Audi Quattro

The Audi Quadro was introduced 40 years ago. Back in 1980, it was a minor sensation, because permanent all-wheel drive in a sporty road car had already existed. Jensen in England, a small manufacturer, had already tried it in the 1960s, however, it wasn't particularly successful and wasn't really mature. That was if for Audi, there were still reservations. Ferry Porsche asked at the time, do you really need all-wheel drive? In most driving situations, probably not. But Audi quickly showed that they knew better. In rally racing, the Quadro said a completely new standard, Walter Rawl is just a keyword. And on the way to becoming the premi We're sitting here in an 86 Audi Quadro in Oak Green. This is actually a Porsche color that Ferry Porsche But that does the car an injustice. It is a sporty high-performance model in terms of technology. It was the first car in which all-wheel drive in a sporty road car was really mature, technically mature and also ready for mass production, and it has a five-cylinder turbo. Here in this relatively early car, the 10-valve engine has 200 horsepower and a displacement of 2,144 cubic centimeters. The driving characteristics are still a bit old-school turbo, so there is not that much power below 3,000, but once you have exceeded the 2,500 to 3,000 mark, it really picks up speed. You can feel that here too. It also sounds a bit faster and then the thrust really continues as if it never wants to stop. Of course, you always get the power safely onto the road thanks to the all-wheel drive, which works perfectly in everyday life without any problems or tension. There are two differentials in the car, a center and a rear axle differential. Both can be locked manually and are electrostatic. Other quadros had a torque differential in the middle. The car has superior driving characteristics in winter. Of course, we can'test that here, we have a dry track, you can definitely feel the all-wheel drive in terms of directional stability and handling. But of course, it only really shows its advantages when the road is wet or covered in snow. The all-wheel drive doesn't help when braking. Some people experience this the hard way at the very beginning, when it wasn't yet generally accepted. That's why there was relatively a lot of accident damage to early quadros. People buying a car today have to make sure that everything is in order in the front area. Because such accident damage can also lead to rust damage if it hasn't been repaired properly. These vehicles are very valuable today. A quadro can easily cost over 50,000 euros or 1000 euros. And now, in the wake of the model anniversary that we're currently celebrating, it's also to be expected that the increased attention that the car is currently receiving will cause prices to rise a little further. How long this price increase will last remains to be seen. In general, we're currently experiencing a cooling market for classic cars, where many prices of cars that had risen sharply are now falling again. It's always hard to predict whether that will last. For example, with the Roar 80, which is a car that recently had a model anniversary, that wasn'the case. The interest that was there for a short time then waned again. The early Audi Quadro also had an interesting feature. Namely, the so-called voice computer. I can demonstrate it briefly. I'll stop now. Turn off the ignition and pretend to get out. Please turn off the lights. And then a friendly female voice reminds me that the lights are still on. By the way, the woman who discussed this here, who provided her voice, is called Patrizio Lip. You can shine at the classic car regulars table with this nerd knowledge if you come around the corner with this nerd knowledge. The early Audi Quadro had completely normal instr Later on, they got a digital display. Of course, that was incredibly trendy in the mid-80s and fits in wonderfully with the car's overall techno- At first, the displays were green, but later they became red orange. Today, it's a great thing because it reflects the zeitgeist. But it can also break over time and then there are problems, just Because most of them are no longer available ex-works, and without contacts to clubs and any specialists who can repair such things, you have real problems as an owner of a Quattro. An Audi Quadro driver will of course describe his vehicle as unrivaled, and he's right, especially when it comes to all-wheel drive, because that was already a unique selling point back then. But there were definitely competitors in the class of sports cars with around 200 horsepower. We've gathered a few of them here. On the one hand, there is the BMW 6 Series, with a peak output of up to 286 horsepower, a six-cylinder engine and rear-wheel drive. It is a very sporty coupu00e9 from the 70s, but was built for a long time, until the 80s, until the late 80s. Then there is an exotic car A mid-engine car with two seats. Of course, it is a real sports car compared to the Quadro. Then we have a Porsche as a Carriera 3. 2L with 231 horsepower. The classic German sports car, the benchmark of German sports cars. Of course, it is also something completely different from an Audi Quadro. Porsche also started with all-wheel drive at some point, but not until the end of the 80s in the 964. And then for fans of exotic cars, we have a coupu00e9 with a special character. This is the Maserati 228, an offshoot of the extensive Baturbo family. A V6 engine with a 90-degree cylinder angle. Here, 2. 8L displacement, a 250-horsepower. Technically very deficient, visually almost somewhat inconspicuous, an understated car and of course, in terms of quality and durability, no comparison to the Audi Quadro. In that respect, it is truly unrivalled.