Audi 100 (1974) – In the Wild

Think of the clumps of gray (with or without extra aggressively decorated) Audi A6s that you see on the road these days and it is almost inconceivable that we see a distant ancestor here. Yet this first-generation Audi 100 is really one from the same bloodline. It is an Audi from the time when chrome was still in its heyday and many larger cars had an understated gentility about them.

With the first 100, Audi clearly launched an attack on fellow countryman Mercedes-Benz and this is evident from its appearance. Consider the characteristic nose diagonally from the front and you would almost say that there should be a star on the nose. The Audi was only slightly slimmer in shape than the Mercedes-Benz W200 series of that time (W114/W115). It was really tasteful with the Audi 100 Coupé S, a copy of which has previously featured in this section. Anyway, we’re digressing a bit.

The example beautifully photographed by ‘D oh’ is a sedan and that was a much less rare case than a Coupé S. Nearly 800,000 were built, an average of 100,000 per year that this generation was on the market. We have one here in front of us from 1974 and that was the third last year of the Audi 100 C1, after which the more angular C2 appeared. It is a 100 GL and that means it has the largest engine that was available in this 100. A big six-cylinder? No, it has the same 115 hp 1.9 four-cylinder as previously in the Coupé S. Other times. In this case it is linked to an automatic gearbox and this is stated in bold letters on the boot lid. Everyone could know that an Audi 100 was driving here, owned by someone who was a bit better at slacking than many other 100 drivers. The current owner has been using it to good effect since September.