How the Audi Sport Quattro S1 and the Black Volcano Changed WRC
In the short span of six years, Audi changed the WRC landscape with the Sport Quattro S1 and its determination to hire the best drivers.
Audi unleashed two forces in WRC during the 1980s and changed everything. One was Audi’s follow-up to the Ur-Quattro. Known as the Sport Quattro S1, it was designed for one purpose – to dominate Group B and win a World Rally Championship. The other was a driver with a natural talent for rallying. Known as the Black Volcano, she proved every bit as fast, and even faster, than many men in the sport.
The Audi Sport Quattro S1
The Audi Sport Quattro S1 was, and is, a force of nature in WRC. It’s not an evolution of the Ur-Quattro but a purpose-built supercar intended to dominate Group B rallying. Introduced for the 1984 season, the S1 was smaller with wider wheel arches to accommodate 9-inch wide wheels. It was almost a foot shorter than the original car, with a wheelbase to match. The carbon-kevlar body shell shaved over 300 pounds off the weight.
It was more powerful as well. Propelled by a 470 horsepower, 2.1-liter inline-five power plant, it blasts to 60 mph in three seconds. A clever recirculating air system reduced turbo lag. Painted a striking yellow and white livery, it sounded and went like an angry badger hopped up on amphetamines.
The Group B era of rallying can be considered the dawn of the modern World Rally Championship. The cars were extremely fast and powerful, needing a driver with equal parts fearlessness and finesse to get the most out of them. The people who did so became legends. Names like Hannu Mikkola, Stig Blomqvist, and Walter Röhrl are famous for their exploits as Audi team drivers. But while Audi made history with its Quattro rally cars, it also made history by hiring a talented factory driver named Michele Mouton.
The Black Volcano
As a driver, Michele Mouton had the talent and skill to compete as a champion driver. But as a woman, she had to overcome sexism from critics who saw rallying as a man’s sport. Nicknamed “the Black Volcano” by the German press for her hair and fiery temperament, she silenced most of her critics by winning the 1981 Rallye Sanremo in Italy. In 1982, she followed that up by winning the International Rally Driver of the Year award, helping Audi win its first manufacturer’s world title and finishing second in the driver’s standings.
Where Mouton’s driving really stands out is her back-to-back wins in the Pikes Peak Hillclimb. In 1984 she took first in the unlimited category and second overall. She followed that with an overall win in 1985, breaking Al Unser Jr.’s record by 13 seconds in less-than-ideal weather. Unser reportedly did not take the loss well, and Mouton responded to his criticism by saying, “If you have the balls, you can try to race me back down as well!”
End of an Era
Mouton and Audi parted ways after the 1985 season. Mouton joined Peugeot in 1986 and won six of the eight races in the German Rally Championship. She looked poised to continue being one of the top drivers in Group B until the FISA banned the class for the following year. Too many crashes, injuries, and deaths led the organization to conclude it was not worth the risk. At the end of the 1986 season, Mouton decided that if Group B ended, it would be the end of her rallying career as well.
Meanwhile, Audi was looking ahead to the new 1987 Group S regulations. For 1987. It developed the Audi Sport Quattro RS 002, which showed promise. However, the cancellation of Group B affected Group S as well, and the program was shelved.
Mouton went on to become the first president of the FIA’s Women & Motor Sport Commission and FIA’s manager in the World Rally Championship. She was also inducted into the Rally Hall of Fame in 2012. Audi ended its involvement in WRC after 1986, shifting its focus to touring car racing and eventually Le Mans.
Even though Audi’s rally program occupied a short period in its history, it made a lasting impact on the sport. The company’s purpose-built Sport Quattro rally cars served as the template for all the cars that followed. And by hiring Michelle Mouton to its factory team, Audi opened the door for other women race drivers to follow.
Photos: Audi Heritage
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