AUDI

Coupe-Quattro

The Audi Quattro was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show on 3 March 1980 and changed the course of motoring history by proving that permanent four-wheel drive could transform a fast road car and dominate motorsport. Often called the "Ur-Quattro" (German for "original Quattro") to distinguish it from the later quattro all-wheel-drive system fitted across the Audi range, the Audi Quattro combined a turbocharged 2.1-litre five-cylinder engine with a clever, lightweight four-wheel-drive system derived from the military Volkswagen Iltis. The five-cylinder turbo gave the early Audi Quattro around 200 horsepower and an unmistakable warbling exhaust note, while the all-wheel-drive traction made it devastatingly effective in poor conditions. In rallying the Audi Quattro was a revolution, sweeping to World Rally Championship titles in the early Group B era and rendering two-wheel-drive rivals instantly obsolete; the wild short-wheelbase Sport Quattro was developed to make the cars even more competitive. Over its long production life the road-going Audi Quattro was steadily improved, gaining a digital dashboard, then in 1989 a 20-valve version of the five-cylinder engine producing 220 horsepower, which is the most coveted of all. Production of the Audi Quattro finally ended in 1991 after 11,452 examples had been built across eleven years. Iconic in shape, sound and engineering, the Audi Quattro remains one of the most influential performance cars ever made and a blue-chip 1980s classic.