January 29, 2026

Audi L – The Story of CGK 731H

By Rob Harvey

This is the story of our 1969 Audi L (72PS).

There has been an unassuming Audi in the workshop for a few years now. It has been slowly brought back to life by the Bridge Classic Cars team, and it is almost ready to take its first drive out on the road in a very long time.

When I say “an unassuming Audi”, I mean that, at first glance, you could be forgiven for not realising how important this particular car is and how it comes from one of the most important times in Audi’s history; the time when the marque stepped out from the shadow of DKW, abandoned two-stroke technology, and laid the foundations for the modern Audi identity.

Built in Ingolstadt, for the UK Market

According to official factory records held by Audi Tradition, our Audi L (chassis 6843050128) was built on the 8th of January 1968 by Auto Union GmbH in Ingolstadt. By this point, Audi as a name had been resurrected for just over two years, and the company was in the midst of redefining itself under Volkswagen ownership.

The car was built as an Audi L (72 PS), part of the internally designated F103 family. Importantly, it was produced new in right-hand-drive specification and was a factory UK-market car rather than a later conversion or import. This puts our Audi in a comparatively small group of F103 examples, as the majority were built for left-hand-drive European markets.

When it left the factory, the car was finished in Lotus White (L282) with black interior trim.

The Audi L and the New Audi Philosophy

By early 1968, Audi had already moved away from its DKW roots. The introduction of the four-stroke overhead-camshaft engine, derived from a Daimler-Benz design and refined under engineer Ludwig Kraus, was the single most important technical step in that transformation.

The Audi L occupied a key position in this new range. Rated at 72 PS, it sat above the Audi 60 and below the later Super 90, offering a balance of performance and refinement that matched Audi’s new image. With front-wheel drive, a longitudinally mounted engine, and a four-speed manual gearbox, it had a layout that would become a defining Audi featureover the next few decades.

Chassis 6843050128 was built during the final year of Audi L production. This was when the company was already preparing its next step forward with the Audi 100. As a result, our car is part of the closing chapter of Audi’s first successful post-war model family.

Registration and Early UK Life

The car was first registered in the United Kingdom on 9th September 1969, receiving the registration CGK 731H. While this date is quite a bit later than its January 1968 build, no documentary evidence survives to explain the interval between manufacture and registration. It likely sat in a dealership waiting for its first owner; however, this cannot be confirmed, as it is during a time of the car’s undocumented history.

An Engine Change

When built, this Audi left Ingolstadt fitted with engine number 892090509, a 1,696cc inline four producing 72 PS. At some point later in its life, that engine was removed.

Today, the car is fitted with engine number 6920090509, which is recorded on the DVLA V5C. Audi Tradition have confirmed that this engine number does not match the factory record and notes that the original engine number would have begun with the digit “8”.

Although not the original, the engine is a period-correct Audi / Auto Union four-cylinder overhead-camshaft engine of the correct capacity and configuration, installed in the correct longitudinal, front-wheel-drive layout.

Restoration

Most recently, the Bridge Classic Cars workshop team have completed a comprehensive restoration of the car.

Every part of the car has been restored to an exceptionally high standard, and this is now one of, if not the best surviving example, you’ll find anywhere in the UK.

In its restored state, the car has returned to Lotus White, its original factory colour, and is now complemented by a black roof. The interior remains black just as it was in its original trim specification.

1969 Audi L (72PS)

Our 1969 Audi L is now a fully restored example of a factory UK-market Audi L (72 PS), retaining its original chassis identity and period-correct mechanical character.

Extremely low numbers of factory RHD examples like this are thought to still exist. Having one in fully restored condition is certainly something very special.