Audi’s Quattro four-wheel drive is blowing out 40 candles this year, but because of Corona, almost all internationally planned anniversary celebrations had to be canceled. All the more reason, it was decided at Autoworld Brussels to organize a beautiful themed exhibition around the pioneering concept that, from 1980 onwards, ushered in the automotive world into a new era. Until 7 October, you can visit the Cinquantenaire Park in Brussels to see some twenty Quattro milestones that have made Audi’s commercial breakthrough in the German premium segment over the past four decades.
At the Geneva International Motor Show, a sporty Audi Coupé caused a stir in March 1980. The Quattro model presented there was the very first high-performance car with permanent four-wheel drive; a drive technology that was previously only considered useful for trucks and off-road vehicles. “What we are seeing here is the world premiere of four-wheel drive for ordinary passenger cars,” said Ferdinand Piëch – then technical director at Audi – who was convinced that the revolutionary Quattro technology would be the face of the automotive world forever. would change. Although his enthusiasm was initially met with the greatest skepticism by the international car news, Piëch’s statement turned out to be a visionary prophecy. We are now four decades and 10.5 million Quattros produced and the Audi brand name is mentioned in the same breath as the other two German premium brands; a fact that in 1980 was still regarded as distant and rather unrealistic future music.
The idea for this four-wheel drive coupé version came about in the winter of 1976-77 during tests with the Volkswagen Iltis all-terrain vehicle, which Audi developed for the German army (and was later also used by the Belgian army as a license version of Bombardier). The excellent driveability of this off-road model on ice and snow gave the engineers the idea of ​​modifying the VW Iltis’ integral drive system for the powertrain of an Audi 80 model. The subsequent tests with the prototype were so convincing that Audi gave the green light for a production version of the very first Audi Quattro – the so-called UR-quattro – based on the 200 hp 2.2 liter five-cylinder turbo engine used in the the fall of 1979 was presented.
Unveiling Audi Quattro at the 1980 Geneva Motor Show
Rally
In the 1981 rally world championship, the arrival of the Audi Quattro hit like a bomb. World Cup debutant Hannu Mikkola outclasses everything and everyone during the Algarve rally in Portugal, but because the Quattro prototype is not yet homologated at that time, the Finn is not yet eligible for the total classification. Much to the relief of its competitors, who had no chance against Audi’s new rally gun, which, until the dissolution of the Group B class in 1986, would remain the lord and master of almost all branches of the global rally competition. Thanks to Walter Röhrl, Franz Wittmann, Stig Blomqvist, Michèle Mouton and the aforementioned Hannu Mikkola, who continuously provided victorious champagne showers for the Audi factory team. The Audi Quattro works team won the manufacturers’ championship in 1982 and Mikkola captured the driver’s title in 1983. Audi claimed both titles in 1984, with Blomqvist taking the world title.
Striking
The Quattro concept proved successful not only on unpaved roads. Also in the 1988 American TransAm Championship, the three Audis 200 Quattro owned by Hans Joachim Stuck, Walter Röhrl and the American Hurley Haywood were so supreme that four-wheel drive was promptly banned by the TransAm organization the following year; a measure that followed a year of protests from completely impotent competition.
The most controversial Quattro victory still remains Walter Röhrl’s masterful victory in the legendary Pikes Peak hill climb of 1987. The Regensburger was the first winner to dip below the 11-minute mark in the Race to the Clouds, which was then still largely on gravel. To put Röhrl’s performance in perspective: Sébastien Loeb was just over 2 minutes faster in 2013 in his 3.2 liter Peugeot 208, but that record was set on the now completely asphalted climbing course. Röhrl concluded three successful Audi years in Colorado Springs. In 1985, Michèle Mouton was the first woman to surpass all American specialists. In 1986 it was American legend Bobby Unser who won in a Quattro Pikes Peak.
Audi Quattro Pikes Peak
In 1990 and 1991 Audi was once again lord and master in the DTM championship. The A4 quattro Supertouring took part in seven national championships in 1996 and won them all. Two years later, the FIA ​​almost completely banned four-wheel drive for touring car racing. In 2012, a four-wheel drive Audi – the Audi R18 e-tron quattro with hybrid drive – made its debut in the WEC championship. After three overclassing Le Mans victories and two driver and manufacturer titles, there was nothing more to prove there either.
Audi Quattro DTM
Thanks to all the sporting successes, the all-wheel drive range from Ingolstadt has become the cornerstone of Audi’s global market share. Quattro has become the independent keyword for all sporty models with an S or RS badge. Today, all Audi models, from the S1 to the R8 and A3 to Q8, can be equipped with the Quattro four-wheel drive system. One in four Audi models produced is now a quattro version. Even the first fully electric e-tron model proudly carries the Q badge on the tailgate. Looking back on forty years of quattro technology, the pause button of history is momentarily pressed, but its development continues unabated.
Take a look at the images for an extensive photo series of the Audi Quattro anniversary exhibition Autoworld Brussels!