Sporty and powerful - Audi 100 S Coupé, Ford Capri 3000 GXL and Opel Commodore GS/E in a (historical) comparison test

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Sporty and powerful - Audi 100 S Coupé, Ford Capri 3000 GXL and Opel Commodore GS/E in a (historical) comparison test

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Created in 1974

Text:

Jürgen Rapp

Photos:

Adam Opel AG / Werk

2

Audi AG

1

GM Corporation / Opel

1

Audi Pressedienst

1

Archiv Winters/Siragna

1

Archiv

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Comparison test Audi 100 S Coupé, Ford Capri 3000 GXL and Opel Commodore GS/E

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Audi 100 Coupé S (1971) - Factory photo with lady

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Audi 100 Coupé S (1971) - the production coupé with 115 DIN hp (130 SAE hp)

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Audi 100 Coupé S (1971) - front end and doors are identical to the saloon

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Audi 100 Coupé S (1974) - the sleekest product with four rings since the DKW 1000 Sp

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Audi 100 Coupé S (1971) - sporty styling, but large steering wheel in front of the clearly laid out dashboard

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Audi 100 Coupé S (1971) - the longitudinally mounted four-cylinder engine

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Audi 100 Coupé S (1972) - the test car gets a rough ride

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Audi 100 Coupé S (1971) - on a test drive

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Audi 100 Coupé S (1971) - emblem on the rear

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Audi 100 Coupé S (1971) - elegant and modern

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Audi 100 S Coupe in the advertising of the time

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Audi 100 Coupé S (1971) - sporty coupé based on the Audi 100

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Audi 100 Coupé S (1971) - color photo from the press kit

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Audi 100 Coupé S (1971) - color photo from the press kit

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Ford Capri 3000 GT (1971) - three-liter version

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Ford Capri 3000 E (1971) - three-liter model with additional headlights

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Opel Commodore GS/E (1970) - We drove Opel Commodore GS E

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Opel Commodore GS/E Coupé (1973) - over 200 km/h fast

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Opel Commodore GS/E Coupé (1972) - Walter Röhrl and Jochen Berger at the 1973 Monte-Carlo Rally in the abused "chest of drawers"

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Opel Commodore GS/E (1973) - with rear fog light and headrests

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Opel Commodore GS/E (1970) - The powerhouse with gasoline injection - 150 horses help the GS E achieve tremendous performance

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Opel Commodore GS/E (1970) - The 'undivided rear axle' has a torsion bar stabilizer bar

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Opel Commodore GS/E Coupé (1970) - in red

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Opel Commodore GS/E Coupé (1973) - the vinyl roof was still optional, as the rear car shows

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Opel Commodore GS/E (1970) - The sporty interior with exemplary fittings was adopted from the GS

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Opel Commodore GS/E Coupé (1973) - Factory photo

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Opel Commodore GS/E (1971) - 150 hp thanks to fuel injection engine - the crowning glory at almost 200 km/h

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Opel Commodore GS/E (1970) - with electronically controlled fuel injection - Geneva Motor Show 1970

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Opel Commodore GS/E (1970) - The six-cylinder engine delivers 150 DIN horsepower - Geneva Motor Show 1970

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Opel Commodore GS/E (1973) - exceptionally without halogen headlights

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Opel Commodore GS/E (1973) - as coupé and four-door saloon

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Opel Commodore GS/E Coupé (1973) - excellent road holding, but little comfort

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Opel Commodore GS/E (1973) - with 160 hp a rather overpowered golf kart

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Opel Commodore GS/E (1970) - Opel's GS E presents itself in war paint

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Opel Commodore GS/E Coupé (1973) - on the chassis dynamometer in the engine development center

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Opel Commodore GS Coupé (1973) - Mrs. Director asks for directions

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Opel Commodore GS/E Coupé (1975) - with vinyl roof and side decorative strips

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Opel Commodore GS/E Coupé (1976) - now with alloy wheels as standard

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Summary

The trend towards powerful, sporty-looking coupés suffered from the fuel problems of the time in 1974, but the example of the USA showed that the road racers were also in demand in speed-restricted countries. A good reason to take a close look at the most powerful coupé variants from Audi, Ford and Opel.

This article contains the following chapters

The Opel Commodore was the most functional in terms of operation
The Ford Capri requires more concentration from the driver
Technical data and measurements

Estimated reading time: 16min

Preview (beginning of the article)

While the decision to buy an Audi is made easy for prospective buyers - there is only the coupé based on the Fiat Dino - Ford and Opel are spoiled for choice. Although Ford also has coupé variants of the Consul and Granada models in its range alongside the typical Capri sports car model, only the Capri, which is also successful in motorsport, is likely to come into question for the real car fan. We therefore looked at both the 150 hp RS model, which we subjected to a 50,000 km endurance test, and the less expensive and somewhat less powerful (140 hp) Capri 3000 GXL. The Capri RS, with a displacement of only 2.6 liters, was used to verify the often-heard assertion that such powerhouses disintegrate by themselves. However, the endurance test report attached to this comparison test proved exactly the opposite.

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