Audi 50

Audi 50: which version to buy

All three cars share the same body, the same years, the same 4-speed Manual, the same FWD, and the same 120 mm ground clearance. The spread is in the engine: two gasoline 1093 cm³ units named 1.1 MT at 50 hp (37 kW) and 60 hp (44 kW), and one gasoline 1296 cm³ 1.3 MT at 60 hp (44 kW). If the extra money is spent on anything, it is spent on 10 hp and/or 203 cm³.

All three cars share the same body, the same years, the same 4-speed Manual, the same FWD, and the same 120 mm ground clearance. The spread is in the engine: two gasoline 1093 cm³ units named 1.1 MT at 50 hp (37 kW) and 60 hp (44 kW), and one gasoline 1296 cm³ 1.3 MT at 60 hp (44 kW). If the extra money is spent on anything, it is spent on 10 hp and/or 203 cm³.

Audi 50 specs by version (what the numbers buy)

The two 1.1 MT cars are not interchangeable. Same name, same 1093 cm³, same 80 fuel, same Manual 4 and FWD, but 10 hp (7 kW) apart: 50 hp versus 60 hp. That is a 20% power step on the same displacement. Specific output is 50 / 1.093 ≈ 45.7 hp per litre on the 50 hp 1.1 MT, and 60 / 1.093 ≈ 54.9 hp per litre on the 60 hp 1.1 MT. The stronger 1.1 is the most densely tuned engine in the catalogue.

The 1.3 MT matches the stronger 1.1 on peak power (60 hp / 44 kW) but uses 203 cm³ more (1296 versus 1093). Specific output falls to 60 / 1.296 ≈ 46.3 hp per litre — almost the same density as the 50 hp 1.1, not the 60 hp 1.1. What the 1.3 actually adds on paper is torque that the 1.1s do not list: 100 Nm at 3500 rpm, plus 2 valves per cylinder, compression ratio 9, power at 5600 rpm, and 92 fuel instead of 80.

Boost is No on every version. Cylinder count is 4 and layout is Inline on every version. Gearbox is Manual with 4 gears and drive is FWD on every version. There is no all-wheel-drive, no turbo, and no automatic in this data.

Audi 50 engine: 1.1 MT versus 1.3 MT

Buy the 50 hp 1.1 MT if the brief is the smallest gasoline engine in the line. It is 1093 cm³, 50 hp (37 kW), 80 fuel, 4 Inline, boost No. Torque is not measured. Power rpm is not measured. It is the lowest horsepower Audi 50 in the data.

Buy the 60 hp 1.1 MT if the brief is more horsepower without a larger engine. Displacement stays 1093 cm³ and fuel stays 80. Power rises by 10 hp / 7 kW to 60 hp / 44 kW. That is the whole mechanical step: same name 1.1 MT, same litre class, 20% more peak power. Torque is still not measured, so the data do not prove a stronger mid-range — only a higher listed peak.

Buy the 1.3 MT if the brief is the only version with a measured torque figure and a larger gasoline engine. 1296 cm³, 60 hp (44 kW) at 5600 rpm, 100 Nm at 3500 rpm, 2 valves per cylinder, compression 9, 92 fuel, 4 Inline, boost No. Against the 60 hp 1.1 MT it does not buy more horsepower: both are 60 hp / 44 kW. It buys 203 cm³, a listed 100 Nm, and 92 instead of 80. Against the 50 hp 1.1 MT it buys 10 hp and 203 cm³ together.

Engine bay layout, engine swap, and engine codes are not in the data. TDI, TFSI, and later “50” badges on other Audi lines are not this model: this Audi 50 is the 1974–1978 Hatchback 3-door with the three gasoline versions above.

Audi 50 horsepower: where 50 hp and 60 hp sit

Peak power in the catalogue is only two values: 50 hp and 60 hp. Two of three versions sit at 60 hp (the 60 hp 1.1 MT and the 1.3 MT). One sits at 50 hp (the 50 hp 1.1 MT). The gap from the bottom to the top of the range is 10 hp, or 20% of 50.

Kilowatt figures track that split: 37 kW on the 50 hp 1.1 MT, 44 kW on both 60 hp cars. The 7 kW step is the same absolute gap as 10 hp.

Because kerb weight is not measured on any version, power-to-weight cannot be calculated. A 10 hp advantage is a power advantage only; it is not a proven acceleration advantage in these data.

Performance, mpg, and what is not measured

0–100 is not measured on 1.1 MT (50 hp), 1.1 MT (60 hp), or 1.3 MT. Top speed is not measured on any of the three. City, highway, and combined consumption are not measured on any of the three. CO2 is not measured. Eco class is not measured.

A buying comparison on acceleration or mpg cannot be closed from this catalogue. The only performance-related number that exists for one version and not the others is torque on the 1.3 MT: 100 Nm at 3500 rpm. The two 1.1 MT cars have torque not measured.

Audi 50 dimensions, weight, and ground clearance

Ground clearance is 120 mm on 1.1 MT (50 hp), 1.1 MT (60 hp), and 1.3 MT. There is no clearance advantage between versions.

Kerb weight is not measured on any version. Gross weight is not measured on any version. Tank size is not measured. Wheel sizes are not measured. Audi 50 weight and Audi 50 size, as searched, cannot be answered with a catalogue figure beyond that 120 mm clearance and the Hatchback 3-door body.

Front suspension is Independent, spring on all three. Rear suspension is Semi-independent, springorts hélicoïdaux, sem on all three (English label as in the data). Front brakes are Disc on all three. Rear brakes are Drum on all three. Chassis specification does not separate the versions.

Generations: nothing later to “step up” into

There is 1 generation. It ran from 1974-01-01 to 1978-12-31 as a Hatchback 3-door with 3 versions. There is no second generation, no restyling generation, and no quattro or wagon in these data. Choosing “which generation” is not a choice: every Audi 50 here is that one generation.

What did not change across the three versions: body, years, Manual 4, FWD, 120 mm clearance, Independent spring front, Semi-independent spring rear, Disc front / Drum rear, gasoline, 4 Inline, boost No.

What did change: 50 hp versus 60 hp; 1093 cm³ versus 1296 cm³; 80 versus 92 fuel; torque listed only on 1.3 MT (100 Nm at 3500 rpm); valves per cylinder, compression 9, and 5600 rpm power listed only on 1.3 MT.

Which Audi 50 version to choose

1.1 MT (50 hp) — the least powerful car in the line. 50 hp (37 kW), 1093 cm³, 80 fuel. Choose it when the requirement is the 1.1-litre gasoline Manual FWD hatchback at the bottom of the power list. You give up 10 hp versus either 60 hp car. You do not give up displacement versus the other 1.1 MT. You do not get a measured torque, 0–100, top speed, or mpg figure.

1.1 MT (60 hp) — same 1093 cm³ and same 80 fuel as the 50 hp car, 10 hp more (60 hp / 44 kW). Choose it when the requirement is peak horsepower without moving to 1296 cm³ or 92 fuel. Versus the 1.3 MT you match 60 hp / 44 kW exactly and keep the smaller engine; you lose the only listed 100 Nm, the 2 valves per cylinder, compression 9, and the 5600 rpm power point. Specific output is the highest of the three at about 54.9 hp/l.

1.3 MT (60 hp) — the only 1296 cm³ version and the only one with 100 Nm at 3500 rpm, 92 fuel, 2 valves per cylinder, and compression 9. Choose it when the requirement is the larger gasoline engine and a measured torque figure. Versus the 60 hp 1.1 MT you do not gain horsepower (both 60 hp / 44 kW); you gain 203 cm³ and 100 Nm on paper. Versus the 50 hp 1.1 MT you gain 10 hp and 203 cm³. Specific output is about 46.3 hp/l, close to the 50 hp 1.1, not the 60 hp 1.1.

There is no measured weight to convert those gaps into kg per horsepower. There is no measured 0–100 or mpg to say the extra 10 hp or extra 203 cm³ is “faster” or “thirstier.” Prices are not in these data. The arithmetic that is allowed is the arithmetic above: 10 hp, 7 kW, 203 cm³, 20% more peak power from 50 to 60 hp, and specific output 45.7 / 54.9 / 46.3 hp per litre on the 50 hp 1.1 MT, the 60 hp 1.1 MT, and the 1.3 MT in that order.

Problems and reliability

No failure rates, engine codes, or reliability scores are in the data. What can be stated without invention: all three versions are naturally aspirated (boost No), gasoline, 4 Inline, Manual 4, FWD, 1974–1978. The 50 hp and 60 hp 1.1 MT list 80 fuel; the 1.3 MT lists 92. Compression 9 is listed only for 1.3 MT. Absence of a problems table is not evidence that the engines had none; those figures were not measured here.

For a used-car decision inside this catalogue, the split is mechanical and small: 1.1 MT at 50 hp, 1.1 MT at 60 hp, or 1.3 MT at 60 hp with 100 Nm. Everything else — body, generation, gearbox, drive, clearance, brakes, suspension type — is the same three times.