Audi Sport Quattro (Gr.B)

Short and sweet – the Sport Quattro

The Audi rallye Sport Quattro holds much alike the rallye Quattro A2 technically, but it did see some changes due evolving in the new chassis format to tackle hairpins in a better fashion. It was figured out after some trial and error of various reductions in wheel base, resulting in the homologation of the 320mm shortened Sport Quattro. Furthermore, it introduced the DOHC 20-valve engine to further increase on the power potential needed to stay competitive.

First used at Corsica 1984 and last at Ivory Coast rally in 1985, the rallye Sport Quattro had the same displacement as the A2 with 2110 cm3. It featured approx 420 hp at 7500 rpms and 460 Nm, with a compression-ratio of 7:1.

0-100 km/h in 4.4 seconds, weight was at best around 1060 kg, but in real life seldom improved over the longer Quattro A2.
Length/width/height 4239/1859/1343 mm.

The rallye version of the Sport Quattro didn’t prove itself highly competitive in the result lists. Stig Blomqvist managed to claim the championship title though in 1984, a year he clung to the preferred Quattro A2 as much as possible. When he took his overall win of Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) rallye, it was indeed with a jungle prepared short Quattro.

Succession

The rallye Sport Quattro would prove itself less successful than the long wheelbase versions, and Audi later replaced it with the more infamous Sport Quattro S1.

Even with the S1 as the official entry in the World Rally Championship of Group B, Audi secretly developed a mid-engined prototype – which by looks seems to be closer related to a Quattro A2 or Sport Quattro “leftover” basis at hand.