This car was by far one of the marvels of the 1980s, and that was due in no small part to the fact that it revolutionised rallying as we know it today through the use of a sophisticated all-wheel drive system and characteristic 2,1-litre turbocharged five-cylinder engine. It also changed the perceptions many people had of “4x4s”.
The Audi Quattro was also quite rare, because at the time CAR ran a road test of it in February 1982 there were only a reported four in South Africa at the time, and this particular model, CA 336-644, was a private car belonging to a Mr Rightford of VWSA’s advertising agency – who was kind enough to let CAR put it through its paces.
The blown 2 144 cm3 engine endowed the Quattro with enough shove (147 kW and 285 N.m of torque) to blast through the 100 km/h barrier in 8,3 seconds and, thanks to a rather short-ratio five-speed gearbox, a top speed on just over 200 km/h. But for out test team, what was most impressive was the way it could be used everyday considering that the all-wheel drive system was permanently in use. The Quattro was both nimble, and relatively efficient.
“Beyond argument, it has the distinction of being the fastest of the world’s production 4×4 models, and a brilliant achievement of Audi technology,” was what we said way back in ’82.
