Audi quattro all-wheel drive: every system from 1980 to e-tron

Audi quattro all-wheel drive history

The idea came from test drives in Scandinavia in the winter of 1976/77, where the Volkswagen Iltis military off-roader that Audi had developed showed how much grip all-wheel drive gave on snow. From February 1977 a team of 12 engineers under project manager Walter Treser built the first Audi with permanent all-wheel drive.

The result, internally the Type 85, was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show on March 3, 1980, as the Audi quattro: the first high-volume car with permanent all-wheel drive, with a 200 PS turbocharged five-cylinder. Its key was a hollow transmission shaft that sent power both ways, avoiding a heavy separate transfer case. Audi planned only 400 cars and built 11,452 by 1991.

quattro then spread across the range and changed form many times: Torsen and crown-gear center differentials, clutch-based systems for transverse engines, efficiency-focused quattro with ultra, and electric quattro in the e-tron. Audi had built nearly 11 million quattro cars by September 30, 2020.[1],[2],[7],[9],[10],[11],[12],[13]

Years and production numbers

Generations and key variants

Engine and drivetrain facts

• The original quattro's center differential sat directly on a 263 mm hollow transmission shaft and split torque 50:50; the driver could lock both center and rear differentials, and anti-lock brakes (in production cars from 1983) could not work while they were locked.
• The first Torsen center differential (1986) weighed about 5 kg and split torque 50:50; Audi says today's self-locking center differential weighs around 3 kg and splits 40:60.
• quattro with ultra samples data such as steering angle, acceleration and engine torque every 10 milliseconds, and can predict about half a second ahead when the inside front tire will reach its grip limit during fast cornering.
• The quattro sport differential, introduced in late 2008 on the S4 sedan, drives a superposition gear about 10 percent faster than the axle shaft, so it can push extra torque to the outside rear wheel.
• In 2019, 45.3 percent of Audi customers worldwide chose quattro, Audi built 804,224 quattro models, and 92.2 percent of Audis delivered in Canada had quattro.

Sources:[2],[5],[14],[20],[31],[32],[33]

What changed over the years

1. 1976/77Winter test drives with the VW Iltis in Scandinavia spark the idea of a fast all-wheel-drive passenger car.
2. 1980The Audi quattro debuts at Geneva with permanent all-wheel drive and a turbocharged five-cylinder.
3. 1981Differential locks move from cable levers to pneumatic dashboard switches; quattro enters the World Rally Championship.
4. 1986The Audi 80 quattro introduces the Torsen center differential. The same year, an Audi 100 CS quattro drives up a snow-covered ski jump in Finland for a TV commercial.
5. 1998The TT quattro and A3 quattro bring a clutch-based quattro to transverse-engine Audis.
6. 2005The second-generation RS 4 introduces the asymmetric 40:60 self-locking center differential.
7. 2008The S4 sedan adds the quattro sport differential for torque vectoring across the rear axle.
8. 2010The RS 5 debuts the crown-gear center differential with torque vectoring by brake.
9. 2016quattro with ultra technology arrives, decoupling the rear axle when it is not needed.
10. 2019The e-tron brings electric quattro to the US, with no mechanical center clutch or differential.

Sources:[1],[2],[3],[4],[6],[8],[9],[15],[16],[20],[23],[34],[35]

What to check before you buy one

• Don't trust a badge alone. quattro emblems are easy to add, and many Audi models were also sold with front-wheel drive. Confirm the drivetrain from the VIN-decoded build data or original purchase documents, and look for a rear prop shaft and rear differential under the car.
• Know which quattro you're buying. A Torsen or self-locking center differential is always engaged; quattro with ultra drives the front wheels until it predicts it needs the rear; transverse models use a rear-axle clutch. All are quattro, but they behave and are serviced differently.
• Check that all four tires match in brand, size and wear. Mismatched rolling diameters force an all-wheel-drive system to slip all the time.
• On clutch-based systems (A3, Q3, TT and ultra-equipped models), ask whether the coupling and differential fluids have been serviced on the maintenance schedule.
• On cars with the optional sport differential, confirm it is listed in the build data. It is a significant factory option and is hard to spot from outside.

How to verify a Audi quattro all-wheel drive's factory options

Whether a used Audi has quattro, and which version (including an optional sport differential), is set at the factory. CarWhere checks the 17-character VIN for licensed factory build data and, when it exists, lists the equipment the car was built with. It does not promise a complete option list for every VIN.

Standardized 17-character VINs began with the 1981 model year, so the earliest 1980 Audi quattros predate them; every later quattro carries one.[36]

For pre-1981 examples, the data plate and engine stampings carry the original factory codes; a VIN-based build lookup does not apply to them.