Four generations of Audi’s most iconic RS Quattro models gather as Wilhelm Lutjeharms delves into a rich history of innovation and motorsport supremacy.
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They’re arguably some of the most exciting scenes ever seen in the world of motorsports; legendary racers such as Walter Röhrl, Stig Blomqvist, Hannu Mikkola driving the Audi Quattro flat out in World Rally Championship events in the early Eighties. Huge drift angles and wheels spinning at all four corners, while the aerodynamics – from formidable ventwork cooling the powerplant to a large front spoiler and massive bi-plane rear wing – fight to keep the car on the gravel.
As is often the case in racing, the highlights in terms of the car’s performance and subsequent achievements are often the product of a change in the regulations, or a team finding a loophole therein. At the time, the engineers at Audi decided to make use of a rule change that allowed for the use of four-wheel drive in racing. Although the first Audi Quattro was unveiled at the 1980 Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland, it was Audi’s chassis engineer Jörg Bensinger who came up with the idea of a high-performance four-wheel-drive car back in 1977.
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The successful racing results that followed have been well documented. From 1982 to 1984 either the drivers’ or manufacturers’ championships were won by Audi, or both as was the case in 1984. There are also benefits for normal enthusiasts, as racing always helps to give us mere mortals access to levels of performance that have been developed in these various racing cars.
On this pleasant morning in the Western Cape town of Hout Bay, it is the very rare eighties Audi Quattro GT Coupé that initially draws your attention. This was the first production car to feature a front-engined turbocharged, four-wheel-drive system. The boxy wheel arches are without a doubt its most notable exterior design element; penned by acclaimed British automotive designer, Martin Smith, who’d previously overseen the development of the Porsche 911 RSR. The small wing on the rear complements the equally modest front spoiler – all helping to bring balance to the car. The 2.1-litre five-cylinder 10-valve engine is claimed to develop 147 kW and a healthy 285 N.m. In a road test published in the February 1982 issue of CAR magazine, it achieved a very respectable 0-100 km/h sprint time of 8.3 seconds.
Group B era of the early Eighties was without a doubt the most exciting in modern-day rallying. With each successive year, Audi was able to up the power on its Quattro rally car, and it all came to a climax in 1986 when the final factory Sport Quattro cars was said to have developed no less than 441 kW! That same year Bobby Unser would participate at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, winning it outright, only for Walter Röhrl to return the next year and take more than 20 seconds of the previous year’s time.
This all contributes to these racing cars as well as the first-generation road cars being much lovingly referred to as the “Ur-Quattro”, making use of the German prefix for “original”. In the early Nineties Audi released the S2 Coupé. However, it was during a short production run from 1994 to 1995 that we witnessed the genesis of a series of high-performance estates that’s currently synonymous with Audi, the original RS2 Avant. Equipped with a 2.2-litre, five-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, it developed 232 kW and 410 N.m. But this wasn’t the only feature that made the RS2 impressive. As a joint venture between Porsche and Audi, the RS2’s assembly took place at Porsche’s factory in Zuffenhausen, reportedly in the space where Porsche assembled the Mercedes-Benz 500E, which had become available at the time.
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This engine was based on the five-cylinder that Audi already manufactured, but Porsche then improved it even further. The turbos were swapped for larger units and a larger intercooler was installed. Furthermore, better fuel injectors were implemented and a new camshaft was developed in-house. Externally, a better induction system was used and an exhaust with improved flow was installed. Controlling the engine was a new Bosch ECU unit. It has been clear that Porsche’s involvement had over the years contributed to the legendary status of the RS2.
Next in the line was the first RS4 Avant, referred to as the B5. Again, Audi stayed true to its heritage and this RS wagon was fitted with a turbocharged engine, but the capacity was increased to 2.7-litres and an additional cylinder was added, resulting in a bi-turbo V6 engine. One source claims that 6 030 of these cars were produced between 1999 and 2001. This Avant was never officially imported into South Africa, but in 2006 South Africans would get ready for the B7 which arrived in sedan, convertible and estate derivatives.
Gone was the turbocharged engine in this RS, and in its place was a high-revving 4.2-litre V8 engine with a redline of 8 000 r/min and a rev limit at 8 250 r/min. The result was 309 kW and 430 N.m. The performance on offer was impressive and at CAR we were able to clock a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of 4.65 seconds during testing. What remained though were the wider wheel arches, a manual transmission, the practicality of a wagon body, a pliant ride quality and the levels of luxury, safety, comfort, and technology we’ve come to expect from high-end Audis. For the first time, the straightforward rectangular headlamp design was replaced by units that flow with the grille, the latter now stretches all the way to the bottom of the bumper.
The B7 was also equipped with Audi’s latest Quattro four-wheel drive system. This Torsen centre differential ran a permanent all-wheel drive setup with a 40:60 front:rear torque split under everyday driving conditions. The B7 was an important model in the heritage lineup. Not only because it was the first and the last time that an estate, sedan and convertible were offered in the range (10 000 B7s in total are said to have been produced), but with the rise of sophisticated automatic (and dual-clutch) transmissions, it would also be the last time a manual transmission (from Getrag) was offered in the RS4.
It won’t come as surprise that the RS4 won the World Performance Car category of the Word Car of the Year in 2007. In many ways, this B7 RS4 (as well as its RS6 Avant siblings) were widely considered to have set the bar for practical performance cars for the next two decades. The B8 Audi RS4 Avant that arrived in 2012 presented a new car to buyers, but thankfully that high-revving engine was carried over. Presented here in White, the next generation RS (B9) saw Audi introducing the RS4 fitted with an engine that harks back to that of the very first Quattro, although turbocharging has also become one of the main performance enhancement elements from German manufacturers since the early 2010s.
Although smaller in capacity, the bi-turbo, 2.9-litre TFSI V6 delivered the same 331 kW as its RS predecessor. In typical turbo fashion, torque outputs expectedly climbed to an impressive 600 N.m, available from 5 700 r/min. This RS also stayed true to the concept of the original. The smoothed-out extended wheel arches were still there, the latest technology, sports seats, full-time all-wheel drive, and a level of practically some SUVs can only dream of.
For the most part South Africans don’t love estates and prefer SUVs. There are some valid reasons for this. But in terms of style and comfort blended with all-round performance, there is really nothing capable of holding a candle to an RS Avant with Audi’s Quattro all-wheel drive system.
Find the full article in the May 2024 issue of CAR Magazine.
