Coupe GT comparo (long)

["Jon W." <jwilliam@ns1.water.net>]

It looks like it'll be a while before I can get this stupid scanner 
working so I'll give you the sum up of the coupe comparo that 
appeared in the May 1985 issue of Car and Driver.  It was a 
comparison between an Audi Coupe GT, a Camaro Berlinetta, a Chrysler 
Laser XE, Mustang SVO, Merkur XR4Ti, Mitsubishi Starion ESI, Nissan 
300ZX 2+2 and a Toyota Supra.  

In reverse order here are how the cars finished:

8th: Camaro Berlinetta "too little motor, run-of-the-mill rubber, and 
an underachiever suspension"

7th: Chrysler Laser XE "Its logbook is full of comments like 
'cheap,' 'junky feeling,' and crude."

5th (tie): Ford Mustang SVO "Big biceps just aren't enough"

5th (tie): Nissan 300ZX "...the 300ZX is a car for people who are 
decidedly not serious enthusiasts"

4th: Mistubishi Starion ESI "...a sophisticated driver's car, and 
-more important-it's a whale of a good time."

3rd: Merkur XR4Ti "The look and the feel of this car are enough to 
balance its few mechanical drawbacks."

2nd: Toyota Supra "...does everything elegantly and never seems to 
breathe hard."

and here is the review of the Coupe GT

"1st Overall:
Not only are we crowning the Audi Coupe GT the Best Sports Coupe in 
America, but it also wins Biggest Surprise of 1985.  The Coupe GT is 
this year's secret car, folks.  The masses don't know about it.  Even 
if they did, you'd never see Coupe GT's cluttering up street 
corners, because Audi brings in only about 4000 a year.

Driving this car is a rare treat.  No matter what you throw at 
it-city traffic, mountain twisties, Interstates-it never sweats.  
What we have here is the automotive equivalent of the natural 
athlete.

You wouldn't know that by checking the Coupe GT's performance stats.  
It's not particularly speedy (0 to 60 in nine seconds flat and a top 
speed of 115 mph).  Nor is it great on the skidpad (0.77g) or in the 
slalom (57.0 mph, strictly mid-pack).

Nope, the Coupe GT's magic lies elsewhere.  When we leaf through the 
logbook we kept on this car, we're almost embarrassed.  Supposedly 
hardened road testers bubble like wide-eyed kids.

"This must be the most expensive car here.  It feels like money."

"The engine sings."

"Every control movement seems calibrated to my body and brain."

"It clearly has something the other sports coupes don't."

We'll stop there before we bury you with hyperbole.  What the Audi 
owns is a kind of stellar all around ability that goes beyond simple 
performance testing and numbers crunching.  It can do it all.

The Audi engineers, for instance, have managed to bless this car 
with one of the best ride and handling compromises we've ever 
encountered.  The Coupe's suspension is so absorbent in city driving 
that you're sure it will fall all over itself when you dive bomb a 
back road--but it doesn't.  In fact, it excels, soaking up the bumps 
and never losing its composure.  Subjectively speaking, it has the 
best all-around suspension of the group.

The steering is equally impressive.  It requires an absolute minimum 
of minding on long Interstate stretches.  It bends into corners 
without a twitch.  It's full of road feel.  Fold in the stable 
suspension and you've got a road carver of the highest order, able to 
do more on its little 185/60HR-14 doughnuts than the other cars in 
this group can do on their big baloneys.  

The 2.2 liter 110hp five cylinder engine is also a delight.  The 
soothing hum it sends out is pure honey, from idle to redline.  It's 
surprisingly torquey and right-now responsive, so you don't need to 
do a lot of shifting if you don't want to.  And it's every bit as 
refined when your working it for all its worth.  Flat out in the 
mountains, you rarely notice that this Audi is the least powerful car 
in the group.

The Coupe GT's driving environments is first-class as well.  The 
cabin is simply and tastefully trimmed, so uncluttered by banks of 
touch switches and wild electronic displays that it looks almost 
empty.  The cloth seats grab you in all the right places, and there's 
sedan size room for the rear-set passengers.  The beautiful 
four-spoked wheel feels great in your fists.  The shifter clicks home 
with purpose, and the clutch has just the right takeup.

If you're looking for serious deficiencies, well, the Coupe GT really 
doesn't have any.  That's why it was voted into the top spot in nine 
of our eleven categories, picking up three perfect scores along the 
way.  

The Audi failed to win in the engine and exterior-appearence areas - 
we wouldn't mind a few more ponies, and the design is getting a 
little dated - but we love it just the same.  The Audi Coupe GT has 
the stuff of champions. and we're proud to pronounce it King of the 
Sports Coupes.  To the rest of the world's carmakers we can only say 
this: your target has been identified. "

Not too shabby, eh?

Jon 
_______________________________________
jwilliam@water.net
'87 Audi CoupeGT, 69k's and counting