FS: rare TURBO QUATTRO COUPE w/ very low miles

[Phil@isham-research.demon.co.uk (Phil Payne)]

In message <TCPSMTP.18.3.11.14.55.48.2374599595.813050@thevine.net> frankbauer@thevine.net writes:

>> The 8" Ronals were a running change that _almost_ corresponds to the 1984 mo
>> year.  They were, BTW, an accident.  The ur-quattro body shell does not, in
>> feat of German non-precision, conform to the original drawings.  On paper, t
>> 8" rims don't fit.

> are you saying they sent a large german out to give each fender a "firm
> tug" before shipping an urq?

UK Club members will have seen this already:

    From the beginning, the quattro was available with only 6"
    Ronals and optional 7" Fuche wide alloys only, once we tried
    to fit the 8" wide Ronals, those that had previously been
    used by Audi Sport on the rally cars, on a normal production
    quattro, we found that it made the car tremendously
    effective.

    Unfortunately, we found that there was insufficient room in
    the rear wheel arches for the wider tyres as the flange for
    connecting the rear 'sidewall' with the inner 'wheelhouse'
    stood directly into that space which the tyre needs when the
    suspension is working, however it was possible to turn this
    flange upright, by doing this it allowed sufficient room for
    the wheel to move up and down but only by a third of an
    inch.

    When we presented the car to the Chief Designer, his
    comments were not very encouraging "Impossible, look at the
    tolerances, we cannot be sure that the wheel will never
    touch the body" was his comment.  So we looked for another
    way to achieve our target.

    Over a beer, the Chief Designer told me that his teenage son
    was a real car enthusiast and was very proud of his father
    being involved in the designing of the quattro, so I asked
    him if he was interested in borrowing a quattro for the
    weekend to test drive.

    This was arranged and of course the quattro supplied had the
    prototype 8" wheels fitted.  After the weekend experience in
    the quattro he had changed his tune and suggested we must
    find a way how we can make it possible to fit the 8"
    wheels.

    So it was back to the drawing board, but further research
    showed the quattro was not actually wide enough, so why did
    the wheels fit the prototype?

    At this stage we decided to involve the line manager from
    the quattro assembly line, in our plans.  Being a young and
    talented quattro enthusiast, he found a weakness in the
    current production and it was found that the quattro body
    shell was actually 1/4" wider in reality than it was on the
    initial drawings.

    This was the signal to act quickly but carefully and the
    drawings were changed before the quality assurance
    department had the opportunity to make the quattro smaller.
    The way was then clear for the introduction of the 8"
    wheels.

    I hope this story provides the impression that the
    enthusiasts at Audi really fought for the soul and the
    character of the quattro and I am sure that it will give the
    quattro owner-member an insight into how a small group of
    people in such a big company could produce such a car.

    Hans-Juergen Sauer
    Audi AG Ingolstadt

Herr Sauer is now Head of A8 Design.

--
 Phil Payne
 phil@isham-research.demon.co.uk
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