The Heroes Of Racing No.3-----The Audi Quattro-----Fast,4WD, Successful, And Also Part Of Group B's History.

Now, today on the ‘Heroes Of Racing’ series, we will be covering the Audi Quattro. Yes, its another Group B car, and its the Third one I’ve covered….But anyway, the quattro was first shown to the world at the 1980 Geneva Motorshow, and production would apparently continue all the way into 1991. Everyone who watched Group B will remember this car, Flames coming out of the exhausts, Turbocharger and Inline-Five screaming, yeah, you get the idea. But here’s some background information.The word ‘quattro’ is derived from the Italian word for “four”. The name has also been used by Audi to refer to the quattro four-wheel-drive system, or any four-wheel-drive version of an Audi model. The original Quattro model is also commonly referred to as the Ur-Quattro - the “Ur-“ (German for “primordial”, “original”, or “first of its kind”) is an augmentative prefix, in this case meaning “original”.

The Audi Quattro was the first rally car to take advantage of the then-recently changed rules which allowed the use of four-wheel drive in competition racing. It won competition after competition for the next two years. To commemorate the success of the original vehicle, all subsequent Audis with their trademark quattro four-wheel-drive system were badged “quattro” with a lower case “q” and in a distinct typeface which has remained nearly unchanged since its inception.

The Audi Quattro shared many parts and core body components with the Coupé version of the Audi 80 (B2) model range. The Quattro was internally designated Typ 85, a production code it shared with the quattro versions of the Audi 80 coupé Audi 80. Its characteristic flared wheelarches were styled by Martin Smith. The Audi Quattro also had independent rear suspension and independent front suspension.
Now, with the car’s History, and specs.

The idea for a high-performance four-wheel-drive car was proposed by Audi’s chassis engineer, Jörg Bensinger, in 1977, when he found that the Volkswagen Iltis could outperform any other vehicle in snow, no matter how powerful. Bensinger’s idea was to start developing an Audi 80 variant in co-operation with Walter Treser, Director of Pre-Development.

Audi released the original Quattro to European customers in late 1980, featuring Audi’s quattro permanent four-wheel drive system (hence its name), and the first to mate four-wheel drive with a turbocharged engine.

The original engine was the 2,144 cc (131 cu in) (2.1 L),I5 10-valve SOHC, with a turbocharger and intercooler. It produced 197 bhp and 210 lb-ft of Torque at 3500 rpm; propelling the Quattro from 0 to 62(mph) in 7.1s, and to a top speed of well over 137 mph.

The engine was eventually modified to a 2,226 cc (136 cu in) (2.2 L) inline-5 10 valve, but with the same 197 bhp, but with peak torque lower in the rev-range. In 1989, it was then changed to a 2,226 cc (136 cu in) inline-5 20v(2.2 L 20v) DOHC setup producing 217 bhp, now with a top speed of 143 mph

Audi Quattros are referred to among owners and enthusiasts by their engine codes, to differentiate between the earlier and later versions: the earliest 2144 cc 10v being the “WR” engine, the 2226 cc 10v being the “MB” engine, and the later 20v being the “RR” engine. Hence, Quattro models may be referred to as either the WR Quattro, MB Quattro, and RR or “20v” Quattro, respectively.

Quattro car production was 11,452 vehicles over the period 1980–1991, and through this 11(Can you believe it?!) year production span, despite some touch-ups, there were no major changes in the visual design of the vehicle. For the 1983 model year, the dash was switched from an analogue instrument cluster, to a green digital liquid crystal display (LCD) electronic instrument cluster. This was later changed in 1988 to an orange LCD electronic instrument cluster. The interior was redesigned in 1984, and featured a whole new dash layout, new steering wheel design, and new centre console design, the switches around the instrument panel were also redesigned at this time. In 1985 the dash changed slightly with harder foam and lost a diagonal stripe, the dash switches were varied slightly and the diff lock pull knob gave way to a two-position turning knob with volt and oil temp digital readouts.

1987 MB-engined Audi quattro
External styling received very little modification during its production run. Originally, the car had a flat fronted grille featuring four separate headlamp lenses, one for each of the low and high beam units. This was altered for the 1983 model year, and replaced with combined units featuring a single lens, but housing twin reflectors. This was changed again, for the 1985 model year, in what has become known as the ‘facelift model’ and included such alterations as a new sloping front grille, headlights, and trim and badging changes. Max speed was 124 mph. The RR 20v Quattro also featured a new three spoke steering wheel design, leather covering for door arm rests, gloveboxes, centre console and door pockets. There was also a full length leather-wrapped centre console running all the way to the rear seats. The 20v was also the first Ur-Q to have “quattro” script interior with partial leather seats. The floor on the drivers side had a bulge due to dual catalytic exhaust setup. The different models may be distinguished by the emblems on their boot lids: the WR had a vinyl ‘quattro’ decal or a brushed aluminium effect plastic emblem, the MB had chrome plated ‘audi’, ‘audi rings’ and ‘quattro’ emblems, whilst the RR had only chrome plated ‘audi rings’.

The rear suspension was altered early on with geometry changes and removal of the rear anti-roll bar to reduce a tendency for lift-off oversteer. For the 1984 facelift, the wheel size went from 6x15-inch with 205/60-15 tyres to 8x15-inch wheels with 215/50-15 tyres. At the same time the suspension was lowered 20 mm with slightly stiffer springs for improved handling. For 1987, the Torsen centre diff was used for the first time, replacing the manual centre differential lock.
And in case you’re wondering, the car weighed 1290 kilos.
The last original Audi Quattro was produced on 17 May 1991, more than two years after the first models of the new Audi Coupe range (based on the 1986 Audi 80) had been produced. Now, we move onto its Group B counterpart…..

The original Audi Quattro competition car debuted in 1980, first as a development car, and then on a formal basis in the 1980 Janner Rally in Austria. Largely based on the bodyshell of the road-going Quattro models (in contrast to the forthcoming Group B cars), the engine of the original competition version produced approximately 300 bhp. In 1981, Michèle Mouton would become the first female driver to win a world championship rally, piloting an Audi Quattro. Over the next three years, Audi would introduce the A1 and A2 evolutions of the Quattro in response to the new Group B rules, raising power from the turbocharged inline 5-cylinder engine to around 350 bhp .

The Quattro A1 debuted at the WRC 1983 season opener Monte Carlo Rally, and went on to win the Swedish Rally and the Rally Portugal in the hands of Hannu Mikkola. Driven by Stig Blomqvist, Mikkola and Walter Röhrl, the A2 evolution won a total of eight world rallies; three in 1983 and five in 1984. Two examples of the same car completely dominated the South African National Rally Championships during 1984 to 1988, with S.A. champion drivers Sarel van der Merwe and Geoff Mortimer.

A 1988 Audi Ur-Quattro driven by Audi Tradition driver Luciano Viaro won the 13th Silvretta Classic Montafon. Now, we get into the bloody extreme S1 models..

The Audi Sport Quattro S1 was a Quattro programme car developed for homologation for Group B rallying in 1984, and sold as a production car in limited numbers.It featured an all aluminium alloy 2,133 cc (2.1 L) 20v DOHC engine Slightly smaller than that of the Audi Quattro (in order to qualify for the 3-litre engine class after the scale factor applied to turbo engines). In road-going form, the engine was capable of producing 302 bhp, with the competition cars initially producing around 444 bhp.

The vehicle also featured a body shell composed of carbon-kevlar and boasting wider arches, wider wheels (nine inches as compared to the Ur-Quattro’s optional 8-inch-wide (200 mm) wheel rim), the steeper windscreen rake of the Audi 80 (requested by the Audi Sport rally team drivers to reduce internal reflections from the dashboard for improved visibility) and, most noticeably, a 320 mm (12.6 in) shorter wheelbase.

In addition to Group B competition in rallying, the Sport Quattro won the 1985 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb with Michèle Mouton in the driving, setting a record time in the process. 224 cars of this SWB Sport Quattro were built, and were offered for sale for 203,850 German Marks(God knows how much that is in any other currency, or in comparison to today’s currency). Next up, the S1 E2.

The Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2 was introduced at the end of 1985 as an ‘update’ to the Audi Sport Quattro. The car featured an inline 5-cylinder engine that displaced 2,110 cc (128.8 cu in) and produced an officially quoted figure of 470 bhp. However, the turbocharger utilised a recirculating air system, with the aim of keeping the turbo spinning at high rpm, when the driver closed the throttle, either to back off during cornering, or on gearshifts. This allowed the engine to resume full power immediately after the resumption of full throttle, reducing turbo lag. The actual power figure was in Excess of 500 bhp at 8000 rpm.

In addition to the improved power output, an aggressive aerodynamic kit was added that featured very distinctive wings and spoilers to the front and rear of the car to increase downforce. The weight was reduced to 1,090 kilos from about 1200 kilos, and the S1 could accelerate to 62 in 3.1 seconds. Some of the cars were supplied with a “power-shift gearbox”, Essentially a predecessor to the DSG.

The S1 E2 was successful in the rally circuit, with Walter Röhrl and Christian Geistdörfer winning the 1985 San Remo Rally. A modified version of the E2, was also driven by Michèle Mouton. The S1 Evolution would become the final Group B car produced by Audi, with the works team withdrawing from the Championship following the 1986 rally in Portugal. The final factory machines of 1986 were rated at 591 bhp. In 1987, the car would also win the Pikes Peak, which was driven by Walter Röhrl.

So, to conclude, the Audi Quattro was a Group B car with quite the success, and it was also, one of the first few Group B cars to use 4WD, well before anyone jumped on the bandwagon and used 4WD in their cars. It was fast, sounded insane, performed very well on the Rally Stages, and had boxy lines which if in street form, made it a somewhat discreet car. I’m not sure how much you’ll need to buy a quattro now, but expect it to be anywhere above 16 000 pounds. Still not as expensive as that 037 I covered, like, yesterday….

And on THAT Bombshell, you have finished reading my article on another Hero Of Racing, The Audi Quattro. Feel free to leave suggestions and advice down below, and I hope you enjoyed it.

I’ll see you at the next one.