Quattro (Germany, 1980)

The Audi Quattro was presented at the 1980 Geneva Motor Show. This road and rally car’s name derives from the italian word for ‘four’, which is ‘quattro’, and was chosen because of the car’s four-wheel drive system. The ‘quattro’ nameplate would, subsequently, be used by Audi to co-name all of the brand’s four-wheel drive models. The Audi Quattro can also be called Ur-Quattro, as ‘ur’ is the German prefix for ‘original’.

When the FIA changed the competition rules to begin allowing four-wheel drive cars into racing events, Audi was the first brand to create a rally car that would make use of such system, which was the Quattro. Some upgrade versions were launched throughout this model’s lifespan, which are known as the WR Quattro (earliest version), MB Quattro and RR Quattro (or 20v Quattro). There were also two motorsport versions of the Quattro, specifically built for rallying: the Spo...