Retropower's Audi Sport Quattro
Slideshow: One of the more popular mod shops in the industry is Retropower. They do fantastic work, regardless the size of the project, car manufacturer, nor how old the car being modified is. A good example is the shop's Sport Quattro, which they've worked on considerably over the last few years. Click through to learn about all that they had to do in order to get this powerful car back into shape.
What is Retropower?
Retropower is a custom shop located in the UK. They specialize in design, engineering, metal fabrication, painting, and car build projects by relying on a team of specialists in each discipline. This allows them to restore classic cars for competition, create custom builds for the road and more, with a level of efficiency and perfection that is rare in this sort of industry.
Photos courtesy of Speed Hunters
So what does Retropower have in this Sport Quattro?
A car three decades old, it was the first rally car to (successfully) take advantage of rule changes that allowed the use of four wheels when racing. The result was two years of consecutive wins. The car used several parts and body components from the company’s Coupe version of the Audi 80. It was originally designated the production code Typ 85, which was shared with the Quattro versions of the Audi 80 coupe.
>>Join the conversation about Retropower's Sport Quattro right here in the AudiWorld Forum!
Major Update
There were a series of requests made for updating this particular Sport Quattro, but one of the biggest changes was the relocation of the cooling system to the back of the car, similar to how the rally cars had it. In order to do this, the team had to create two extra tunnels beneath the chassis, one for the exhaust, and another for the cooling pipework. They also had to place a downward facing scoop beneath the trunk floor. The purpose of this was to funnel an increased volume of cool air onto the face of the rear-mounted radiator.
>>Join the conversation about Retropower's Sport Quattro right here in the AudiWorld Forum!
Other updates the Retropower team made
When the Retropower team received the Sport Quattro, it already had a roll cage, so they used this unique component as a foundation upon which to improve the vehicle further. Among areas heavily modified are leading edge of the cage, door bar layout, and rear structure. The leading edge of the cage, it’s worth noting, now features a triangulated design that starts at the front bulkhead and goes all the way through to the front suspension turrets. The benefits in going this route are better protection for the driver and improved stiffness.
>>Join the conversation about Retropower's Sport Quattro right here in the AudiWorld Forum!
And finally, the engine
Now, while the aforementioned four-wheel-drive system helped Audi win consecutive seasons of rally races, the vehicle’s engine is what truly powered the car across the finish line(s). Retropower was initially tasked with only fitting a dry sump system to the engine. But when they got into it, they decided to do a complete rebuild. The result is an all-new engine that’s been completely remapped, capable of pouring out a whopping 512bhp.
>>Join the conversation about Retropower's Sport Quattro right here in the AudiWorld Forum!
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