One of our readers not so subtly pointed out to me that I mention a certain box-flared car from a certain manufacturer perhaps a bit too often when reviewing Audis, and perhaps he’s right. Isn’t the Quattro enough of a legend to stand on it’s own? The answer is that until quite recently, no – it wasn’t. In part that’s due to the experience of the diluted American market version and Audi’s near denial that it built any cars before the A4. 160 horsepower with the best part of 3,000 pounds to haul around isn’t even enough for most Subarus these days, so it should be no surprise that the Quattro’s performance suffered in U.S. spec. What also suffered was buyer’s pockets; at $40,000 in the early 1980s, this car was the equivalent of nearly $100,000 today. Though the driving dynamics were more than the sum of their parts, ultimately Quattro was dropped after a short run in the U.S. market with 664 sold. Despite the relative sales flop in the U.S., the Quattro had a greater impact in Europe, where its fresher and lighter face was paired with 40 more horsepower and steadily improving performance and technology coupled with its major rally successes. Indeed, the last of the RR Quattros continued on alongside the replacement S2 until the end of 1991. It was so stellar, there was a whole segment of forced induction, flared WRC candidates that copied its blueprint. Remember the Celica All-Trac Turbo? Sierra Cosworth? How about the 323GTX? Golf Rallye? Lancia Delta Integrale? Subaru Impreza 22B? All of them are legendary cars born from the Quattro. As there is more appreciation for Audi’s 80s halo car in Europe, we’ve seen a steady stream of nice examples head back to the homeland from U.S. shores. Perhaps it’s time to turn the tide?
