The Audi Quattro is a road and rally car, produced by the German automobile manufacturer Audi, part of the Volkswagen Group. It was first shown at the 1980 Geneva Motor Show on 3 March. Production continued until 1991.
Background
The model name quattro is derived from the Italian word for "four" to convey the idea that power is delivered to four wheels. Audi has also used the name 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. The idea of such a car came from the Audi engineer Jörg Bensinger.
The Audi Quattro was the first rally car to take advantage of the then-recently changed rules that allowed the use of four-wheel drive in competition racing. It won consecutive competitions for the next two years. To commemorate the success of the original vehicle, all subsequent Audi production automobiles with this four-wheel-drive system were badged with the trademark quattro with a lower-case "q" letter.
The Audi Quattro shared many parts and platform with the Coupé version of the Audi 80 (B2). The quattro was internally designated Typ 85, a production code it shared with the quattro versions of the Audi Coupé. Its characteristic flared wheel arches were styled by Martin Smith. The Audi Quattro also had independent front and rear suspension.
Production history The idea for a high-performance four-wheel-drive car was proposed in 1977 by Audi's chassis engineer, Jörg Bensinger, after he found that the Volkswagen Iltis military vehicle outperformed other vehicles in tests involving snow. An Audi 80 variant was developed in co-operation with Walter Treser, Director of Pre-Development.
European market Audi introduced the original Quattro to European customers in late 1980, featuring Audi's quattro permanent four-wheel drive system, and the first to mate the front-engine, four-wheel-drive layout with a turbocharged engine.
The original engine was the , longitudinally-mounted inline-5-cylinder 10 valve SOHC, with a turbocharger and intercooler. It generated and torque of at 3,500 rpm, propelling the Quattro from 0 to in 7.1 seconds, and on to a top speed of over .
The displacement of the engine was dropped slightly from 2144 cc to 2133 cc with a bore x stroke of for the Rally car so that Audi could satisfy the 3-litre rallying class with a 1.4 times multiplication factor. Valvetrain was DOHC 4 valves per cylinder (20 valves in total) with an oil-cooled KKK K27 turbocharger at and Air-to-Air - Längerer & Reich intercooler fed by Bosch LH-Jetronic fuel injection, generating at 6,700 rpm and of torque at 3,700 rpm.
The engine was eventually modified to a inline-5 with 10 valves, still generating , but with peak torque lower in the rev-range. In 1989, it was then changed to a inline-five 20-valve DOHC setup generating , now with a top speed of .
The Quattro was partially hand-built on a dedicated line. Production totaled 11,452 units from 1980 to 1991, and through this eleven-year production, there were no major changes in the visual design of the car. For the 1983 model year, the dashboard did away with an analogue instrument cluster was now fitted with 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 new dashboard layout, steering wheel, and center console. The switches around the instrument panel were also redesigned. In 1985, the dashboard changed slightly to a harder foam and lost its diagonal stripe. The switches were slightly varied, and the diff lock pull knob gave way to a two-position turn knob with digital readouts for voltage and oil temperature.
Exterior styling received little modification during the Quattro's production run. Originally, the car had a flat front grille featuring four separate headlamp lenses, one for each low- and high-beam unit. This was altered for the 1983 model year with combined units featuring a single lens 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. The 20V RR Quattro also featured a new three-spoke steering wheel design, leather trim for door armrests, gloveboxes, center console, and door pockets. There was also a full-length leather-wrapped center console all the way to the rear seats and 'quattro' script on the interior with partial leather seats. The floor on the driver's side bulged due to the 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 aluminum effect plastic emblem, the MB had chrome-plated 'Audi', 'Audi rings', and 'quattro' emblems. In contrast, the RR had only chrome-plated 'Audi rings'.
The rear suspension was altered early on with geometry changes and the removal of the rear anti-roll bar to reduce the tendency toward 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 Pirelli Cinturato P5 tyres. The suspension was lowered by 20 mm with slightly stiffer springs. For 1987, the Torsen centre differential was used for the first time, replacing the manual centre differential lock.
The final original Audi Quattro was produced on 17 May 1991, two years after the first models of the new Audi Coupé (8B) range (based on the 1986 Audi 80) had been introduced.
U.S. and Canadian markets Sales of the Quattro in the U.S. and Canada began in the 1983 model year. They entered the all-wheel-drive market established by the AMC Eagle, the first full-time automatic all-wheel-drive line of passenger cars to reach mass production. The small Subaru Leone station wagon offered an optional part-time 4-wheel drive system in the U.S. market starting in 1975.
The North American Quattro was manufactured concurrently with, and of the same design as, their European 1982 model-year counterparts (it did not include the minor cosmetic changes of the 1983 European model) and continued through 1986. Total sales in the U.S. were 664 units. The Canadian-market cars were identical to the U.S. version, except for the speedometer, which was metric. Official sales figures for Canada totaled 99 units, including 61 sold in 1983, 17 in 1984, 18 in 1985, and 3 in 1986.
The U.S. and Canadian cars were equipped with larger impact bumpers with built-in shock absorbers, like the rest of the 4000/Coupé models. They did not have an anti-lock braking system (ABS) but did include air conditioning and leather upholstery. Most of the 1984 and 1985 Canadian models came without sunroofs. The remaining electric, suspension, and cosmetic updates were completed at the same time as those for the European cars.
The initial 2.1 L (2,144 cc, engine code "WX") engine for U.S. and Canadian models included minor component and engine control unit (ECU) changes, lowered turbocharger boost pressure, a different camshaft, as well as emission controls that consisted of a catalytic converter and fuel control giving a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio, lowering power output to . Other mechanical specifications were identical to those of the European market vehicles. The WX engine was also used in cars in the Swiss and Japanese markets. Audi built 200 special-edition cars in 1988 with the WX engine and an analog instrument cluster, with everything else identical to the MB model of that year.
Press reviews In May 1981, Autocar magazine road tested a left hand drive Quattro (registration number WBD 335W), one of the first magazines to do so since it was introduced. Beginning with a photograph in the magazine of a Quattro cornering hard on Pendine beach in South-west Wales, Autocar's Road Test Editor raved about the Quattro's "thrilling performance" being impressed with its traction and acceleration particularly on wet, greasy and slippery surfaces, noting that only the Porsche 911 could match its traction and acceleration in slippery conditions. After extensive driving across the mountain roads of Wales, the Road Test editor mentioned that while the 60/40 front/rear weight distribution can make the Quattro "tricky in extremis" under very hard cornering, the editor wrote that "When driven with respect, once you have learned its ways, the Quattro is nevertheless magnificent, particularly through a wet and deserted roundabout or series of open bends." The road test editor praised the interior's "comfortable refinement" and judged that its 1981 £14,500 price tag "is very good value for money considering its performance and the fact that its BMW, Porsche and Jaguar rivals cost £5000 more." (In summer 1981 both a Jaguar XJS V12 and BMW 6 Series Coupe on sale in the UK cost almost £20,000). Adding the caveat that in 1981 (and until summer 1983) the Quattro was only available in left hand drive in the UK, the Autocar Road Test concluded that the Quattro "is a vastly satisfying and enjoyable car to drive."
Audi quattro Spyder Concept (1991)
The Audi quattro Spyder was a mid-engine coupé equipped with a 2.8-litre V6 engine taken from the Audi 100. The engine was rated at and of torque. The car was a rolling test bed for a future mid-engine sports car and featured a 5-speed manual gearbox, a modified version for the quattro four-wheel-drive system, aluminium body panels with a tubular steel space frame, kerb weight and a suspension system with trapezoidal links. All of the unique features depicted in the concept car would find their way in future Audi production vehicles.
The car was production-ready and garnered a lot of acclaim from both the motoring press and prospective buyers but due to the economic downturn of the 1990s, Audi decided not to press ahead with the project as the demand would not outweigh the development costs for the model.
The concept car was unveiled at the 1991 Frankfurt Motor Show.
Audi quattro concept (2010)
At the Paris Motor Show in 2010, Audi presented the quattro concept on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the original Audi Quattro and the Audi quattro four-wheel-drive system. Based on the RS5, it features a modified 2.5 L five-cylinder TFSI engine shared with the TT and a 6-speed manual transmission from the S4. The engine was claimed to generate a maximum power output of and of torque. The revolutionary design features depicted on the concept car would eventually make their way on future Audi models.
The concept utilised aluminium and carbon fibre construction which helped to achieve a total dry weight of . Weight saving was kept in consideration even throughout the interior and the seats also weighed each besides having adjustment motors. The dashboard featured an LCD console displaying vital information about the car and buttons arranged in a vertical way on the binnacle harked back to the original Audi Quattro. The wheelbase was shortened by and the roof line was shortened by as compared to the RS5.
The Quattro four-wheel-drive system used in the concept was a rear-biased design utilising a two-stage differential distributing power front and aft through planetary gears.
The concept utilised carbon-ceramic braking system for improved stopping power. The car had a claimed acceleration time of 3.8 seconds.
It was reported that Audi was considering a limited production model (200–500 cars) based on the quattro concept. However, the idea of production was scrapped in favour of expanding the company's crossover range.
Audi Sport quattro concept (2013)