Audi Ur-quattro history: the original quattro, the Sport quattro and Group B

Audi quattro (Ur-quattro) and Group B rally cars history

Audi introduced the quattro at the Geneva Motor Show in 1980: a coupe with a turbocharged, intercooled five-cylinder engine and permanent all-wheel drive, rated at 147 kW (200 PS) when sales began. Audi says no other manufacturer then offered a fast, lightweight four-wheel-drive system for a series-production car. The coupe stayed in production until 1991, and enthusiasts now call it the Ur-quattro — the 'original' quattro.

Audi entered the World Rally Championship as a factory team in 1981. The quattro won Austria's Jänner Rally on its debut that January, Hannu Mikkola and Arne Hertz took its first world-championship win in Sweden in February, and Michèle Mouton and Fabrizia Pons won San Remo in October, the first world-championship win for an all-female crew. Audi took the manufacturers' title in 1982, Mikkola became the first world champion in a four-wheel-drive car in 1983, and Stig Blomqvist won the 1984 drivers' title as Audi added a second manufacturers' crown.

For Group B, Audi built the Sport quattro: 24 cm shorter, with a wider track and a new four-valve, light-alloy five-cylinder rated at 225 kW (306 PS) — at the time the most powerful road car a German company had offered. Only 214 were built, priced at 195,000 German marks at launch in 1984. The rally line ended with the winged Sport quattro S1 E2 of 1985; after Audi left Group B in 1986, its quattros won Pikes Peak in 1985, 1986 and 1987.[1],[2],[3],[4],[5]

Years and production numbers

Generations and key variants

Engine and drivetrain facts

• The production quattro's turbocharged, intercooled inline-five was rated at 147 kW (200 PS) at the start of sales.
• Audi's five-cylinder family began in the 1976 Audi 100; the first turbocharged version, 125 kW (170 PS), powered the Audi 200 5T in 1979 before the quattro arrived.
• The Sport quattro's four-valve, light-alloy five-cylinder made 225 kW (306 PS) on the road and 450 PS (331 kW) in its first Group B form; Blomqvist's 1984 title car was the 265 kW (360 PS) quattro A2.
• Walter Röhrl's 1987 Pikes Peak-winning Sport quattro S1 (E2) produced 440 kW (598 PS), and his 10:47.85 run set a course record.
• Audi counts four World Rally Championship titles and six Pikes Peak victories for quattro technology.

Sources:[1],[2],[3]

What changed over the years

1. 1980The quattro debuts at the Geneva Motor Show with 200 PS and permanent all-wheel drive.
2. 1981Factory World Rally Championship debut; first world-championship win in Sweden, and Mouton/Pons win San Remo.
3. 1982Audi wins its first manufacturers' world rally title.
4. 1983Hannu Mikkola wins the drivers' title; U.S. sales begin for the 1983 model year; the Sport quattro is unveiled.
5. 1984Sport quattro launched in May; Stig Blomqvist wins the drivers' title and Audi the manufacturers' title; Mouton wins the Pikes Peak rally class.
6. 1985Sport quattro S1 E2 debuts; Walter Röhrl wins San Remo; Mouton takes the overall Pikes Peak win.
7. 1986Audi leaves Group B; Bobby Unser wins Pikes Peak in the E2; Torsen center differential replaces the manual lock.
8. 1987Röhrl's Pikes Peak record (10:47.85) completes the hat-trick; Mikkola wins the Safari Rally in a Group A Audi 200 quattro.
9. 198920-valve 220 PS engine replaces the 10-valve unit.
10. 1991Production ends; the last original quattro is built on May 17, 1991.

Sources:[1],[2],[3],[6]

What to check before you buy one

• Confirm which car it is. Long-wheelbase quattros, genuine Sport quattros and Sport quattro replicas look alike; with only 214 Sport quattros built, factory documents and provenance matter far more than badges or bodywork.
• Match the engine to the year: 10-valve engines until 1989, the 20-valve 220 PS engine after. U.S.-market cars were sold only for the 1983–1986 model years, so a 20V car in the U.S. should come with paperwork showing how it was legally imported.
• Check which center differential the car has — the early manual lock or the later Torsen unit — and that it matches the claimed year and any restoration records.
• Inspect the body for rust and repair, and the turbocharger, intercooler and cooling system for leaks; ask for service records covering the turbo five-cylinder.
• For a U.S.-market car, run the 17-character VIN for title and recall history before paying a collector premium; many rally-style replicas are built from standard quattros.

How to verify a Audi quattro (Ur-quattro) and Group B rally cars's factory options

Original quattros vary by engine (10-valve or 20V), center differential and market. For a 1981-or-later U.S.-market car, CarWhere checks the 17-character VIN for licensed factory build data and, when it exists, lists the equipment the car was built with. Coverage for 1980s VINs is thinner than for recent vehicles.

Standardized 17-character VINs began with the 1981 model year (49 CFR 565), so U.S.-market quattros — sold for the 1983–1986 model years — carry them. The earliest European cars and the factory rally cars predate or fall outside that U.S. format.[7]

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.