Hannu Mikkola, alongside his usual partner Arne Hertz, drove this Audi 200 Quattro to victory in 1987’s 35th running of the Marlboro Safari Rally.
Two heroes and a heroine. What unites them? The Audi Quattro, rallying’s first four-wheel-drive, turbocharged car. Hannu and Stig each won a world drivers title with the German groundbreaker, and Michèle would have done the same if Walter Röhrl hadn’t got in her way. But she still beat 21 top male drivers—including no fewer than six ex-World Champions—to become the 1982 runner-up to Röhrl. And between them, the three made Audi the World Champion constructor in 1982 and 1984. Some record!
Their time driving the various comings of the trailblazing Quattro was magical, as if they had been groomed especially for that moment in their fast and furious lives. To Audi, the period was akin to that of their illustrious forbears, Auto Union, in terms of duration and success. The rear-engined Silver Arrows raced for five years in the ’30s and won 23 Grands Prix. The Quattros competed for the same amount of time in the ’80s and won 24 World Championship rallies.
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