{"id":5064,"date":"1975-12-23T19:56:00","date_gmt":"1975-12-23T19:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ooooiykyk.com\/audiarchives\/?p=5064"},"modified":"2026-01-23T21:33:54","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T21:33:54","slug":"audi-a0-coupe-1973-1975","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ooooiykyk.com\/audiarchives\/1975\/12\/23\/audi-a0-coupe-1973-1975\/","title":{"rendered":"Audi A0 Coup\u00e9 (1973\/1975)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\/Prototypes<\/mark><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What: <\/strong>Audi A0 Coup\u00e9
Model Family:<\/strong> 50 (A01, type 86)
Debuted: <\/strong>N\/A
Year:<\/strong> 1973<\/a> , 1974<\/a>, 1975<\/a>
Registration Plate: <\/strong>IN:EA 830
Status:<\/strong> unknown
Number Produced:<\/strong> 1
Model \/ Generation Code(s):<\/strong> type 86<\/a>
Chassis \/ Matrix:<\/strong> A01<\/a>
Engine: <\/strong>unknown
Transmission:<\/strong> unknown
Drivetrain: <\/strong>unknown
Power: <\/strong>unknown
Peak Torque:<\/strong> unknown
Weight:<\/strong> unknown
Acceleration (0-100 km \/ 62 mph:<\/strong> unknown
Length: <\/strong>unknown
Body style: <\/strong>2-Door Coup\u00e9
Exterior Paint Color: <\/strong>Silver
Wheels: <\/strong>Period Production Wheels 4×100 with center caps<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RELATED<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concept Cars:<\/strong>\u00a01973 Audi Asso di Picche<\/a>
Road Cars:<\/strong>\u00a01974-1978 Audi 50 (A01, type 86)<\/a>
Race Cars:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SUMMARY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Audi A0 Coup\u00e9 was a mid-1970s compact coup\u00e9 design study developed internally by Audi between 1973 and 1975. Conceived as a potential sporty derivative of the A0 front-wheel-drive platform shared with the Audi 50 and Volkswagen Polo (Mk1), the project advanced beyond the sketch and model stages to at least one full-scale prototype. Despite this, the A0 Coup\u00e9 was never approved for production, and the whereabouts of the prototype remain unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The design study is notable for its strong visual and thematic resemblance to the 1973\u00a0Audi Asso di Picche<\/a>, a concept car created for Audi by\u00a0Italdesign\u00a0under the direction of\u00a0Giorgetto Giugiaro. Period documentation and surviving photographs suggest the A0 Coup\u00e9 represented an internal attempt to reinterpret the Asso di Picche\u2019s wedge-shaped design language into a production-feasible small Audi coup\u00e9. However, while the A0 Coup\u00e9 was envisioned for the architecture of the planned Audi 50 with its smaller size and transverse engine orientation, the Asso di Picche had been constructed from the larger Audi 80 (type 80, B1) with longitudinally configured engine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BACKGROUND<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the early 1970s, Audi\u2019s design department was undergoing significant internal change following the aquisition of Auto Union and NSU by the Volkswagen Group. Two parallel design teams operated within Audi: one led by Hartmut Warkuss, and the other by Claus Luthe, the former head of NSU design. Oversight of these teams fell under Audi technical director Ludwig Kraus, who balanced responsibilities between them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In early 1973, as development of the Audi 50 (internal platform designation A0) was nearing completion, Luthe proposed extending the architecture into a compact coup\u00e9. Management approved exploratory work on the idea, and development began within Luthe\u2019s Team B.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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DEVELOPMENT & DESIGN<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project, internally referred to as A0 Coup\u00e9, was developed over nearly two years by a small team including designers Pavel Hu\u0161ek, Jupp Dienst, and Volkswagen Group modeler Ralf Lange. Early proposals reportedly included multiple body styles, among them a shooting-brake-style \u201cCombi\/Coup\u00e9\u201d concept that later informed the design of the 1981 Volkswagen Polo 86C \u201cbreadvan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, Luthe directed the team toward a more overtly sporting coup\u00e9 inspired by the Asso di Picche concept, which had been presented in 1973 as a design exercise rather than a confirmed production proposal. The resulting A0 Coup\u00e9 featured a sharply wedged profile consistent with emerging mid-1970s design trends and departed significantly from Audi\u2019s contemporary production styling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photographs from the period show the A0 Coup\u00e9 as a full-scale prototype<\/strong>, confirming that the project progressed beyond clay modeling. The prototype is seen both in an evaluation studio and in an outdoor factory setting alongside other Volkswagen and Audi design evaluation prototypes. In that outside image image, Claus Luthe appears standing near the vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DESIGN FEATURES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although no complete technical specification has survived, several visual elements of the A0 Coup\u00e9 are documented through period photography:<\/p>\n\n\n\n