Description
This is lot number 162 in the Bonhams Goodwood Revival Auction on September 7th, please see the Bonhams website for full details.
Two UK owners
Present ownership since 1994
Full service history
Recently serviced (including cam-belt) and ready to go
One of the most influential designs of recent decades, the Audi Quattro brought four-wheel drive into the motoring mainstream. Introduced in 1980, the Quattro was based on the outwardly similar Coupé's practical and stylish three-door 'fast hatch-back' bodyshell but used a different floorpan to accommodate its four-wheel-drive transmission and independent rear suspension. The engine was a development of the 2. 1-litre, five-cylinder unit first seen in the 200 saloon, equipped with a KKK turbocharger and producing 200bhp in road trim, considerably more being available in race tune. The motivation behind Audi's marriage of a Volkswagen military vehicle's four-wheel-drive system to its new high-performance Coupé had been desire for success in international Group B rallying. In the latter role the Quattro excelled, winning the Manufacturer's Championship for Audi in 1982 and 1984 and the Driver's Championship in 1983 and '84 (with Hannu Mikkola and Stig Blomqvist respectively), but its enduring legacy would be the demonstration of four-wheel drive's advantages for passenger cars.
Having achieved significant successes with the original Quattro, Audi developed a more specialised rally car in the form of the Sport Quattro 'homologation special'. Weight saving had been one of the engineers' main aims in developing the Sport, which featured a turbocharged alloy-block engine of 2, 133cc boasting a new double-overhead-camshaft 20-valve cylinder head. Maximum power went up to 306bhp. This new power plant went into a short-wheelbase chassis, while further weight savings were gained by using Kevlar for the wings, roof and front apron. ABS brakes made their appearance on a Quattro for the first time. With over 300 horsepower on tap in road trim, the Sport Quattro possessed supercar performance, boasting a 160mph top speed and 0-60mph time of only 4. 8 seconds - truly outstanding figures even by today's standards. According to Eric Dymock's The Audi File: "214 were built; 164 were sold to customers, and 20 were used as competition cars by the Motorsport Department. The remainder were experimental and retained by the factory."
The current vendor purchased this Sport Quattro in 1993 from Duncan Hamilton; the previous owner was Simon Draper, who had purchased the car from Audi in 1986. It should be noted that the V5 registration document states that the car was 'previously registered and/ or used overseas prior to first registration in Great Britain'. The Audi was 'declared manufactured 1985' and first registered in the UK on 11th April 1986.
'B772 PLU' has had two UK owners including our vendor. During his ownership the Quattro has covered around 12, 000 totally trouble-free kilometres. He advises us that the car remains totally standard and as it left the factory, including a full set of factory harness seat belts and a set of original factory-specification Michelin tyres. During his ownership the car has always been stored in a heated garage; to the best of his knowledge the paintwork has never required any attention and is all original. The Quattro comes with a fully stamped service book detailing all services carried out from 1985 up to the most resent major service by QST on 13th August 2024 at 65, 786 kilometres, which included a cam-belt change. The car needs for nothing and is ready to go. Fire up the Quattro!
