Audi Quattro System

The original Audi Quattro competition car debuted in 1980, first as a development car, and then on a formal basis in the 1980 Janner Rally in Austria. The idea for a high four-wheel drive car was proposed by Audi's chassis engineer, Jörg Bensinger, in 1977, when he found that the Volkswagen IItts jeep could outperform any other vehicle in snow, no matter how powerful. Bensinger's idea was to start developing an Audi 80 variant in co-operation with Walther Treser, Director of Pre-Development. Audi Quattros are often referred to among their owners and enthusiasts by their engine codes, to differentiate between the earlier and later versions: the earliest 2144 cc 10v being the "WR" engine, the 2226 cc 10v being the "MB" engine, and the later 20v being the "RR" engine. Hence, Quattro models may be referred to as either the WR Quattro, MB Quattro, and RR or "20v" Quattro, respectively. The rally car largely based on the bodyshell of the road-going Quattro models (in contrast to the forthcoming Group B cars), the engine of the original competition version produced approximately 300bhp and was one of the cars that was hard to beat in its time.