Audi 50

Audi
Audi 50 GL (1974-1976)
Audi 50
Production period:	1974-1988
Class :	Small car
Body versions :	Station wagon
Engines:	Petrol engines : 1.1-1.3 liters (37-44 kW)
Length:	3512 mm
Width:	1560 mm
Height:	1344 mm
Wheelbase :	2335 mm
Empty weight :	685-700 kg

The Audi 50 is a compact car with four-cylinder - petrol engine and front wheel drive . The vehicle of Audi NSU Auto Union AG (internal: Type 86) was manufactured by the summer of 1974 until the middle of the 1978th

Model history

General

Audi 50 GLS (1976–1978)

The dealership presentation of the Audi 50 took place on October 26, 1974. The Audi 50 is considered to be one of the fastest developments in automotive history: It only took 21 months from the design to the first production vehicle. The basis was the NSU K 50 project for a successor to the NSU Prinz .

The car with a displacement of 1093 cm³ was available as the Audi 50 LS (37 kW / 50 PS, regular petrol ) and with better equipment than the Audi 50 GL (44 kW / 60 PS, premium petrol ). The chassis is identical to the later offered VW Polo , whereas the body z. B. has a subtle difference on the roof.

In August 1976 the Audi 50 GLS replaced the previous GL. The LS could now also be ordered with the more powerful 60 hp engine.

From August 1977, the more powerful 44 kW variant was fitted with a 1.3 liter (1272 cm³) engine that was designed for regular gasoline. Both models were produced on the same line at the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg .

With a simpler equipment, the VW Polo with a smaller 29 kW engine (40 hp) of 900 cm³ displacement came on the market as an economy version of the Audi 50, this by reducing the stroke (from 72 mm to 59 mm). Polo buyers had to make further compromises by eliminating the automatic starter system on the carburettor, such as the Audi had, and replacing it with a simple choke cable. In addition, the Polo only had drum brakes on the front axle and diagonal tires as standard.

Only in the following year were more powerful engines and better equipment available for the Polo. The notchback version Derby , which was also developed at Audi in Ingolstadt , was added to the Polo, which was still being built, at the beginning of 1977 .

attitude

For strategic marketing reasons, the VW Group withdrew the Audi 50 from its model range in July 1978 after only four years and 180,828 units had been produced. A planned facelift , which was supposed to bring the Audi 50 closer to the Audi 100 and the new Audi 80 , was no longer implemented because Audi was supposed to serve the upper middle and upper classes in the Volkswagen group .

After production of the Audi 50 was discontinued, it took Audi 21 years to produce a small car again with the Audi A2 , and 32 years until there was another Audi on a platform shared with the Polo , namely the Audi A1 on the PQ25 / A05- Platform.

present

Only a few Audi 50s have survived today: For example, in 2005 only 558 vehicles were registered in Germany . Responsible for this was the only meagerly existing rust protection as the similar to the VW Golf I sometimes used recycled - steel sheet with its relatively high copper content after a few years to intergranular corrosion bowed.

Technical specifications

	Audi 50 LS	Audi 50 GL (from 08/1976: Audi 50 GLS)	Audi 50 GL or GLS with 44 kW from 08/1977
Engine:	Four-cylinder four-stroke in-line engine; water-cooled with electric radiator fan, light metal cross-flow cylinder head , cast iron engine block, crankshaft with  five bearings, camshaft controlled by toothed belt , rocker arm
Displacement :	1093 cc		1272 cc
Bore × stroke:	69.5 × 72 mm		75 × 72 mm
Mixture generation:	a Solex - downdraft carburetor
Compression:	8.0: 1	9.3: 1
Performance at 1 / min:	37 kW (50 PS) at 5,800	44 kW (60 hp) at 6,000	44 kW (60 hp) at 5,600
Torque at 1 / min:	75.5 Nm at 3500	83.4 Nm at 3500	93 Nm at 3500
Drive :	Fully synchronized four-speed gearbox , front-wheel drive
Body:	Self-supporting all-steel body, tank capacity 37 liters
Landing gear:	front: MacPherson struts with wishbones and stabilizer rear: twist beam axle ("coupling link axle"), telescopic shock absorbers , coil springs
Wheelbase :	2335 mm
Turning circle:	9.6 m
Empty weight:	685 kg
Dimensions L × W × H:	3490 × 1560 × 1304 mm
Top speed :	142 km / h	152 km / h
Acceleration (0-100 km / h):	15.4 s	13.5 s
Consumption per 100 km:	7.3 l regular gasoline (91 octane )	7.6 l premium gasoline (95 octane )
Price (September 1974)	8,400 DM	8,900 DM
Price adjusted for inflation (based on today's purchasing power )	€ 11,922	€ 12,632

Production numbers

The Audi 50 produced:

year	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
number	-	22,146	84,343	53,536	15,584	5,213	-

literature

• Halwart Schrader: Audi 50, 60, 75, 80, 90, 100. 1965-1980 . Motorbuch Verlag, 1996, ISBN 3-613-87152-1 .
• Audi 50 , Volume 250 of Repair Instructions : Auto Cross Section through Motor Technology, Bucheli Verlag, 1976, ISBN 3-7168-1310-9 .
• Ludwig Kraus , Franz Behles, Ferdinand Piëch : Audi 50 - An economical compact car with comfort. In: Automobiltechnische Zeitschrift , issue 10/1974.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 40 years of Audi 50: A mini makes fashion
2. ↑ Thomas Reineke: [1]
3. ↑ Polo - a new Volkswagen . In: ATZ Automobiltechnische Zeitschrift . 1975th edition. No. 6 . Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart, p. 193 .
4. ↑ auto catalog. Issues 1976–1981. United Motor Verlage GmbH & Co. KG Stuttgart.

Web links

Commons : Audi 50  - Collection of Pictures