International Audi Sport Quattro Meeting – Report and Photos

Report and photos by Csaba Kiss

For a true car fan, seeing one Audi Sport Quattro is already a remarkable moment, not to mention of seeing no less than a dozen of the German manufacturer’s cult-model, at the same time and in the very same place. And this is exactly what happened on September 23, 2011 with the occasion of the 20th anniversary meeting of the International Sport Quattro Club in Gyor, Hungary.

The International Sport Quattro Club founded 20 years ago is the only Quattro-club in the world that enjoys official recognition from the German parent company, Audi. The good relationship was proved by the presence, besides the Hungarian, Austrian, German and Swiss Sport Quattro owners, of the specialists representing the Audi Tradition department.

The competition version of the Quattro was manufactured in no more than 214 units. After the company decided in 1983 that they would create the rally car dedicated to the B Group of the Rally World Championship on the platform of the Quattro, the engineers had just one year at their disposal to design and then manufacture at least 200 cars – as this was one of the main conditions for the homologation of a B Group rally car.

In order to obtain better cornering, the Quattro’s wheelbase was reduced with 320 mm (12.6 in). The vehicle also featured a body shell composed of carbon-kevlar and boasting wider arches, wider wheels and the steeper windscreen rake of the Audi 80 – requested by the Audi Sport rally team drivers to reduce internal reflections from the dashboard for improved visibility. The serial version type introduced at the end of 1983 featured an all-aluminium alloy, 2133 cc engine, capable of producing 306 PS (302 bhp). Given that for the rally version there weren’t any conditions imposed from the point of view of the turbo boost, the first race cars produced 450 PS (444 bhp), and the last ones, dated 1986, even 600 PS (592 bhp).

Due to lack of time, the road-going versions used were finished before the buyer could choose from one of the available colors: thus, there were 128 red, 48 white, 21 blue, 15 green and two black cars. A total of 175 Sport Quattros were sold by Audi, with 20 white cars immediately turned in to the sport department, where they were to later become world champion rally cars. The remaining copies were used as test cars.

The 2011 edition of the International Sport Quattro Meeting started with visiting the Audi factory in Gyor, and then it continued on the Rebaring race track. Besides the anniversary, the special occasion was also the first time when the two original black models could be seen next to each other at a reunion. While the price of a basic Sport Quattro is currently 150,000 euro, the original black cars are estimated at over 200,0000. Another attraction of the reunion was the special invited guest: Stig Blomqvist, who won a rally world championship title in 1984 at the wheel of a Audi Sport Quattro is still considered to be a hero by the fans of the type.

The International Audi Sport Quattro Club organizes reunions on a yearly basis, last year they met in Germany, next year they will meet in Holland. With its 33 active members, the Club is trying to follow the destiny of each and every Sport Quattro. In their database, there are about 120 copies, but probably, 90% of the 175 cars that were sold on the market still exist and are functioning or able to function.

International SportQuattro Club Meeting 2011 – Photo Gallery (click image for larger picture)

[Source: Csaba Kiss]