Pay Your Homage to Lord Audi Quattro, A Rally Car That Won the Heart of Millions

Those who are following motorsports for a long time now, or a newbie interested in the field, and grasping all rally sports, have to be aware of the famous Quattro, a rally legend that not only won 4 rally championships in five years but also embarked a permanent place in the hearts of auto enthusiasts. Coming with shivering acceleration, frightening speed, and a soothing sound (maybe loud for some), the Quattro was just a devil under the frame.

Something About the Intimidating Rallies

Literally acclaimed as the God of the 1980s Group B Rally racing, the Quattro S1 is built on the platform of Audi 80, a compact executive sedan that was in production from 1966 to 1996. But before heading towards God, let's get some knowledge on the rallies organized by FIA a.k.a the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, set up in 1904. Since its inception, FIA has organized several rallies such as Group N, Group 1, Group 2, Group A, Group B, Group C, etc. Now, these names are quite significant in rally history due to the different significances associated with the rallies. For example, Group 2 was for heavily modified cars, while Group N was booked for standard touring cars. Similarly, other groups carry some significance.

Introduced in 1982, Group A was slotted for modified touring cars but with a catch. Only cars with 2WD configuration could compete in the rally. Machines like Ford Escort, Sierra RS Cosworth, Lancia Delta Integrale, Toyota Celica GT-Tour, Mitsubishi Lancer, and Subaru Impreza WRX used to compete in Group A.

Then comes Group B. The most dangerous motorsport in the history of FIA was freaking savage and the World Rally Championship board banned the race in the late 90s due to innumerable deaths, accidents, injuries, and of course lack of safety. In fact, not only the drivers and co-drivers lost their lives in the Group B rally, even fans were killed or injured while enjoying the rally.

Why was Group B So Fatal?

Well, there are multiple reasons for the rally being so savage, wild, dangerous, and fatal. Just check the core theme of the Group B rally. It clearly said “modified touring cars”. And when these modified touring cars would take part in the national rally, by no means, won’t be normally modified.

Extreme Power and Lightweight Construction

Coming with extravagant amounts of power, often exceeding 500 horsepower, the rally cars, although solidly built due to fewer technologies, often faced some fatal crashes. There’s a whole Wikipedia page dedicated to only the fatal crashes that happened in Group B. Very few cars were able to digest that much power. With a cherry on top, most of the cars were configured with lightweight construction to fly over the roads, which is also one of the prime reasons.

Minimal Regulations and Lack of Safety

During the 80s, FIA was not that concerned over the safety measurements that have to be mechanized with the car. The FIA imposed fewer restrictions on the design and construction of Group B as these cars were meant to be modified. With that comes fierce competition among the manufacturers which led to pushing boundaries of overall built, technology, resulting in cars that were incredibly fast but highly challenging to control.

Spectators and Challenging Tracks

FIA designed the tracks in such a way that were heavily challenging, especially the narrow turns, without any precautions. Featuring multiple corners, the race became extremely dangerous to drive especially under uncertain weather conditions. And as you know, and experience yourselves, anything dangerous that is legally approved attracts huge attention. The Group B rally, although highly insane, was incredibly fascinating to experience in person, thus pulling a huge number of spectators. However, the crowd was not the problem. But there was no proper instruction for the crowds to where to stand, and where not, which subsequently resulted in the deaths of some fans.

The fatal accidents that occurred during the Group B era, including those of Henri Toivonen and Sergio Cresto at the 1986 Tour de Corse and Joaquim Santos at the 1986 Portugal Rally, among others, led to a reevaluation of the regulations. In 1987, the FIA made the decision to discontinue the Group B category due to safety concerns, replacing it with the more regulated Group A category.

Quattro’s Journey to be the Lord of the Group B

From the above chapter, now you are aware of the insanity of Group B. Conquering such kinds of races was never child’s play, and even tougher for professional drivers, who are in the game for a long time. Out of so many competitors, only a few got the taste of success.

To take part in Group B, there were certain rules, out of which, what was the most intriguing were the all-wheel-drive configuration and certain engine requirements. The 1982 Quattro A1 featured everything. Coming with a curb weight of 3040 lbs, and built on the platform of Audi 80, mated to a turbo 2.1L Inline-5 SOHC and a 5-speed manual, the Quattro A1 boasted around 350 horsepower. The engine was placed longitudinally ahead of the front axle, delivering the output in a 50/50 ratio to both the front and rear axle, thus equipping all four wheels with a considerable amount of power. Built solidly, the A1 was capable of sprinting to 60 in a mere 5.4 seconds with a top speed of 140 mph, on straight fine roads.

Legacy of Quattro A1

The Quattro A1 showed the world its potential since its inception in 1981. With the legendary driver, Hannu Mikkola in the driving seat, the A1 experienced its first rally at the 31st International Swedish Rally. Another legend, Michelle Mouton won the Rallye Sanremo with the Quattro, and then Ari Vatanen became the first female driver to win the WRC with this compact powerhouse. Pocketing all these trophies, the Quattro A1 set its feet in Group B and beat Opel in jaw-dropping action to win the Manufacturers' Championship, although Walter Rohrl who drove the Opel Ascona 400 claimed the driver’s title.

The Audi Quattro A1 was the only car in the 1982 Group B to have an all-wheel drive configuration.

Audi A2 in the Focus

Post the success of the A1, in 1983 too, Audi eyed for the championship with the A2, but could not succeed due to the underdog called Lancia 037 Stradale with rear-wheel drive configuration. The A2 rally car weighed 2116 pounds, and packed a 2.1L straight-5, making 360 hp and 332 lb-ft of torque under the hood. However, A2 won total 8 rallies, of which three were in 1983, and five in 1984.

Finally, the Dawn Began

After losing the game to Lancia, this time Audi gritted its teeth and launched the Sport Quattro S1 in 1984. And just like the grandfather, the Quattro S2 too started burning the track down since its debut. In the first two rounds, Audi pridefully took the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd positions, and out of the 12 rally events won 7 titles, throwing Lancia out of the ring. However, in 1985, the Quattro S1 could not stand against the unstoppable Peugeot. In 1986 too, Audi met with the same fate.

The S1 comprised a carbon-kevlar body shell, coupled with the same engine but a higher output of 440 horsepower, wider 200-section tires, a 320mm shorter wheelbase, and a steeper windscreen rake, for better dynamics and handling. Coming with a top speed of 150 mph, the S1 Quattro clocked 60 in as low as 3.1 seconds.

The crowd might experience another shot of the S1 in Group B, but the death of Henri Toivonen and Sergio Cresto at the 1986 Tour de Corse and Joaquim Santos at the 1986 Portugal Rally, locked the Group B rally forever.

However, the story does not end here. The charisma of the S1 truly shined with the consecutive wins in 1987, 1988, and 1989 by Walter Röhl, Mouton, and Bobby Unser, along with a world record time set by Michele Mouton in The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The Quattro even won the Safari Rally, which is nearly as gruesome as Group B.

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