7/30/2019 Sport quattro S1

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The Audi Sport quattro S1

The short quattro is a legend in the history of

rallying.

Rally racing ascended to new heights in the 1984 season. The

competitors exploited the very liberal regulations at that time

in Group B to enter mid-engine cars that were pure race carswith only a visual resemblance to production models. Audi also

considered a similar concept. A prototype was developed but

then put back on ice.

Audis new weapon was the Sport quattro with a wheelbase

o just 2,224 millimeters (87.56 in) an attempt to make the

near-series ront-engine concept lighter and more maneuverable

by shortening it drastically by 300 millimeters (11.81 in). The

short quattro raced rom May in parallel with the Rally quattro

A2, but took time to build up some momentum. Blomqvist had to

wait until the penultimate race in the Ivory Coast or the rst win.

Audi needed to turn up the heat.

July 1, 1985 was the date o the homologation o the nal stage

in its evolution, the S1. The aluminum ve-cylinder engine with

20 valves ocially developed 350 kW (476 hp) and 480 Nm

(354.03 lb-t) o torque; with a charge-air circulation system that

kept the turbo engine constantly under boost, the actual gure

was probably in excess o 370 kW (over 500 hp), at around 8,000

rpm. In the middle ratio the 1,090 kilogram (2,403.04 lb) S1

shot rom 0 to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in 3.1 seconds, and to

200 km/h (124.27 mph) in 11.8 seconds.

There were various diferential locks to choose rom or the

quattro powertrain multi-plate, Torsen and conventional. In the

last race o the season, the British RAC Rally, Walter Rhrl used

a dual-clutch transmission that was actuated pneumatically a

precursor o todays S tronic. The chassis comprised a tubular

space rame paneled with sheet steel and plastic; to optimize the

weight distribution the radiator, an, battery and alternator were

at the rear. Large wings generated downorce on ast sections o

the course.

Walter Rhrl meticulously dialed in the S1 over a period o weeks

in Liguria. At the San Remo Rally in October, he won 29 o the

45 stages and crossed the nish line as the winner with a lead o

6:29 minutes. The powder keg days o Group B were already num-

bered, however. The nal blow came in spring 1986 when several

spectators and participants were killed in accidents in World

Championship races in Portugal and Corsica. Audi withdrew rom

the series, and FISA, the world governing body, approved the

changeover to the near-series Group A rules. A new mid-engine

car rom Ingolstadt was never raced.

Source: DVD quattro Highlights 2010 | Status: 03/2010

quattroHighlights

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