Audi Quattro

This article refers to the car named the Audi Quattro. Audi's Quattro all wheel drive system is described on its own page.

Audi released the original Quattro in 1980, making it both the first car to feature Audi's Quattro All Wheel Drive system (hence its name) and the first to mate Quattro with a turbocharged engine. The powerplant was a 2.5 L, double overhead cam, 20-valve straight-5 originally making 200 hp (149 kW) and eventually upgraded to 220 hp (164 kW). It is considered one of the most significant rally cars of all time, and was one of the first to take advantage of the then-recently changed rules which allowed the use of all-wheel-drive in competition racing. Many critics doubted the viability of all-wheel-drive racers, thinking them to be too heavy and complex, yet the Quattro was an instant success, winning its first rally on its first outing. It won competition after competition for the next two years.

The Quattro is also famous for being a career highlight of one of the pre-eminent women in rally racing, Michèle Mouton.

In 2004, Sports Car International named this car number four on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1980s.