Re: Re: Ur-Q

[Dave Eaton <dave.eaton@minedu.govt.nz>]

> But please define for ignoramuses like me Ur-  (other than being German for original).

excatly.

"original" quattro.  the 1st quattro model made by taking a bunch of parts from the coupe
gt, adding some technology from the vw iitis (sp?), a turbo and some very original martin
smith styling and mix it all around and you have the .....

ur-quattro, or ur-q, or tqc (turbo quattro coupe). originally 200hp with 4wd. 

audi's intention was to take it rallying which they duly did and won the w/c in 1983 (hannu
mikkola) and  1994 (?).  it was superseded for group "b" homologation purposes by the sport
quattro which was produced in 1984 with 13" taken out behind the "b" post and a narrow-angle
20 valve head produced from designs vw were playing with at the time for their gti 16 valve
heads. in the homologated car, the engine produced 306hp.  there were carbon fibre hoods and 
other panels, uprated brakes, larger intercooler and oils cooler etc. etc. 200 were produced,
of which 20 were used for rallying.  these were significantly altered off course, and produced
about 450hp in the hands of walter "my-balls-are-as-big-as-grapefruit" rohl.  this quattro won
only once at st remo in 1985 with rohl.  the original sport quattro was a real handful (it
was reckoned that only rohl could drive it), but it was improved significantly with the 
addition of outrageous aerodynamic aids.

with the death of heri toivonen (rip) who was the up-and-coming senna of the rally world
(the 10th aniversery of his death was last month), audi elected to pull out of group b.  it
was reported that the quattro s2 was in the final stages of design.  it was a mid-engined
purpose built rally rocket ship (as the peugeot 205t16's and lancia delta s4's were).

if you were ever lucky enough to hear the group b cars, and the quattro in particular, you
would never forget the speed and the sound.  the sound especially.

interestingly, by todays standards, the group b cars were not particlarly fast, the 300hp group 
"a" cars have been eclipsing their stage times for a number of years.  just goes to show that
horsepower isn't everything.  driveability and suspension/traction is at least as important...

mmmmm, soryy for the diversion, back to the story.  the ur-quattro was
produced from 1980 to 1991, it debuted at the geneva motor show in 1980 or there abouts.
still the most "fun" car audi has produced.  minor facelift in 1985, major upgrade in 1988 
(the addition of a slightly bigger motor with better turbo, and the torsen diff), and again in 
1990 (20 valve motor, upgraded transmission and brakes, modified suspension)...

ktf,
-dave.

'90 ur-q
'93 s2.