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It's four decades since Audi began its quest to make all-wheel drive mainstream.
Exactly 40 years ago a phenomenon began. It would become known as quattro and it would go on to change the face of rallying, high-performance road cars and Audi’s image. Here we look at 40 years of quattro technology and how it changed the automotive landscape forever, and how Audi has delivered over 10 million quattro cars to date.
This is how it happened:
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The germ of an idea
The quattro story begins in the winter of 1976, when Audi chassis engineer Jörg Bensinger witnessed a Volkswagen Iltis outperform much more powerful front-wheel drive Audis on snow and ice. The Iltis was a clunky-looking four-wheel drive Jeep-type vehicle developed for the military, and when it left those Audis behind, it planted a seed in Bensinger’s mind.
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First of a new breed
What Bensinger (pictured) wanted to do was create a new type of performance car. Power (and lots of it) would come from a turbocharged five-cylinder engine.
The four-wheel drive transmission would be lighter and more efficient than anything seen before. But persuading Audi’s management that such a car could be a success wasn’t easy, so an 80 saloon was built with an Iltis transmission to prove what was possible.
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The die is cast
In January 1978 the 80-based prototype (like the one pictured) was driven by Porsche family scion and quattro project champion Ferdinand Piëch in front of Audi’s top brass who witnessed what the car could do on Austria’s snow-covered hills.
They couldn’t believe what they saw; even on summer tyres the car had no problem getting up the hills. The production go ahead was given there and then.
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What's in a name?
Audi had to come up with something catchy for its new four-wheel drive transmission. One of the engineers responsible for the new drivetrain's development was Walter Treser and inspired by Jeep's Quadra-Trac system he suggested Quattro, the Italian word for 'four'.
Other names thrown into the ring included Quadro and Carat, the latter being an acronym for Coupé-All-Rad-Antrieb-Turbo.
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Clever tech
Quattro was designed for road use, not off-roading, so it needed to be much slicker than what buyers were used to. There could be no separate transfer box; instead everything had to be housed within the main gearbox casing. The secret was to run a driveshaft through a hollow gearset to take drive to the front differential as well as to the back wheels.
A manually operated lockable centre diff was incorporated too.
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Quattro makes its debut
It would be another two years before the Quattro was unveiled – it made its debut at the 1980 Geneva motor show. Soon after, the first cars were delivered and the Quattro went on to set the rally world alight with its performance and durability, the car staying in production for more than a decade.
As such it was in production for longer than any other model in Audi's history.
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A range of quattros
Audi seized on the Quattro's publicity potential and decided that as many of its more mainstream models as possible should enjoy some of the high-performance car's gloss. By 1982 Audi had introduced its first production road cars with a quattro drivetrain (to be clear: Quattro was the original turbocharged coupé, quattro was the four-wheel drive technology), to sell alongside the 200bhp turbocharged UR Quattro.
Buyers could soon choose between five different models: Coupé, 80, 90, 100 (pictured) and 200.
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Torsen arrives
No, it's not a new engineer on the team: Torsen is short for TORque-SENsing and it refers to the new centre differential that's fitted from 1987, kicking off with the 90 quattro and the new 90-based Coupé. The Torsen diff can send up to 80% of the available torque to the axle with the most grip, which theoretically can lead to axle tramp, but in reality it's not a problem.
Just to be sure, the fitment of electronic diff locks front and rear from 1998 eliminate this effect altogether.
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quattro goes racing
While the Quattro in its various forms tended to hog the limelight with its huge number of rally wins, Audi competed in numerous other race series to great effect. Things kicked off in 1988 with Audi signing up for a year in the American TransAm race series, in which it campaigned several 200 quattros, each powered by a 510bhp turbocharged five-cylinder engine as seen in the UR Quattro.
American driver Hurley Haywood scooped the drivers' title, and with Audi scooping the chequered flag eight times it took the manufacturers' title too.
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quattro goes luxury
The BMW 7 Series and Mercedes S-Class were both well established by the time Audi chose to enter the luxury saloon arena with its V8 in 1988.
Powered by a 250bhp 3.6-litre engine (later increased to 280bhp and 4.2 litres), the V8 came with permanent all-wheel drive and an automatic gearbox as standard, along with a pair of diff locks.
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quattro in IMSA GTO
For 1989 Audi switched to the IMSA GTO race series, using carbonfibre saloons with the basic silhouette of a 90. This time the turbocharged five-pot engine put out 720bhp, and with the car taking seven wins in 13 races Hans-Joachim Stuck claimed the drivers' title, with Audi placing second in the manufacturers' rankings.
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quattro goes hybrid
Exactly a decade after the UR Quattro made its debut at Geneva, Audi unveiled a hybrid 100 Avant called the Duo. Based on a five-cylinder 2.2-litre 100 Avant quattro, a DC electric motor was installed to drive the rear wheels for emissions-free driving.
There was a big catch though; the car had to be stopped to switch between forms of propulsion.
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quattro in the DTM
If ever there was an unlikely candidate for competing in the German Touring Car Championship (the DTM), it was this – the V8 saloon. Predecessor to the aluminium-bodied A8, the steel-bodied V8 featured a 462bhp 3.6-litre V8 engine and began its racing career in 1990.
Hans-Joachim Stuck took the drivers' title in 1990 in his V8, then Frank Biela pipped him to the post in his V8 in 1991. Audi withdrew in 1992 over a technical dispute.
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The sporting mainstream
In 1991 Audi had introduced a sporting version of its 100 called the S4 (pictured), with a five-cylinder turbocharged 2226cc engine. Fitted with quattro as standard, when the 100 gave way to the A6 in 1994 this sporting saloon (and later Avant) became the S6.
The standard engine was a five-pot unit but buyers could choose a 4.2-litre naturally aspirated V8 if they preferred. In June 1996 an S6 Plus run-out model was offered with the V8 as standard.
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Along came a Spyder
The Quattro was dead, long live the quattro. Except the Audi quattro Spyder wasn't a car that was ever destined for production as it was just a testbed for ideas – a true dream car first shown in September 1991.
With its mid-mounted V6 petrol engine and swoopy lines the car proved a massive hit, and dealers were besieged with requests to buy one. But Audi couldn't make the quattro Spyder for less than its 100,000 Deutschmark target price, so the project was axed.
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Audi Avus quattro
The quattro Spyder wowed showgoers at the 1991 Frankfurt motor show; just a month later at the Tokyo motor show the Avus quattro was rolled out. Taking its name from a long-defunct racing circuit, the Avus quattro featured aluminium bodywork just like the Spyder, but this time it was polished to perfection for maximum visual effect.
Inspired by the Auto Union racers of the 1930s, the Avus quattro was powered by a mid-mounted 6.0-litre W12 engine.
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A fresh take on the Quattro
The last UR Quattro was built in 1991, but before it rolled off the production line Audi had already introduced its successor – the S2 coupé. Now largely forgotten, the S2 was in production until 1994 and was the first car in Audi's S series, powered by the same five-cylinder 2226cc turbocharged engine as in the UR Quattro, tuned to give up to 227bhp.
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The forgotten S2s
In 1993 Audi launched saloon and estate versions of the S2, which were mechanically the same as the coupé. If the latter is forgotten, the more family-focused saloon and estate are positively invisible – when was the last time you saw one of either?
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RS: a new type of supercar
While Audi's first S models might be largely forgotten, its first RS is anything but. Launched in 1993 and built for barely more than a year only in Avant estate form, the RS2 has gained cult status, with its 315bhp five-cylinder engine.
Produced in conjunction with Porsche, the 2226cc RS2 could get from a standstill to 62mph in under five seconds on its way to a top speed of 163mph. Based on the Audi 80 Avant, 2881 examples of the RS2 were made.
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quattro goes diesel
Audi introduced its first diesel-engined car in 1978 in the form of the 100 5D, then in 1989 it introduced its game-changing TDi powerplant (Turbocharged Diesel with Direct Fuel Injection).
Finally, in 1995, the first ever diesel-engined Audi was offered with a four-wheel drive transmission: the A4 TDi. From here on just about every one of Audi's models would be offered with quattro apart from its smallest, the A2 and later the A1.
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A smaller Touring Car
After the V8 debacle, in 1996 Audi returned to Touring Car racing with a 300bhp 2.0-litre four-cylinder A4 quattro. The car was entered in seven national championships (Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Belgium, South Africa, Australia) and won them all.
Another decisive victory for quattro technology.
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The TT goes on sale
When Audi launched the original TT in 1998 it was a unique proposition: a practical sporty coupé or roadster with the security of four-wheel drive. As such it wasn't the sharpest car to drive, but it offered year-round usability and with its distinctive looks Audi once again had a smash hit on its hands.
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Say hi to Haldex
The TT ushered in a new era for quattro, with the introduction of a Haldex clutch for transversely engined cars. This was an electronically controlled multi-plate clutch that allowed up to 100% of the available torque to be sent to the axle with the most grip, although the usual split in normal driving was 85:15%.
In less than 20 years quattro had come a long way in terms of the sophistication of its technology.
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S3: a red hot hatch
Audi had launched the first truly commercially successful premium small car in 1996, with the A3. Two years later came the A3-based TT, then in 1999 the two models were morphed together to come up with the S3. This featured the 206bhp (later 215bhp) turbocharged 1.8-litre engine and quattro transmission of the TT to devastating effect.
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The RS brand gathers pace
The RS2 had proved such a hit for Audi that it came up with an encore in 1997 in the form of the S4. This time there were both saloon and estate editions, both powered by a 265bhp twin-turbo 2.7-litre V6.
But all of this was merely a prelude to the RS4 Avant of 1999, which was rather more serious with its 380bhp twin-turbo V6, developed in conjunction with Cosworth.
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The Rosemeyer concept
Taking its inspiration from the pre-war Auto Union racers driven by racing legend Bernd Rosemeyer, this mid-engined supercar concept was fitted with an 8.0-litre W16 engine that drove all four wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox. An evolution of that powertrain would go on to power the Bugatti Veyron.
But one Veyron in the family was enough and the Rosemeyer progressed no further than a highly polished aluminium-bodied concept.
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Allroads lead to quattro
In 1997 the Audi 100 range had given way to the first-generation A6 in both saloon and Avant forms. But Audi didn't stop there, because in March 2000 it came up with a new take on the formula: a luxury soft-roader estate with a raised ride height courtesy of air suspension, standard quattro and powerful engines for effortless cruising.
Called the Audi A6 allroad, the premium load-lugger would become the car of choice for Audi's wealthiest customers, including Prince Charles.
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The Steppenwolf concept
Audi couldn't make the TT quick enough, such was the demand. And with SUVs already becoming hot property at the turn of the new millennium, Audi reckoned mating a TT with an SUV was the way forward – the result being its Steppenwolf concept with a quattro drivetrain.
Merging the SUV, sports car and coupé segments the Steppenwolf was considered for production – but it went nowhere.
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Avantissimo: a luxury estate
No mass car maker has ever offered a luxury estate. We've had luxurious estates aplenty and the segment below (executive) has rustled up no shortage of contenders over the years, but the largest saloons have never been offered in estate form.
Audi looked at changing that with its Avantissimo which was effectively an A8 4.2 V8 quattro estate, but the market was too small as potential buyers of such cars were already choosing full-size SUVs instead.
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All hail the RS6
If the RS4 had seemed monstrous it was nothing compared with the RS6 that appeared in 2002. Available in saloon and estate guises, the RS6 packed a twin-turbo 4.2-litre V8 that initially generated 444bhp, but by the time the run-out RS6 Plus had gone on sale, this figure had jumped to 473bhp.
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Audi's first SUV
SUVs started to become really popular in the 1990s, and by the turn of the new millennium the segment had really gained momentum thanks to the arrival of heavy hitters such as the BMW X5 and Porsche Cayenne.
Audi was a bit late to the party with its first SUV, but when the Q7 did arrive in 2005 it went down a storm – and Audi's quattro technology provided the perfect drivetrain for this full-sized SUV.
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Torsen evolves
In 2005, for the TT Mk2, Audi installed a planetary-type Torsen differential that allowed for a greater variability of front-rear torque splits. With electronic lock still fitted to the front and rear axles, the standard torque split on all longitudinally engined quattro-equipped Audis was now set at 40:60 front/rear for sportier handling.
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Audi's first supercar
No segment was out of bounds for Audi in the Noughties. We'd had a sports car (TT) and SUV, and in 2006 came the company's first full-fat supercar, the R8.
While some enthusiasts reckon anything other than rear-wheel drive is just plain wrong for a high-performance car, the fitment of quattro as standard to the R8 brought extra usability to the point that this V8- or V10-powered coupé or spyder was as easy to drive as a supermini.
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quattro gets Active
Audi's key rivals BMW and Mercedes focused on rear-wheel drive halo models (M and AMG respectively), and as a result those alternatives were almost always more fun to drive (if not necessarily safer in inexperienced hands) in extremis.
As a result Audi was always tinkering with quattro to make it more fun, and in 2008 came the Active Sport differential for the S4. This featured a clutch pack on each driveshaft to vary the torque sent to each outside rear wheel to promote oversteer.
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Refining quattro even further
The introduction of the RS5 in 2011 brought the next stage in the evolution of quattro: the fitment of a crown gear centre differential that could split the torque anywhere between 70% to the front and 80% to the rear.
The technology was called Evolvere and in normal driving conditions it sent 40% of the torque to the front axle and 60% to the rear. As with the original Torsen system it didn't need any electronics to work, but when combined with the application of the brakes on individual wheels the system could vector torque between each corner.
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Five millionth quattro (2013)
In spring 2013 Audi built its five-millionth car equipped with quattro – an A6 Allroad 3.0 TDi. By this point the company had more than 140 different quattro derivatives within its model range and 43% of its customers opted for an Audi with four-wheel drive.
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More efficiency gains
The introduction of the S1 (pictured) and third-generation TT in 2014 brought further refinements to the quattro drivetrain. These transversely engined compact cars required compact technologies that were also efficient, and the fitment of an electronically controlled multi-plate clutch was the solution.
This allowed the torque to be sent to the axle most able to deploy it, within milliseconds of any slip being detected.
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Welcome to Ultra
In 2016 Audi launched the latest iteration of quattro, which now incorporated Ultra technology. Fitted to the second-generation Q5 (pictured), the new design was more efficient than ever thanks to the fitment of sensors galore.
These allowed the transmission to run in front-wheel drive mode for much of the time, with the rear wheels being driven only in the event of a loss of grip being sensed.
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Eight million and counting
By early 2017 Audi had built its eight-millionth car equipped with quattro – a Q5 Mk2 2.0 TFSI (pictured). The company still offered more than 100 different quattro-equipped derivatives of its various models, with 44 per cent of its customers around the globe opting for a car with four-wheel drive capabilities.
Yet somehow, despite all-wheel drive being the norm for many Audi buyers, few other car makers have managed to normalise such technology.
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quattro goes electric
When you've got vast amounts of torque at your disposal you need to be able to deploy it safely – such as with a four-wheel drive transmission. So when Audi introduced its first production electric car, the e-tron SUV in 2018, it naturally came with quattro as standard. However, this all-new generation of electric drive meant the e-tron's transmission was like no quattro that had ever come before; the torque to each axle was controlled electronically, with the driver able to choose between seven pre-set dynamic profiles.
The move into electric is sign of the times, and also that Audi is not turning its back on the technology that helped differentiate it for so long. As of the end of 2019, 10.5 million quattro-equipped Audis have been produced – including 804,224 examples in 2019 alone, when they made up 45% of all Audis built.
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