The Audi Quattro Group 2

By Richardd Adams February 2013

After spending only 30 minutes test driving the new car, the Finnish rally champion Hannu Mikkola said: “I have just experienced a convincing view of the future. Quattro will change the rally scene once and for all.” And this car did.

 With the unveiling of Audi’s rally challenger, the most significant rally car of all time made its debut to the world in 1980. The Quattro was the first four-wheel-drive car for rally competition.

The car won the first rally it entered, the Austrian round of the European championship in 1981: It was like introducing Hurricane Sandy to the folks at the bridge club. It was an immediate winner. The Quattro, in various versions, competed for 4 ½ years, winning 4 championships and changed rallying forever.

The original Audi Quattro competition car was, for the most part, based on the road-going Quattro models. The latter Group B cars were more specialized. The original competition version produced approximately 300 bhp (224 kW), the same output that Porsche were getting from their 3 liter 911 Turbo at that time. 

In 1981 and the following 3 years, Audi responded to the new Group B rules and the Quattro evolved with A1 and A2 versions. The 5-cylinder engine 20v DOHC aluminum alloy 2133 cc engine (130.2 cu in) was being tuned constantly and would peak eventually at around 600 bhp (450kw) at 8000 rpm.  The Sport Quattro S1 E2 is regarded as the most powerful international rally car ever.

To reduce the turbo lag in battle, the turbocharger has a recirculation air circuit to keep the turbo spinning at high rpm when the throttle was closed. The engine resumed full power immediately on the resumption of full throttle. 

As the power output increased, an aerodynamic body kit was fitted to increase down force and Audi managed a weight reduction to 1090 kg (2403 lb).  A 3.1 second 0-100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration time was soon possible on most surfaces.

The Quattro evolutions were driven by the rally greats Hannu Mikkola, Stig Blomqvist, Hannu Mikkola and Walter Röhrl .

Michèle Mouton won the 1981 San Remo rally in a Quattro, the first woman to win a rally at international level. 

She went on to win the 1985 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb too. Audi won Pikes Peak again in 1987 in the hands of Walter Röhrl.

There were 224 cars of the S1 Sport Quattro built, at a price of 203,850 German Marks.

A Ford RS200 pilot plunged into the crowd in the 1986 Rallye de Portugal, killing 3 spectators and injuring 30.

Audi announced their withdrawal from the rallying shortly thereafter.

Walter Röhrl puts the quattro through its paces in this video below: