The Sanremo Rally heads from the coast into
the foothills of the Alps and, back in the Group B era, was a mix of tarmac and
gravel stages. The roads are narrow and twisting, often shaded by trees, mostly
bordered by sheer drops, and weaving through the occasional clump of remote
houses - with all the inherent risks of errant goats, sheep and chickens which
that entails. Even on closed roads, these are daunting stages. In 1985, they
would have been daunting for another reason, for the Quattro was having a tough
year: Peugeot's 205 T16 and Lancia's 037 were pushing it hard, and reliability
problems and mistakes had cost the Audi team too many points in the rally
championship.
Goodwood
is narrow but not as narrow as a rally stage and in its day the Quattro would
have run an even higher boost with more anti-lag built in.
But boy does the Quattro look at home here,
however it might have seemed nearly 30 years ago. Andre trundles along up
ahead, as we get the full benefit of the spitting, coughing exhaust. And then
the road ahead clears and there's roar-whizz-chirrup roar whizz chirrup
roar-whizz- chirrup as the Quattro tears away, turbo and waste gate adding to
the soundtrack with each unfeasibly close change of gear.
It’s a breathtaking sight (and sound). This
is the last development of the original rally Quattro, a story that it’s easy
to forget was full of ups and downs. Sure, it was the lint rally car of its era
with both four-wheel drive and turbocharging, either one of which by itself
would have given the Quattro a distinct advantage over its rivals back in 1961.
But combined, they truly did allow the Quattro to change the face of rallying.
Peugeot's
205 T16 and Lancia's 037 were pushing it hard, and reliability problems and
mistakes had cost the Audi team too many points in the rally championship.
The Quattro was heavy, tough, and that
give-cylinder engine, hung over the front axle line in trademark Audi style,
made for a tricky under steering habit. The car evolved, and was homologated
into Group B for 1983, starting as the 350bhp, 1140kg Al, followed within
months by the marginally more powerful and lighter A2. Of course it wouldn't be
long before rivals caught up, as they always do, and many were significantly
less sturdy (and hence lighter) than the Quattro. The Lancia 037 was its
closest rival in '83, with the Peugeot 205 T16 joining the fray in '84 and the
Metro 6R4 and Ford RS200 following a year later; each one challenged the
Quattro's supremacy.
The Audi Sport team's response was the
Sport Quattro: shortened by 320mm, with a new aluminum-block 20-valve engine
rather than the previous 10-valver, giving 443bhp. Surely this would be a
world-beater?
Not quite. Despite the shorter wheelbase,
it weighed in at 1200kg and, with 58% of that over the front axle and a fixed
50:50 center differential split, handling was unpredictable, and the high power
difficult to harness, especially with peak torque a full 1000rpm higher up the
rev range compared with the 10-valve's - not good on a rally stage. Run
alongside the earlier, longer-wheelbase A2, it was clear the Sport wasn't
offering the advantage expected of it. One more stage of development was needed
to get it right, and this came with the July 1985 Sport Quattro SI E2, the car
you see here; a study in purposeful ugliness so purely functional that who
could find it anything but strangely beautiful?
The
Lancia 037 was its closest rival in '83, with the Peugeot 205 T16 joining the
fray in '84 and the Metro 6R4 and Ford RS200 following a year later; each one
challenged the Quattro's supremacy.
The Kevlar body work was exaggerated to the
point of caricature, developed in the wind tunnel to develop huge amounts of
down force - which just goes to show how extreme rallying had become. The
already boxy wings were stretched out some more, and huge front and rear
spoilers added, the rear adjustable for down force. Power (up to 476bhp) and
torque curves were revised, helped by a turbo anti- lag system (igniting fuel
in the exhaust to keep the turbo spinning, hence the 'bang-bang' on every gear
change in period), weight reduced to 1090kg and Torsen limited-slip
differentials used, for improved power distribution.
Most importantly of all, the Quattro was
re- engineered for better weight distribution. The radiator was moved to the
back of the car, joining the oil coolers, dry-sump oil system, fuel tank and
battery; and even the alternator moved rearwards, though this was as much in
order to improve reliability by placing it in a cooler, kinder environment. It
was driven by a feed from the power steering pump.
The result was a more acceptable 52% of
weight over the front axle, and subsequently a far easier, more predictable car
to handle. Results were still mixed, but the Quattro was no longer in danger of
being outclassed; in 1985 its performance was consistently strong, though
sometimes let down by poor reliability. It was in the E2 that Walter Röhrl and
Christian Geistdörfer won the '85 Sanremo Rally.
Most
importantly of all, the Quattro was re- engineered for better weight
distribution.
It would turn out to be the last ever rally
victory for the original rally Quattro. Just six months later, the RS200 of
Joaquim Santos was forced to swerve to avoid spectators on the Rallye de
Portugal, went out of control and ploughed into the crowd, killing three and
injuring 31. Two months on, Henri Toivonen and co-driver Sergio Cresto were
killed in their Lancia 037, and the phenomenal spectacle of Group B rallying
was over for good.
Now, the status of Group B is legendary,
and it's clear that Andre is genuinely touched to be here, in arguably the
greatest Group B rally car ever built. While the car is being checked over he's
filming the processes on his iPhone; later when we stop for food he shows us
the many Quattro videos he'd previously bookmarked ('I might be a nerd 1 search
YouTube for "S1 rally"!'); but most of all he wants to drive.
