Double the Quattro, Double the Fun in the Snow and Mud
One Quattro loves the ski slopes. The other’s an orange rally monster. Hagerty explores both in the snowy climes of Vermont.
While Audi has been around in one form or another since the early 20th century, it didn’t hit its stride in the United States until the early Eighties. That was when a magic piece of technology descended from the heavens: Quattro all-wheel drive. The champion to carry the torch, of course, would be the ur-Quattro, a super car for all roads.
Today, nearly every Audi has Quattro. Hagerty recently took a look back with Ryan Symancek on the legendary all-wheel drive system through a pair of Eighties classics amid the snowy (and muddy) backdrop of Vermont.
“Back in the Eighties, you heard ’em on the rally stages,” said Symancek. “The five-cylinder turbos, they were like nothing else. And even though this is just a single overhead cam NA motor, she still purrs along like a little Audi.”
Though the 4000CS’s 2.2-liter inline-five only made 100 horses, Symancek says its more than enough on loose surfaces, such as the slushy and salty roads leading up the ski slopes. In fact, Audi marketed its Quattro system to skiers in the Eighties, as carving paths through powder were something both had in common. Winning a few rallies in the Group B era certainly helped sales and win fans, too.
“This is gonna be a massive upgrade from a non-turbo, inline-five-cylinder,” said Symancek of the Audi 80 known as ‘Cheeto.’ “This car was purchased four months ago in Latvia. It opened the stages for the rally championship in Latvia. I could see why somebody would run something like this as a course opener. Because 100%, this thing is a crowd-pleaser. I can’t imagine what the spectators must listen to with this thing coming through the woods at them.”
The secret sauce under the hood, according to its owner, is a 4.2-liter V8 from a 1998 A8. Not only is it all-stock with a modest tune, it’s bolted onto the 80’s original Quattro system. That’s over 300 horses flinging everything out of the way. Throw in lockable diffs front and rear, and it dominates the competition.
“Going from a stock 4000 to this rally monster paints a great picture of what’s possible with the Quattro platform,” said Symancek. “And even though it’s more modern, you still get the classic Audi feel when you’re ripping night stages.”
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