RE: PH Heroes: Audi Quattro

[johnycarrera]

Am I the only one that gets enraged when Gene Hunt says "Fire up the quattro" and they get in an inferior coupe? I get mad every time and shout at the burd, "That's not a proper Audi quattro", just cant let it go!

[Zad]

5 cylinder turbo - check (although 1 seems to be awol in some scenes)
4 wheel drive - check
Flared wheel arches - check

In what way is that an ordinary Audi coupé?

[joe44]

TheStig89 said:

Numerous cars we all love and admire today have 4WD or AWD as some companys may call it, and all these cars wouldn't be quite as far along if Audi didn't have the innovation to produce a 4WD road car, Vorsprung durch Technik as it is said by the geniuses! The introduction of 4WD revolutionised the auto world we live in today.

Let's not rewrite history. The 4x4 innovation part, great as it is, was not Audi's. Audi's innovation was to do a good 4WD on the cheap. 4x4 was used reliably by Jensen 15 years earlier in their 1966 FF model, which was in production mechanically unchanged for 9 years. AWD was standard along with ABS on Jensen's top end model until the mid 1970s, when Jensen went bust during the oil crisis. As the 330bhp V8's waned in popularity, some Jensen engineers went to work for Audi. The Jensen's FF system had a 66/33 torque split from day one. At least the Jensen's FF transmission, derived from FF's even earlier Climax powered P66 racing car (Sterling Moss once named this as his all time favorite car), went on to win the Paris Dakar in numerous (Schuler) Range Rovers after Jensen's demise. These early 4wd transmissions were designed and assembled by FF developments, transmission gurus who continued to give us the 4WD Capris, RS200, Granadas, & XJ220 transmissions long after Jensen was lost.

As an earlier poster put it, Peiche, by pushing for and supporting 4WD in mass production, turned Audi from a bore into a barnstormer in 2 years flat. That is something that needs to be remembered by Audi Quattro fans and owners like myself. Well done Ferdinand, "so long and thanks for all the Quattros".

Edited by joe44 on Thursday 15th April 01:10

[phumy]

joe44 said:

TheStig89 said:

Numerous cars we all love and admire today have 4WD or AWD as some companys may call it, and all these cars wouldn't be quite as far along if Audi didn't have the innovation to produce a 4WD road car, Vorsprung durch Technik as it is said by the geniuses! The introduction of 4WD revolutionised the auto world we live in today.

Let's not rewrite history. The 4x4 innovation part, great as it is, was not Audi's. Audi's innovation was to do a good 4WD on the cheap. 4x4 was used reliably by Jensen 15 years earlier in their 1966 FF model, which was in production mechanically unchanged for 9 years. AWD was standard along with ABS on Jensen's top end model until the mid 1970s, when Jensen went bust during the oil crisis. As the 330bhp V8's waned in popularity, some Jensen engineers went to work for Audi. The Jensen's FF system had a 66/33 torque split from day one. At least the Jensen's FF transmission, derived from FF's even earlier Climax powered P66 racing car (Sterling Moss once named this as his all time favorite car), went on to win the Paris Dakar in numerous (Schuler) Range Rovers after Jensen's demise. These early 4wd transmissions were designed and assembled by FF developments, transmission gurus who continued to give us the 4WD Capris, RS200, Granadas, & XJ220 transmissions long after Jensen was lost.

As an earlier poster put it, Peiche, by pushing for and supporting 4WD in mass production, turned Audi from a bore into a barnstormer in 2 years flat. That is something that needs to be remembered by Audi Quattro fans and owners like myself. Well done Ferdinand, "so long and thanks for all the Quattros".

Edited by joe44 on Thursday 15th April 01:10

Sorry to be pedantic Joe44, but you will get used to it, its quattro and not Quattro

[Ahonen]

johnycarrera said:

Am I the only one that gets enraged when Gene Hunt says "Fire up the quattro" and they get in an inferior coupe? I get mad every time and shout at the burd, "That's not a proper Audi quattro", just cant let it go!

It is a proper Quattro, just on the narrow wheels the earlier ones were fitted with.

[boma]

The first proper "supercar" I ever drove in anger regularly (it belonged to an older mate), many years ago at the rather young age of 18 in the backroads of North Wales... incredible machines.

[johnycarrera]

Ok, stand corrected, thought it was narrower and sounded wrong, maybe it's my confusion with the wheels, and they use a different one for the still shots compared to the driving!
It definitely looks better stationary (in the show)
great cars though!

[GravelBen]

joe44 said:

TheStig89 said:

Numerous cars we all love and admire today have 4WD or AWD as some companys may call it, and all these cars wouldn't be quite as far along if Audi didn't have the innovation to produce a 4WD road car, Vorsprung durch Technik as it is said by the geniuses! The introduction of 4WD revolutionised the auto world we live in today.

Let's not rewrite history. The 4x4 innovation part, great as it is, was not Audi's. Audi's innovation was to do a good 4WD on the cheap. 4x4 was used reliably by Jensen 15 years earlier in their 1966 FF model, which was in production mechanically unchanged for 9 years. AWD was standard along with ABS on Jensen's top end model until the mid 1970s...

Subaru were also making 4wd road cars from 1972

[stella702]

Still the best car I have ever owned or driven. Still a "Head Turner".

[grumpy52]

saw them on the first rac rally they did,on the first night stages they scared the pants off us marshalls by arriving at corners at speeds that anything else would have crashed at with flames leaping out the back and that awesome exhaust noise,still sends a chill up my spine when i hear that noise

[TTTOPTOTTY]

You mean something like this one An Quattro WR named "Archie" still doing his thing all over the place. Why not join us lot on Quattro Owners Club and see these beast of a machine in the flesh


QOC Area Organiser.

[Spitfire MKII]

How can the Audi quattro be blamed for ruining rallying forever, lets face it if Audi hadn't done it someone else would, you could say the same about turbos, fuel injection or any other form of progress

Straff99 said:

I think you're missing an important point here. The Audi Quattro is the car that ruined rallying forever. They sounded great but that's all. Four wheel drive is the equivalent of steroids in athletics; they merely lifted the bar until everyone else caught up. They didn't make the sport more exciting, quite the opposite. Check out the British Rally Championship. I went on the Bulldog rally a few weeks ago and, when the best of the Historics had been through, the spectators started to leave before the BRC arrived!! How's that for progress? Big, overweight, ill handling lumps of lard; that's why the Peugeot T16 blew them into the weeds.