The Audi 50 was introduced in 1974. It was available only in the 2 door body style. In 1975 VW put some Volkswagen badges on it, cheapened it up a bit and created the Volkswagen Polo. Not surprisingly, the cheaper (but less equipped) VW Polo outsold the Audi 50. By 1978 the Audi was gone. (The Polo still exists today and, ironically, Audi's A1 - it's first supermini since the 50 - is based on it.)
The body was designed by somebody. Just who that "somebody" is, is open to debate. It is credited to Audi's Ludwig Kraus, but Bertone and Marcello Gandini are known to have had some input, at the very least. It also bears more than a passing resemblance to the Giorgetto Guigaro styled VW Golf and a few websites credit him as the designer.This is a small car. It's just 11' 6" long. (A new Mini Cooper is 11' 9" long.) The engine, depending on the tune, puts out 40 or 50 horsepower.
The GLS is a fairly rare version of this car. It is the upmarket version with a nicer interior and a few extra features. The seller says the just 50 are still registered in Germany and this is most likely the only one in the US. I can't verify the former, but I'm pretty certain the latter is true.
This is a great piece of Audi history and one that would be a huge hit at any car show.
Ahh, but there's the issue of the price... The seller is running this as an auction, but he has a Buy It Now price listed of $12,500.00. Big bucks for this little car. The seller points out that if you could find one in Europe in this condition and import it, title it, etc. it most likely would cost you as much as this one. That's probably true. However, it appears like you could save $3000.00 by going to the seller's website, where the very same car is being offered for $9500.00. Hmmmm...
Located in Prescott, AZ, click here to see the eBay listing.