capable of 150 mph.
The S2 was initially available with a 2.2-litre turbocharged engine which produced , coupled to a 5-speed transmission. In 1992, the engine received minor upgrades, including distributor-less ignition, which increased power output to which was coupled to a new 6-speed gearbox. Although the power increase was minimal, the engine now produced of torque and featured an overboost function that allowed up to in short bursts. The 3B-engined car will accelerate from 0- in 5.7 seconds, continuing to a top speed of. The ABY-engined S2 Coupé will accelerate from 0- in 5.9 seconds, continuing to a top speed of.
In 1993, the S2 received some cosmetic updates, including new AVUS-style alloy wheels, ellipsoid beam headlamps and clear front indicator lenses.

North America

In 1989, for the 1990 model year, North America received the Coupé quattro. It was powered by a detuned version of the 20-valve 2.3-litre five-cylinder engine and was originally only available with a five-speed manual transmission. It was marketed in the "Grand Tourismo" style of a comfortable luxury car with sporting tendencies, as opposed to a dedicated lightweight sports car. Weighing it was not a lightweight, especially in consideration of the 164 hp powerplant. These models came standard with 15" 6-star "Speedline" wheels, leather interiors with Zebrano wood trim, additional VDO gauges mounted in the bottom of the centre console, a carbon fibre centre prop shaft, and push-button locking rear differential. The Coupé quattro is visually similar to the European-only S2 model, but does not have the S2's turbocharged engine. It was only sold for two model years in the United States, 1990 and 1991.

Cabriolet

The B3-based Audi Cabriolet was introduced in May 1991. Because of the heavy and expensive re-engineering involved in the cabriolet version, this model was essentially carried on until the year 2000, long after the other B3 models had been replaced by B4 and even B5 vehicles. The Cabriolet was the company's first soft-top since the Auto Union 1000 Sp of 1959. Initially available only with the 2-valve 2.3-liter inline-five, a 2.8-litre V6, and then 2.6-litre V6 were offered later. Heavily engineered to retain the structural strength of the Coupé, its screen was reinforced to preclude the need for a roll bar. The Cabriolet was never offered with the quattro four-wheel drive system.
In April 1997 the Cabriolet underwent a few minor yet visible touch-ups in its European version, such as gently redesigned bumpers and instrument clusters, projection lens headlights and more options available. In addition to this facelift, a special edition was introduced for the European market under the name Sunline. Among other extras, it was equipped with all leather interior, air conditioning, 16-inch alloy wheels, a power soft-top and a leather steering wheel. A mid-sized convertible was not available again until 2002, when the A4 Cabriolet was introduced.
In November 1993, the 2.8-liter V6-equipped Cabriolet entered the US market. In August 1994 the engine was upgraded; the Cabriolet remained on sale in the United States until the end of the 1998 model year. Altogether, 5,445 were sold over five model years.