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Audi is simply part of the iceberg that we've by no means seen in america. That is the place automobiles just like the A1, now in its second technology, and the A2 are discovered. The automobile that began this lineage is a small, two-door hatchback referred to as the 50 that can flip 50 years previous in 2024.
Even in Germany, the probabilities of seeing 50 are slim. Audi made 180,828 models from 1974 to 1978, so it was hardly a high-volume mannequin, and it's a automobile that only a few folks bothered to protect. The 50 arguably did little or no for Audi – it wasn't even straight changed. It was a sort of stop-gap mannequin, which had its roots in NSU, which was one of many firms that merged with it to kind Audi as we all know it, and gave Volkswagen a major increase.
Recall 1961: NSU launched a two-door, 135-inch-long metropolis automobile named the Prinz 4 that was powered by an air-cooled, rear-mounted two-cylinder engine. Two years later, the German model unveiled an extended, extra highly effective and general extra helpful automobile referred to as the Prinz 1000, which featured a four-cylinder engine. This model proved significantly standard in racing, and NSU fortunately capitalized on this success by launching a pair of factory-developed efficiency fashions referred to as the TT and TTS respectively. I'm betting each names ring a bell.
Within the late Nineteen Sixties, NSU started planning unprecedented modifications for its subsequent metropolis automobile. By that time, it was clear that automobiles powered by rear-mounted engines have been starting to appear like an anachronism, and never very fascinating. Volkswagen, Fiat, Renault and Simca have been among the many European manufacturers that steadily deserted the structure in favor of front-mounted engines turning the entrance wheels. Moreover, air cooling was additionally misplaced; Water cooling was on. Finally, the following NSU metropolis automobile should stand out with a way more modern-looking design; The Prinz appeared like a Corvair that had shrunk within the wash. The engineering division took these pointers into consideration and commenced improvement of the automobile.
The NSU was not appearing alone – removed from it. Volkswagen purchased the troubled model in 1969, merged it with Auto Union (which was already the product of a merger), and created the fashionable Audi model. Ludwig Krause, a former Daimler-Benz engineer who labored as Audi's technical director, led the town automobile challenge. The top consequence was a 137-inch-long two-door hatchback, whose angular-looking exterior design was penned by Hartmut Warkus, who grew to become Volkswagen's design chief in 1993, and a surprisingly spacious inside.
At launch, consumers had two variants of the 50 to select from, named LS and GL respectively. Each automobiles used a 1.1-liter four-cylinder engine, however the LS provided round 50 horsepower, whereas the GL was rated at round 60. Launching a small, fuel-efficient automobile in 1974 had its benefits: the consequences of the 1973 oil disaster nonetheless lingered like a nasty hangover. By March 31, 1975, Audi had offered roughly 43,000 models of the 50.
March 1975 can also be the time when 50's profession took a flip for the worst. Desirous to reap the benefits of economies of scale, and glad to capitalize on demand for smaller, fuel-guzzling automobiles, Volkswagen launched a badge-engineered 50 referred to as the Polo (proven above) and positioned it beneath the first-generation Golf. stored. Visually, not a lot modified aside from the emblems and some trim items; Each automobiles additionally shared their metal wheels.
Over the next years, the 50 got here to be thought to be way more of a Volkswagen than an Audi. Group executives deliberate to advance the Audi model by way of car dimension, pricing, and know-how, whereas Volkswagen was to stay true to its identify: the folks's automobile. Manufacturing of the 50 ended in the summertime of 1978 and Audi moved away from the town automobile phase till the A2 was launched in 1999. In distinction, the unique Polo remained in manufacturing till 1981 and Volkswagen instantly changed it with a second-generation mannequin. In two physique types. In 2024, the Polo is in its sixth technology, and Volkswagen has offered over 18 million models of the automobile since 1975.