Think of successful five-cylinder Audi quattros and your mind will inevitably conjure up the rally cars, images of Rohrl flying through forests and Mikkola crossed up on ice. But there's another one you should know about too...
The IMSA S4 GTO was built in 1992, following Audi's success in the American IMSA racing series with the 200 and 90. It was an old-fashioned 'win on Sunday, sell on Monday' tactic, with Audi keen to sell more cars in South Africa. So what better way to do that than make a winning race car?
The IMSA S4 was put together by Audi Sport South Africa, using the running gear of the 90 IMSA GTO with the then-new 'C4' S4 competition-spec body. Once that was all assembled, the car went racing at Killarney in Cape Town. It was the penultimate round of the 1992 Wesbank Modified Series and Hans Stuck was driving; this is the video of that race.
Spoiler alert: Audi won. The S4 and Hans Stuck won, both in their first South African race. The car looks to be an absolute beast as well, spitting flames and howling down the straights. Audi claimed a power output of 720hp at 7,500rpm...
And what's the relevance of sharing this now? Well, on top of it being a cool touring car vid with Hans Stuck, both car and driver are to be reunited for the first time in nearly 25 years at Shelsley Walsh this weekend. As part of the Classic Nostalgia event (don't forget the V16 Auto Union is also making an appearance), it will be the first time the S4 GTO has been seen in Britain. Which is pretty cool. Whether Hans Stuck's early-90s hairdo will make a return remains to be seen though.
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