Audi Sport Quattro - the most expensive Audi of its time

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Audi Sport Quattro - the most expensive Audi of its time

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Created on December 18, 2014

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - not as loud as you might think

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - instead of the announced 1000 kg, the car finally weighed 1300 kg

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - exclusive and super-fast

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - not a hyper-nervous racing car, wrote the AR 1984

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - top-class and expensive technology for the homologation series

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - as expensive as a Ferrari, but also as dynamic

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - the most expensive Audi of its time

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - the homologation series looks quite civilized

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - there he goes ...

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - ... and disappears

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - less conspicuous in traffic than an Italian thoroughbred

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - 0 to 100 km/h in 5.1 seconds in the AR test

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - the short quattro was not designed to be fuel-efficient

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - 0-200 km/h in 23.1 s in the AR test

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - dispensed with huge spoilers

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - 134.5 cm high

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - does not want to hide its proximity to motorsport at all

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - the wheels were silver-colored ex works

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - 180.5 cm wide

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - the shortening does not help the elegance of the Audi Coupé

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - as the basis for Group B racing

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - wheelbase 220.5 cm

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - in a nutshell

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - only 416.5 cm long

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - the retrofitted steering wheel fits well

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - View of the interior, the steering wheel is not from the series

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - with retrofitted seats for more lateral support

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - sporty cockpit, close to series production

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - red area from 7200 rpm

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - standard fittings, centrally positioned boost pressure indicator

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - the boost pressure indicator is essential if you want to move forward quickly

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - speedometer up to 300 km/h, according to the factory it managed 250 km/h, in the test it was 248 km/h

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - real forward thrust only beyond 3000 rpm

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - five gears in the normal "H"

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - inside with large "S" for Sport, but small "q" for Quattro

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - 2133 cm3, 300 hp at 6800 rpm ex works

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - five cylinders in line, 20 valves

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - in race trim with at least twice the power

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - performance-enhanced variant

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - you have to guess the sound

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - two overhead camshafts

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - max boost pressure ex works 1.1 bar

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - with turbocharger from KKK

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - AMAG chassis number, the body came from baur

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - Tuning by nothelle

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - Aerodynamics were secondary, good ventilation of the engine compartment was the top priority

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - 9 J x 15 inch wheels

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - more air for the engine

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - Air outlets on the hood

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - Audi lettering on the flank

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - angular bodywork

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - hardly distinguishable from the normal quattro from this perspective

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - Door handles from the shelf

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - Pseudo air intakes in the rear fender

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - Ventilation at the rear

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - both lower case, "sport" and "quattro"

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - two exhaust pipes must suffice

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Audi Quattro (1980) - Original Quattro premiere at the 1980 Geneva Motor Show

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Audi quattro (1980) - early press photo in the snow

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Audi Quattro (1980) - too many Quattro owners probably didn't hang a boat on the sports car, but it was possible

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Audi Sport quattro (1983) - compared to the normal "long" quattro

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Audi Sport Quattro (1983) - the new 'short one' in July 1983 even before the official presentation on the then customary Audi "summer drive" - like all other Audi models, the Sport quattro also had to complete the test drives in Africa and Scandinavia

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Audi Quattro Sport - primarily intended for sports use and with a shortened plastic body - at the 1984 Geneva Motor Show

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Audi Quattro Sport (1983) - one of four Baur pre-series vehicles - was also used for the FIA car pass

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Audi Quattro Sport (1983) - one of four Baur pre-series vehicles - wider and shorter than the original Quattro

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Audi Quattro Sport (1983) - one of four Baur pre-series vehicles - only the pre-series vehicles had the full-length radiator scoops on the hood

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Audi Quattro Sport (1983) - one of four Baur pre-series vehicles - many cooling inlets

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Audi Quattro Sport (1983) - one of four Baur pre-series vehicles - widening at the rear

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Audi Quattro Sport (1983) - the interior and surfaces already point to the higher-quality Audi style of the years to come

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Audi Quattro Sport (1983) - one of four Baur pre-production vehicles - with minor differences in the interior to the later production vehicles

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Audi Quattro Sport (1983) - one of four Baur pre-production vehicles - Recaro bucket seats

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Audi Sport quattro (1983) - View of the chassis

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Audi Quattro Sport (1983) - the two overhead camshafts are driven by a timing belt

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Audi Quattro Sport (1983) - drawing of the engine

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Audi Sport quattro (1983) - Baur pre-production model still shows some differences to the "production vehicles"

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Audi Sport quattro (1983) - Hans Joachim Stuck at the wheel of one of the rare green Sport quattros

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Audi Sport Quattro S1 (1984) - at the Metz Rally

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Audi Sport Quattro S1 (1984) - at the Metz Rally

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Audi Sport Quattro (1984) - View into the engine compartment at the Tour de Corse in May 1984

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Audi Sport Quattro S1 - here Blomqvist and Cederberg - failed to win the 1985 Monte Carlo Rally

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Audi Sport Quattro S1 (1984) - in rally use

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Audi Sport Quattro E2 (1985) - freshly homologated and world premiere at the Olympus Rally (July 4 to 7, 1985) in the USA. Victory for Hannu Mikkola. As the Olympus was not part of the World Rally Championship that year, the appearance can only be regarded as a test and PR campaign

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Audi Sport Quattro E2 - The Group B rally car at the service point at the 1986 Monte Carlo Rally

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Audi Sport Quattro E2 - at the service point at the 1986 Monte Carlo Rally

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Audi Sport Quattro E2 - Walter Röhrl with co-driver Geistdörfer on Quattro Group B on a special stage of the 1986 Monte Carlo Rally

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - 4.3 kg per hp in standard trim, more like 3 kg per hp in the photographed version

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - more willing to corner than a normal quattro

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - unladen weight according to DIN standard 1300 kg

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Audi Sport quattro (1985) - only a few could follow him back then

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Walter Röhrl mastered Pikes Peak in 1987 with an average speed of 111 km/h

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Summary

Between 1984 and 1986, Audi built 214 Sport quattros, which were designed as the basis for rallying. While the cars sold relatively poorly at the time, prices have risen continuously since then, leaving every other Audi behind. This driving report explains how the short quattro feels behind the wheel.

This article contains the following chapters

Basis for rally sport
Swiss bodywork made of plastic
Lightweight racing engine
Better rally suitability thanks to short wheelbase
Really fast
And from the driver's perspective?
Rally successes below expectations

Estimated reading time: 6min

Preview (beginning of the article)

When Audi unveiled the Sport Quattro - then called the Quattro Sport - at the 1983 Frankfurt Motor Show, the world was astonished not only by its compact shape, but also by its high price. The short Quattro cost around ten times as much as the cheapest Audi or twice as much as the most expensive Mercedes of the time. For DM 195,000 (CHF 160,000 in Switzerland in 1985), you could almost buy two Porsche Turbo or, alternatively, a Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit. Today, however, it's the other way around, as a well-preserved Sport Quattro can fetch over half a million EUR/CHF. Today, you can easily get ten to fifteen Rolls-Royce limousines from the 1980s for that price. The purchase would have been worthwhile at the time, but only a few took up the offer, so Audi had to keep more than 60 of the 214 vehicles built.

Welcome to Zwischengas!

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