Visiting the Sloterwijk brothers. A day full of pure Audi love

They are a household name within the (Dutch) Audi world. Eddy and Willem Sloterwijk share a great fondness for the brand with the four rings and the (former) group members. The two brothers' Audi 80 B2 quattro, which has been restored to perfection, recently celebrated its 3th birthday. And so the fleet has even more copies with four rings on the grille. Bart Spijker and I make our entrance to the Auto Union Valhalla in the Frisian Lake District on XNUMX June, look our eyes out and give our ears a good living.

The main reason for our visit is the really beautiful Audi 50 GLS (with 50 DIN hp engine) from 1977. The car looks orange, but is brown. Really and truly. The Audi 50 was the first German supermini, within an era that (for example) the A112, the Renault 5, the Honda Civic, the Peugeot 104 and the Fiat 127 had been all the rage for some time. The Germans joined the supermini trend in 1974. After an interesting and experimental phase, the designers and technicians in the new Audi-NSU development center in Ingolstadt made serious progress with the Projekt K50. That's where the new car came out, and it gave NSU's Prinz series its deserved retirement. Within an impressive time span of 21 months, the Audi 50 was ready in 1974.

The Audi 50 did not make it to the eighties, but was still sold more than 180.000 times in about four years. Today, the 50 is an absolute rarity in the Netherlands. “Because”, the brothers say, “only five copies of the model with a valid MOT are known in our country.” So we have something unique, moreover this is a GLS. That means - in addition to more luxury - also a stronger engine, right? So no. Don't be fooled by the S in the designation. The GLS was the de facto successor to the GL, and the Audi 50 buyer had the choice between the 1976 DIN hp or the 50 DIN hp engine from mid-60.

Initially, Eddy and Willem had doubts about their version. The boot lid of the 50 bore the 'LS' badge, and the Audi was known as such both in the Netherlands and in the country of origin. The Sloterwijk brothers would not be the Sloterwijk brothers if they did not exclude any form of doubt. Audi confirmed that this 50 was a GLS, which is still visible today thanks to numerous details.

Before we leave for the photo session, we talk extensively about the love for the four rings. Eddy and Willem have created a seating area within a mancave setting, especially for us. We sit comfortably in the shade, meanwhile we see beautiful signs that refer to the Auto Union history. And the stories of the Frisian hosts do the same.

It's about technology, about the start of the Audi love, about what is still a big wish at Auto Union (read in this case: DKW area). And inside we see even more references to the love for Audi and - say - its legal predecessors. Miniatures galore, and there are rare beautiful specimens among them. Neatly sorted, type by type, brand by brand, theme by theme. No, we will not reveal everything, but we will tell you that our mouths are watering. Well, go ahead. One then. Willem muses at one of the DKW Schnellaster models. Without saying too much, we soon know what another great wish of the brothers is.

Back to the Audi 50 GLS of the Frisian brothers. During a nice round and the subsequent photo session you notice that the Audi stands out. That was also the case last year during the old-timer day in Sint Nicolaasga. Willem and Eddy then had the beautiful 80 quattro with them, and the 50 GLS that could count on a lot of interest. The Audi 50 suddenly emerged from the deep caverns of collective memory. The 50 - like the first Polo which was strongly derived from the 50 - was never forgotten. But to see one in real life again, that turned out to be quite special. Five with MOT in the Netherlands, it says enough about the reason for the interest that the small Audi from 1977 rightly reaps.

Before, during and after the photo session, the little Audi also receives many a nice reaction. And rightly so, because the orange Audi looks great. Orange? Yes, you thought so. As we initially thought. The color of the 50 GLS is Panamabraun, and if you look closely you can see the brown tint emerge carefully. The condition of the Audi 50 GLS is great. Soon Eddy will tackle the front train of the Audi again, he wants to perfect it. "There's a little too much sway in the suspension, that needs to be removed," says Eddy. Just like brother Willem, he is a perfectionist, that is evident from everything.

The picture fits within a perfect day, when everything we see gets under the skin. The same applies to an Audi-NSU sales book. Just find out and feel what you are buying. The book transports you right into the XNUMXs. All models of the specific model year are included, and are displayed on transparent pages. You place the page over the desired color and see how the color matches the car. In addition, the book contains pages with pieces of fabric to choose the inner lining. Wonderful rumbling, wonderful searching, and meanwhile the car gets stuck in the brain. So, so much nicer than the manufacturers configuration pages on the worldwide web. No matter how slick that is, you never get the real feeling. Contrary to the book, the new car is literally tangible before production.

This is how a special day rolls to the end. A day full of brand love, which Eddy and Willem have been propagating for years. Eddy is also the man of technical affairs within the General Audi Club Netherlands. And Willem did the membership administration for the club for years. They both cherish the Audi fleet, their Audi fleet. It is impressive to see how the brothers - without fuss, in all modesty and with a huge dash of knowledge - honor a major German brand and the associated heritage. And that happens in a way that can hardly be purer and purer. We take our hats off to that, and it makes us very happy. Just as we were happy with the rare beautiful Audi 50 GLS from Eddy and Willem.

In a while you will read much more about the day, Willem and Eddy's car and the development background of the Audi 50 in the magazine.