Audi Quattro S1 - Childhood Revisited (Part 3)

He masters it quickly, flicking up and down through the gears, bringing it into boost at every opportunity to hear the chirp and chatter of the turbo system mix it with the off-beat exhaust note. It's a harsh environment in the SI, hot and noisy, every stone beating on the underside to cause a cacophony inside, severe vibration feeding through every surface - to a far greater extent than you might expect and the short-sharp power band requiring constant gear shifting. There's just a second or so between each change, up and down, Andre's feet dancing across the pedals.

After a while a pattern emerges to his driving. It goes something like this: serious face, checking gauges, harnesses, mirrors gentle pull away from the Audi personnel; acceleration through the gears, turbo spinning up; wide smile; blast through a few twisty sections and violent acceleration out; slightly manic laughter; slower now, time to turn and - woah! Beautifully controlled handbrake turn onto the edge of the ravine followed by an amused telling off from Thomas. Repeat until the next food break. (The in-car video is a must visit youtube.com/octane).

'The car comes alive,' exclaims Andre. 'With that short wheelbase, it feels very agile. And that sound! When the turbo kicks in it's really raw, and you feel really connected to the car. This car today is running a bit less boost [around 15% less]. Full boost must have been mind-blowing. Even now you go up the gears and it feels like you're going to rotate the planet! There seems no limit to the power.

There's just a second or so between each change, up and down, Andre's feet dancing across the pedals.

'It's amazing how easy it is to drive though It just gets away like a normal car. You have to warm up the brakes but that's it - remember, in-between stages they had to drive normally.

'The best bit is the sound of the engine. The five-cylinder is something unique. I grew up in a race and rally environment and they [RAS Sport] had a few Audis. I remember that five- cylinder sound; there's nothing like it.

'To be on the limit would have required such skills. I don't know if they knew what they were doing but what they did was good. If only I'd been at the level in the 1980s, with the crazy power of Group B and Group C. I like it when it's not so easy to extract power, to shift gear, to be at one with the car. The Quattro has such character; nowadays there's so much assistance, it numbs out the feel, but Group B really separated the men from the boys.'

Mechanic Alfons Beck remembers those days well. He started with Audi in 1978 but was soon taking his turn at national service as an army mechanic. Fifteen months later he was back at Audi, involved with the VW Iltis four-wheel-drive military vehicle - the basis of the Quattro. It made sense for Alfons to be drafted into the Quattro department, and then to Audi Sport, where's he's been ever since, through rallying, DTM and Le Mans.

'Rallying was very stressful for mechanics,' says Alfons. 'We would run against time, jumping in the lorry to the next service point. At midnight the cars would arrive and then there would be half an hour of serious stress. Then three hours to the next point, no sleep. We never went in the helicopter Roland Gumpert [team manager] crash-landed that three times.'

The Quattro has such character; nowadays there's so much assistance, it numbs out the feel, but Group B really separated the men from the boys.

Did the mechanics have favorite drivers? 'Some drivers were nervous; they'd drive off while mechanics were still working. But with Stig Blomqvist there were never problems. Every mechanic says Stig was the best.'

And what about the car itself? 'With the Quattro we started with a regular car for the road and just made it better and better, right through to the S1,' says Alfons. Now the material [in the SI here] has 30 years on it. There's so much alloy and magnesium - how long will it last? No-one knows. We have some spares but some will have to be re-made.'

Fellow mechanic Thomas Bauch agrees. Born in 1969, he grew up close to Audi's Ingolstadt factory. Now, having spent ten years with Audi Sport in DTM and Le Mans, he looks after the Auto Unions and Quattros of Audi Tradition.

'For me it is unbelievable to work on the SI. I saw it, I heard that five-cylinder engine when I was growing up, but I never thought it would be my job to work on it.'

Now, having spent ten years with Audi Sport in DTM and Le Mans, he looks after the Auto Unions and Quattros of Audi Tradition.

Thomas has been all over the world with the Quattro, but he and Andre are like schoolboys around it. Racing schedules, sponsor duties and training are forgotten as they turn the Quattro round once more, nod soberly at their colleagues, then floor it, laughing wildly as the turbo cuts in, Andre grabbing another gear as Thomas is pushed back in his seat.

Will there ever be another rally car this wild? Probably not.