Audi 100 C3: the world's most honest car #Unexpectedfavorites

Us Europeans will all recognize the C3 chassis Audi 100, the big German autobahn-locomotive that has been a part of any European cityscape for over 30 years now! But few people, even car guys, have ever really stopped to reflect over just what a fantastic car this was, and still is! I have, and I thought I’d share with you my thoughts on this big boxy German, and why it’s my favorite car ever made! Now this is gonna be one long-ass post so get yourself a nice cup of tea and make sure you’re sitting comfortably! Here goes:

The 1980’s was a renaissance for Audi after the 60’s and 70’s had gained them a reputation of making expensive Volkswagens that seemed lackluster when compared to a sleek and sporty BMW or a stately Mercedes-Benz. But when the Audi Urquattro took home numerous WRC victories thanks to its turbocharged five-cylinder engine and AWD system, it gave Audi that flair and racing pedigree they needed to make a name for themselves! Of course, if they wanted a piece of the executive car market, their road cars had to be good too, and that’s where the Audi 100 C3 comes in.

Now, before I proceed in telling you why I love the C3 100 so much, there’s something you need to understand about me and my opinion on cars. It’s no secret that I abhor the automatic transmission with a passion, I firmly believe the muscle car died in 1972 and I think all modern cars are sht, what with their fat a-pillars and cramped interiors and complicated electronics that are bound to scrap the car 200 000 kilometers down the line! One might call me a luddite, that I’m against development and are holding us back technologically. And they would be right in saying that! I hate the place modern cars are at, where every new feature is essential and we have to have it on our new cars! What’s that? You can’t turn up the stereo volume by doing a hand gesture? What are driving, a Model T? Wait, what? Your car doesn’t tell you how to parallel park? How is that thing even allowed on the road?

Truth is though, I’m not against development as such, I just dislike the way cars have turned into smartphones where you compare and try to justify trivial attributes that don’t matter! And that’s why I love the C3 Audi 100, because it’s a good car. It’s not without its flaws, but It’s a solid car that could stand upon its own merits of just being good. It’s good. Damn good. It sums up everything that was right about the German car industry in the 1980’s, and is the perfect “anti-car” for us who loathe how pretentious modern cars have gotten. Because unlike a VW Beetle or to a certain extent an MX-5 Miata, it’s perfectly usable for daily driving.

The C3 Audi 100 was facing tough competition when it came out, going up against cars like the Mercedes W123, the BMW E28 5-series and the Saab 9000. The first generation Audi 100, the C1, was launched in 1968 to go up against the Mercedes-Benz W115 and BMW’s “Neue klasse”. The C1 100 was a pretty great car, but it was held back by only having two underpowered engines on offer and it never felt as upmarket as a Mercedes. And while the C2 was an improvement that added the option of a five-cylinder engine, it still failed to be considered a proper executive car.

The C3 was a pretty innovative car when it came out in 1982. It was available with Audi’s Quattro AWD system, and it was the most aerodynamic road car on sale at the time. Because of this, it was extremely comfortable. Even by today’s standards its superb for long journeys! Driving on the highway is a joy in a C3 100, there’s very little wind noise thanks to its aerodynamic measures that include flush windows and doors. The range of five cylinder engines all come with plenty of mid-range torque for when you’re overtaking and give off a pleasant, muffled five-cylinder rumble when you’re not. They’re also extremely reliable, my grandpa used to have one when I was a kid, which we borrowed for a whole summer after the flywheel bearing went on my dad’s Citroën Xantia turbodiesel. That particular 1989 100 CC 2.2 had done 400 000 kms and never missed a beat hauling a caravan all around Sweden. The interiors are great, too! They’re well insulated and well made. And well made not in a modern “faux leather and tacky gear selector means luxury”- kind of way, but more in a “I’m carrying a hyperactive Dobermann Pinscher in the passenger seat because the back seat is taken up by concrete floor tiles and old sawblades. It’s OK, the interior can take it”- kind of way. It’s sturdy as hell, and all controls can be operated while wearing oven mitts. This is what a good interior is like, nothing on my grandpa’s old 100 rattled and everything still worked when he sold it after 10 years of beating on it!

But what I like the most about the C3 is just how unpretentious it is! It’s an honest car that isn’t ashamed to be a bit stolid in the corners even in Quattro form, sure the styling was a bit boxy and boring but that just means it never became dated! The 100 speaks to me because not everyone wants their car to look “mean” or have “an aggressive stance”, not everyone needs their car to be a rolling testament to their wealth and status and not everyone needs a car that will “destroy” other cars at the lights. I love cars, and sure, I love cars that are quirky and different, heck I drive an old Citroën which I absolutely adore with its weird hydropneumatic-bound-to-suffer-catastrophic-and-expensive-failure-soon-suspension. But I also love cars like the C3 100, because they’re just good cars! If I was told I could only have one car for the rest of my life, It would be a C3 100. Because it’s all the car you’ll ever need, and for that I respect it. It proves that a basic car doesn’t have to feel cheap, it proves that quality is what makes the car rather than bells and whistles.

These are the types of cars that today are being replaced by crossovers and SUV:s, cars that are expected to do everything, jack-of-all trades cars, but masters of none. The Audi 100 wasn’t all that fast, it didn’t give you “a commanding view of the road”, it didn’t have a bunch of electronic voodoo to keep it planted through corners, it didn’t even have a drift button. But it will move you from A to B in great comfort at highway speed, and will do so forever as long as you keep it with oil and fuel. And that’s a trait that’s so rare in cars today, that I as a car guy can’t help but love it!