Audi Quattro Concept Meets Ur-Quattro - Feature

   From Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro on down to Audi’s Quattro, German speakers for centuries have abandoned their own language for Italian to express articles of passion. Quattro means “four” in the language of  love, undoubtedly a better name for the driveline hardware that has come to define Audi’s high-tech and sporting image than the German vier, which is pronounced “fear.” Can you see the ads? “Come drive the new 5000S Fear at your Audi dealer today!”

With apologies to Bismarck, Quattro just sounds more prestissimo, especially  when it’s plastered to the sawed-off rump of a new concept two-seater intended to stoke scintillating memories of  Audi’s rally glory days. Audi unwrapped the Quattro Concept at the 2010 Paris auto show in September, and just a few months later delivered it to us tanked up and ready to run over asphalt at realistic road speeds (provided that we first swept its path clean of loose stones and dust and immediately  put the $4.6 million hand-built Fabergé egg back in its truck at the first sign of rain or temperatures below 45 degrees).
While we pondered the weather reports, as well as what long-term significance, if any,  Audi’s nostalgic glance back  would ultimately have on its future products, a particularly noteworthy time traveler from those old days also materialized. In 1983, to homologate a short-wheelbase version of  the Quattro Coupe for Group B rallying, Audi started building 224 Sport Quattros for testing, racing, and selling to wealthy civilians as road cars

The Quattro Concept's buzz-cut tail, large trapezoidal quarter-glass, and asymmetrical hood vent celebrate the style of the original Sport Quattro. The rest looks vaguely A5-ish but with a lower roof and a new glaring face.

One of these precious hen’s teeth, painted red and wearing modern Michelin Pilot Sport Cup near-slicks, makes a natural wingman for a Quattro Concept photo shoot. Our sample of Audi’s potential future was to be mingled with a full-immersion dunking into its turbocharged, mudslinging, sideways-drifting past.
These days, Audi is a lit skyrocket. The Volkswagen Group has poured cash and technical resources into its upscale brand during the past decade with the intention of moving it in line with BMW and Mercedes-Benz in the hearts of its primarily German, American, and Chinese customers. Having recently delighted in the new A8 and in selecting the aging A6 over its competitors in a comparison test [August 2010], we’d say the Ingolstadt boys are succeeding.

The plainly named Quattro Concept began as sketches two years ago but was built in just four months, says the man described as its father, Wolfgang Egger, head of Audi Group Design. Egger bristles at the suggestion that the Concept is retro, saying the idea was to “look back but also look forward” by cribbing certain unmistakable cues from the original Quattro Coupe (1980–1991), such as the chopped tail and triangular C-pillars, but experiment with a new face and more sophisticated surfaces. The guiding principles of the design, according to Audi, were that it be a compact two-seater with a curb weight less than 3000 pounds, use a downsized but high-output engine consistent with current ­powertrain trends, and, of course, feature Quattro technology.

Engineers cut 5.9 inches from the RS5’s wheelbase, losing the back seat in the process, and trimmed the propulsion hardware accordingly. They also had to adapt the engine of choice to the Concept. The turbocharged, direct-injected 2.5 TFSI five-cylinder from the European-market TT RS and RS3 was selected for its compact size, historically evocative cylinder count, and stout 340-hp output. But it had to be turned 90 degrees, from the transverse mounting of the VW Golf–based TT platform to the longitudinal orientation of  the A4/A5 platform.
Stephan Reil, head of technical development at Audi Quattro GmbH, says the job involved engineering new intake and exhaust components but not altering the block or accessories in any significant way. To reach the horsepower claim of 408, the 2.5 received a larger turbo and more aggressive cam profiles with appropriate computer mapping. The S5 donates its six-speed manual transmission and center differential, as well as its optional torque-vectoring rear differential.