re: ur-quattro history (very long)

[harrison@indigo.ie (George Harrison)]

>Also, is there anybody out there who can give me a definative life story on
>the Ur-Q in UK spec?  
>
>Ian Gregory


OK Ian....you asked for info.....
( This info is courtesy of the UK based Quattro Owners Club)



ur-quattro  1980-1991 UK spec.

1980/1981 (left hand drive only)(W and X registration plate)
The Geneva Motor Show in 1980 saw the arrival of the ur-quattro which
changed the face of the motor industry.  During the next 18 months there
were 163 cars imported into the UK by VAG.

These early models are seen to be the true classic ur-quattro with a 2144cc
turbocharged 5 cylinder engin, matched to a gearbox with nothing short of a
chasm between second and third ratios. When it fell into this gap or went
off boost, the engin laboured to an embarrasing extent, however this did not
take anything away from the excitement of driving such an innovative motor car.

The bodyshell had flaired wheelarches over 6 x 15 Ronal R8 wheels fitted
with 205/60 VR15 tyres, four square headlamps set either side of the flat
grille, red rear lights and a black boot spoiler.  The interior was best
described as 'lurid' with seats trimmed in brown and green striped velour.

The rest was fairly standard Audi with analogue instruments and standard
diff. lock ahead of the gear lever.  The fascia and other internals were
standard early coupe.

Less than 20 ur-quattros were built prior to the Geneva debut, but within 3
years a staggering 4,851 had been made which was 10 times more than Audi
estimated!



1982 - 1984 (X, Y and A registration plate)
By 'Y' registrtion all UK ur-quattros were now right hand drive and the four
square headlights were being phased out in favour of the current day Cibie
units as used on the Coupe.
This facelift improved and modernised the cars appearance but retained
left-hand drive wiper arms, which also applied to under-bonnet equipment
such as brake servo etc.

'A' registration saw the first sign of change, the interior was brought in
line with the Coupe upholstery, the instrument panel acquired the legendary
digital dash and voice synthesiser and in December 1983 right hand wipers
appeared.  By December 1983 the long awaited anti-lock brakes and revised
gearbok ratios were introduced eliminating the huge gap between second and
third gear.

Hannu Mikkola became 1983 World Rally Champion in the ur-quattro, Group 'B'
quattro was homologated and the A2 quattro arrived. The power application
was so strong that the quattro was able to lift the front wheels under
acceleration!



1984 - 1988 (B, C, D, E and F registration)
In 1984 the quatro had now gained 8 x 15 Ronal wheels with 215/50 VR15
tyres, black rear lights and a color coded boot spoiler.  All these cars had
digital dash and revised interior along with ABS.

By late 1985 the headlights and grille appeared slightly sloping as taken
from the Coupe and in 1987 the ur-quattro picked up the 2226cc hydraulic
tappet engine, as used in the rest of the curreny Audi range.  This proved
to be a lot smoother and more refined and had a much smaller turbocharger,
and although engine output remained at 200 bhp, it gave much quicker response.

Early 1987 saw the introduction of the Torsen (TORque SENsing) Differential
giving better slip response and power transfer between the wheels as well as
improving the handling characteristics of the car.  Engine cooling was
improved and the much needed twin-pot front brake calipers were fitted.

Audi had by now pulled out of rallying dut to the controversy over the group
B cars, but the evolution 2 Sport quattro with 598bhp was setting the
standards on Pikes Peak, achieving fastest times on the mountain in 1987.



1989 - 1991 (G, H and J registration)
This saw the introduction of the most refined ur-quattro with a 2226cc 20
valve engine producing 220bhp at 5900 rpm with a maximum torque of 228 lb ft
at a mere 1950 rpm, even with the addition of the catalytic converter. This
compares to 200 bhp at 5500rpm and 210 lb ft at 3500 of the 10 valve motor.
This eliminated the old turbo lag problems with boost coming in at just over
idle speed.

0-60mph dropped below 6.5 seconds and top speed was in the 145mph region,
which is surprising when one considers the car has a drag Cd of 0.43, or as
described by a number of motoring magazines "the aerodynamics of a brick".

On May 17th 1991 at precisely 1pm the last of the ur-quattros rolled off the
line in the B2 production hall for test.  Ingolstadt had not only produced
its last proper quattro but said farewell to a coupe bodyshell which had
first been pressed 12 years earlier.  Audi originally only intended to build
400 ur-quattro units.  The last ur-quattro was retained by Audi. 



There were a total of 11,452 ur-quattros produced of which only 2,721 were
imported into the UK.  10 valve - 2,319.....20 valve - 402.
Estimated number of quattros remaining in UK today - approx. 900!

THE UR_QUATTRO HAS BEEN THE ONLY CAR EVER TO BECOME A TRUE CLASSIC CAR WHILE
STILL IN PRODUCTION.

Vorsprung durch Technik
George Harrison,
Co. Kildare,
Ireland.

'85 ur-quattro
'86 80 Sport