We can talk about old-school Audis that were pivotal to the brand, but the original Audi Quattro rally car is way more important than that. This 1980-born traction titan is the vehicle that popularized AWD in rallying as well as on the road. So when we noticed this 1981 example looking for a new owner, we were instantly hooked.
The Ur-Quattro, as the Germans like to call it (that prefix means “original) debuted in 1980 both as a road car and as a rally monster. Initially, the race car built on the body of the production vehicle. albeit with the turbocharged five-cylinder 2.1L engine receiving a 50% power increase to just over 300 hp for the WRC (World Rally Championship).
The permanent all-wheel-drive and the turbocharger, both highly unusual concepts in the era’s rallying—the former even more than the latter—brought Audi a massive advantage.
The WRC titles were there, but the story is larger than that
However, the car was still new. So while 1980 was a development year, the following season was split between Audi grabbing the lead by a long stretch and the vehicle experiencing tech issues that prevented the four-ringed brand from grabbing the manufacturer’s title that year.
However, once everything was dialed in, Audi got the WRC laurels in 1982. The regulations changed for 1983 and thus the infamous Group B beasts were born and Audi came up with a further-away-from-production rally car that was lighter and considerably more powerful.
However, Lancia and Peugeot had quickly adopted AWD, raising the bar with a more balanced mid-engined layout. Still, Audi took the title again in 1984 with the Sport Quattro S1, while a further evolution of the car, the Sport Quattro S2, famously won Pikes Peak in 1987, after the infinite hazards had determined organizers to cancel Group B rallying.
The Germans built an entire brand image on their quattro all-wheel-drive, a heritage asset the company is fully using in the electrified era when traction at all four corners is the industry norm.
This ’81 Quattro is prepared to meet the stopwatch once again
This 1981 Audi Quattro rally car is fully approved by the FIA and Swedish Motorsport Federation. And the platform offering the vehicle, the UK’s Collecting Cars, confirms that the thing is prepared to battle the stopwatch.
The vehicle, which seems to have been priorly used by Sweden’s JP Rallysport, founded in 1985 by racing driver Janne Pettersson, had its last racing inspection done by the Swedish Automobile Sport Federation prior to a competition in 2021, passing with flying colors. Earlier this year, the vehicle was serviced, with the cambelt and the water pump being changed.
As you can expect from a competition vehicle, the exterior comes with a full livery, complete with sponsor decals. Then there’s the stripped-out cabin, which features a roll cage and a fire extinguisher, among others. And yes, that’s a five-speed manual.
Note that bidding on the rally car hasn’t started yet, but you can expect this piece of rally history to grab a (probably deep) six-figure price.
PS: Meanwhile, the drag racing addicted folks over at Carwow have pitted one of the modern descendants of the Audi Quattro, namely the new five-cylinder turbo RS3, against one of those later evolutions of the rally car. And, thanks to the adventure shown in the video below, we found out the Volkswagen Group still has use for these beasts outside their museum value: this was the vehicle used to test the first Porsche PDK gearbox in the late 2000s!
