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'A car awe-inspiring enough to be part of any tale too good to be true' wrote Ronald Barker in Car magazine of April 1981.

In the following month, Autocar raved about an Audi that offered 'Thrilling performance' and was 'a vastly satisfying and enjoyable car to drive'.

By 1982 Motor Trend stated, 'Conventional automotive superlatives simply don't do justice to Audi's ultra-car'.

It was, of course, the Quattro, the car that mesmerised all who witnessed its debut at the Geneva Motor Show on 3rd March 1980. As Clive Richardson of Motor Sport put it:

A sensational permanent-four-wheel-drive, 200 bhp, turbocharged, five-cylinder Audi, offering 140 mph., 0-60 mph in seven seconds, 25 mpg overall, superb comfort for 4/5 people, incredible traction on or off the road and a new standard of road holding, had its debut at the Geneva Motor Show last month.

Called the Quattro, it is probably the most significant new road car of the decade and as a competition car will spearhead Audi's attack on the 1981 World Rally Championship.

40 years later it is hard to describe just how incredible the Audi seemed to anyone reading accounts of the Geneva Show.

The Quattro was not the first coupe with four-wheel-drive   - who could forget the Jensen FF? - but it seemed to advance sports car development by several decades.

When British imports commenced, £14,500 seemed an incredibly reasonable price for such a machine - Autocar pointed out that 'it's BMW, Porsche and Jaguar rivals cost £5000 more' - even if it was LHD only until late 1982.

 Audi refers to the key to the Quattro's success as:

the hollow shaft – a drilled-out, 263 millimetre (10.4 in) secondary shaft in the transmission through which power flowed in two directions. It drove the housing of the centre differential from its rearmost end.

The differential sent 50 per cent of the power along the prop shaft to the rear axle, which was equipped with a locking differential.

The other half of the drive torque was transferred to the front axle's differential along an output shaft rotating inside the hollow secondary shaft.

The Quattro story dates back to the winter of 1976/1977 when Audi conducted a series of test drives for its prototypes in Sweden, including the 4WD Volkswagen Iltis.

The last-named was a utility vehicle developed for use by the German military and it outperformed all the FWD models in the group.

In February 1977, the company's chassis engineer Jörg Bensinger reported his findings to Ferdinand Piech, the Development Director at Audi.

The result was a series of test cars, including one combining the body of the forthcoming B2 Coupe, the suspension and gearbox from the 100, the  2,144cc five-cylinder turbocharged engine from the 200 and the 80's floor pan.

By September the Quattro was given the green light by the VAG board of directors. 
And the rest is history…

Why choose Lancaster Insurance?

Here at Lancaster, we love classic cars as much as you do and we understand what it takes to protect them for future generations.

We have links with some of the top classic car clubs around the country and some of our policies even offer discounts of up to 25% for club members.

Other benefits of classic car insurance through Lancaster can include:

• Historic rally cover

• Static show cover

• Limit mileage discounts

• Choice of repairer

• 24-hour claims helpline

Give your classic the protection it deserves and get a quote for your Audi today.