In the early 1980s, Audi had a pensioner image. Then came the original quatto and everything changed. The lead over the competition was gained through technology.
There are tracks on which you are actually only allowed to drive a special racing car. The Col de Turini is such a place. In 1984 Walter Röhrl drove the Audi Rallye Quattro A2 at the legendary Monte Carlo Rally on the 22-kilometer long serpentine chase, thus cementing his victory. What made the triumph even sweeter was the three-pack from Ingolstadt: In second and third place in the most prestigious rally, two more Audi drivers followed with Stig Blomqvist and Hannu Mikkola.
We are also on that famous mountain where triumphs were celebrated and victories believed to be certain were shattered on the snow-covered cliffs. In front of us is a steering wheel with four rings on the impact pot. Yes, it is an Audi original Quattro Coupé. Suitable for the Col de Turini. Our model from 1988 does not have the wild 360 HP (conservatively stated) that Walter Röhrl’s driving machine heaved upwards, but “only” 200 HP. But under the red bonnet, there are also five pots at work in the famous 1-2-4-5-3 firing order: the piston staccato that leads to this unique throaty, rough engine sound.
Fresh even after 30 years
Here we go. The engine sparks like a wild predator. During the first few meters, the coupé whispers in our ear: “Don’t worry, I’m very tame, but I can also get really wild”. Let’s go. Every curve of the legendary pass road tells its own story. We’re not aiming for victory, but want to bring the valuable body up to the top undamaged and of course have fun doing it. We have it. The Ur-Quattro makes life easy for us. Even after more than 30 years, it is impressive how relaxed the 1,300 kilogram bolide can be circled around the corners. Of course, the all-wheel drive does not have the sensitive control technology of current systems, but the mechanical locks and differentials do their job with impressive precision. If you keep the five-cylinder in good spirits at enough revs, you can get around corners quickly. The prancing stern immediately prevents any budding exuberance.
The test drives of the Audi Ur-Quattro were a pretty hot thing. Not only did Erlkönig hunters lurk around every corner who wanted to take a picture of Ingolstadt’s secret weapon, the trials in the Sahara desert also got tricky. Literally. A technician had the great idea of placing the fuel line directly over the turbocharger. It happened as it had to, the prototype caught fire at very high speed, the rally driver Harald Demut was able to brake the car down to 130 km / h and then jumped out of the blazing vehicle. All that was left was a pile of molten metal. “The engineers took parts of the alloy wheels with them as mementos. The rest is probably still in the desert today,” says Audi historian Ralf Friese.
Push for all-wheel drive
Behind the project of the original Quattro was the then Head of Technology at Audi, Ferdinand Piëch, who predicted that every fourth Audi produced would be an all-wheel-drive model. At that time the laughter of the experts echoed as far as Wolfsburg. The technology is what is important for the construction site on the road, they said. Today, the Ingolstadt carmaker would be inconceivable without this technology. More than 60 percent of the cars with the four rings on the grille have four wheels with drive. But even the patriarch was not always entirely correct with his predictions. Because he said that the Quattro drive would mean the surcharge for a high-quality set of winter tires. “He then allowed himself to be spread and added” on aluminum rims “to the statement,” says Ralf Friese with a smile.
As soon as these problems were resolved, series production could begin. The Audi 80 of the B2 model series was the basis for the Audi with all-wheel drive, which was internally known as the Type 85. At the 75th Geneva Motor Show on March 3, 1980, the cloth was pulled from the original Quattro and the audience was enthusiastic. An indication of what was to come. Exactly 11,452 copies of the original Quattro were built between 1980 and 1991. Originally only 400 pieces were planned. Today, Audi is unthinkable without all-wheel drive.
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