Buyer’s guide: Audi quattro

By Malcolm McKay

| 24 Feb 2025

Classic & Sports Car – Buyer’s guide: Audi quattro

Why you’d want an Audi quattro

The Audi quattro rewrote motoring rulebooks and launched a new fashion for four-wheel-drive road cars.

It massively increased the appeal and sales of all Audis, and gave the firm the high-tech, innovative and avant-garde image it flaunts to this day – its importance to Audi, motorsport and motoring as a whole was huge.

Four-wheel-drive road cars were not new, but they tended to be either sturdy dual-purpose, farmer-orientated vehicles, or relatively low-powered small cars aimed at areas with high levels of snowfall.

Audiʼs secret was to develop a light, compact, all-wheel-drive transmission with so little power loss that it was actually more economical than the two-wheel-drive car: Ferdinand Piëchʼs team spent millions trying to work out how this could be possible, establishing that the tyres lost less power when all four were driven.

Despite this, the quattro displayed a fearsome thirst when driven hard.

Audi then developed an equally advanced power unit: turbocharged with an intercooler, and state-of-the-art electronic injection and ignition that gave immensely flexible power and economy, on a five-cylinder engine that was in itself a talking point in its day.

Harry Ferguson had tried so hard to convince the world in the ʼ60s that four-wheel drive was the future – Ferguson Formula prototypes were tested by all major UK car manufacturers, but only Jensen put it into production, in the FF.

As the Audi quattro burst into the motoring world, hunting down and dispatching the previously all-conquering Ford Escorts on rally after rally, it became clear that the marque had forged a new niche – and had priced the quattro so competitively that others couldnʼt develop and sell a true rival without facing serious costs.

The quattro never sold in big numbers, and surely Audi made a loss on every one, but it was an investment that paid off handsomely in sales across the range: the company would never look back.

The short, brutal Sport quattro kept it at the sharp end in rallying but, after Group B ended, Audi hinted at stopping production.

However, such was the demand (especially in the UK, which took c25% of all Audi quattros) that instead the ʻWRʼ was updated to the ʻMBʼ with a Torsen centre differential to increase flexibility, then for 1990 it gained the 20v turbo developed for the 200, reducing lag while boosting power and torque.

Images: James Mann

Audi quattro: what to look for

Trouble spots

Please see above for what to check for when looking at Audi quattro classic cars for sale.

Engine

The Audi quattro’s engine bay is purposeful rather than pretty; one as clean as this is a great sign of loving care being expended on it.

Check for signs of oil, coolant and fuel leaks, oil and coolant mixing, and hoses perishing.

Listen carefully for exhaust manifold clicking when cold, indicating a crack (expensive to fix).

Suspension

Running gear gets worked hard: check the front suspension for worn balljoints and bushes, leaking dampers, broken springs, seized calipers and tired hoses.

Gearbox

The five-speed transmission with centre diff and torque split is strong but not indestructible, so look out for clutch slip and jumping out of gear.

Dashboard

So ’80s, the Audi quattro’s digital dashboard changed from green to orange on MBs, as here.

Ensure it works, and press the end of the wiper stalk to check the synthesised voice.

Wheels

Early cars had 6in-wide Ronal alloy wheels or rare optional 7in Fuchs.

Later cars had 8in Ronals, as here. Correct tyres are now available again, but are expensive.

Audi quattro: before you buy

Most Audi quattros have been abused on and off road, many have suffered neglect of servicing, so good cars with complete, caring histories justify a significant price premium.

Cambelts should be replaced every five years or 60,000 miles, or less.

Partial galvanising and a six-year anti-corrosion warranty (10 on 20v cars) helped it survive better than most contemporaries, but check for signs of accident damage as well as rust; if windscreen corners are rusty, water may leak through on to the ECU.

There are still ʻringersʼ: check the history and ensure the spec is correct for the year, and that the VIN plate matches the number stamped on the bulkhead and the V5.

An engine rebuild shouldnʼt be needed until 150,000 miles on a WR, 200,000 on later cars.

Look for signs of overheating and coolant condition/colour: the system works hard and radiators (there are two) can silt up.

Blip the throttle at tickover – grey smoke is oil, often worn valve guides/seals; white may be a leaking turbo or cracked cylinder head (or gasket).

The WR turbo must tick over for a while before switch-off; the water-cooled MB turbo is less sensitive.

The factory exhaust used stainless pipes, but mild-steel silencers and tailpipes – a tight fit around the rear subframe and diff, and prone to rattle if misaligned.

Cats for the 20v Audi quattro are costly – many have been deleted. US-market cars were much less powerful.

Brake assistance is hydraulic – check the oil reservoir for the correct fluid: MB/20v should be green, earlier cars can be green or red.

Audi quattro price guide

Restoration/average/show

WR: £15,000/30,000/50,000
MB: £17,000/35,000/60,000
20v: £20,000/40,000/85,000
Sport: £80,000/125,000/200,000

^{Prices correct at date of original publication}

Audi quattro history

1980 Audi quattro WR launched at Geneva

1982 Oct: RHD cars announced; Audi wins WRC; one-piece Cibié headlights

1983 Switchgear redesigned, uprated trim, voice synthesiser, four-spoke steering wheel; SWB Sport (KW) added (200 built, all LHD)

1984 Wider arches, 8J Ronal alloys replace 6J, lowered 20mm, Bosch ABS standard. Treser launches quattro Roadster

1985 Facelift: sloping grille, colour-coded spoiler, smoked tail-lights, matt-black trim, restyled interior, rotary diff-lock switch

1988 Torsen centre diff, uprated 2226cc MB engine, smaller water-cooled turbo, standard sunroof, glassfibre bootlid

1989 20v (RR): more power, twin cats, tougher transmission, tweaked suspension, heated leather seats, more galvanising

1990 Replaced by S2

The owner’s view

“When I was growing up, the Audi quattro was an iconic car,” recalls Charles Porter.

“I was at the 1988 Motor Show and sat in a black quattro there. There was a white one on a turntable – little did I know that, 25 years later, I would own that actual car!

“I didn’t know it was the same car when I bought it 12 years ago – I had been looking for one for a long time and I kissed a lot of frogs before I found this one. For me, it was one car that I just had to have in my collection.

“It had been enthusiast-owned and well looked after – but I’ve since had the leather retrimmed in the original colour and a glass-out respray.

“It was only when I contacted Audi UK to enquire about its history that they told me it was the Motor Show car!

“It has air conditioning, which was a dealer-fit option, and it still has its original exhaust. The only non-original part on it is the 20v steering wheel.”

Also consider

The BMW 635CSi (left) and Lancia Delta HF Integrale are alternative buys

LANCIA DELTA HF INTEGRALE

Developed from the HF Turbo, the LHD-only Integrale took Lancia to the front in rallying and was half the price of a quattro. Fun, but beware mods and rot.

Sold 1986-’94 • No. built 44,296 • Price now £10-120,000*

BMW 635CSi

Four-seater high performance in a very different package. Even the M635 (at 50% more money than a quattro) was quicker than the Audi only on top speed. Look out for rust and neglect.

Sold 1978-’89 • No. built 86,216 • Price now £7500-30,000*

^{*Prices correct at date of original publication}

**Audi quattro: the Classic & Sports Car verdict**

For such an icon, Audi quattro prices have not yet risen as high as they might – perhaps because the really good examples rarely come on to the market.

Buyers may also be a little scared: these cars are very complicated and there is much to go wrong, with many parts hard to find and extremely expensive.

Buy with your eyes wide open, consult the experts and use this guide to avoid the worst examples, and you’ll have a fast and highly usable classic car.

FOR

The seminal four-wheel-drive road sensation, the quattro will always be rare and sought-after
Club and specialist support are strong
Prices should keep climbing

AGAINST

Many parts are unobtainable new, including electric-window motors and ABS sensors
Audi support is not as good as it should be

Audi quattro specifications

Sold/number built 1980-’91/11,452
Construction steel monocoque
Engine iron-block, alloy-head, sohc 2144/2226cc, or dohc 2226cc, or all-alloy, dohc 2133cc ‘five’, with KKK turbo and Bosch K-Jetronic/LH-Jetronic/Motronic injection
Max power 200bhp @ 5500rpm to 306bhp @ 6700rpm
Max torque 210lb ft @ 3500rpm to 258lb ft @ 3700rpm
Transmission five-speed manual, 4WD via three differentials (front/rear lockable)
Suspension MacPherson struts, anti-roll bar f/r (rear deleted ’83, reinstated on 20v)
Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
Brakes 11in (279mm) vented front, 9½in (244mm) solid rear discs, with servo (ABS from ’84; 11in vented rears on Sport)
Length 14ft 5¼in (4402mm)
Width 5ft 7¾in (1722mm)
Height 4ft 5in (1346mm)
Wheelbase 8ft 3¼in (2522mm)
Weight 2807-2838lb (1273-1290kg)
Mpg 15-28
0-60mph 6.5-4.8 secs
Top speed 138-154mph
Price new £30,199 (1988)