Audi Sport Quattro designer calls it ugly as new version readied

Car enthusiasts may know of the only Audi to make an impression back in the early 1980s. That car was the 1983 Audi Sport Quattro, a severely shortened version of the boring Audi Quattro Coupe, done so to better compete in the gruelling Group B rallies of the day. A “civilian” version of the rally car was required as per homologation rules. In an ironic twist, the designer of the Audi Sport Quattro has described the car as “bloody ugly”.

According to Autocar UK, Peter Birtwhistle, who now works at Mazda Europe, said that the Sport Quattro was actually based on an Audi 80 and he designed the “Quattro look” over that platform. He says that “it did what it needed to do” but “it looks awful”.

Only 200 of the Sport Quattro coupes were ever made to fulfill the rally rules, powered by a 306 hp 2.1-litre turbocharged 5-cylinder engine with a 5-speed manual and all-wheel-drive. Shorter than the regular 200 hp Audi Quattro coupe by around 300 mm, it weighed in at only 1298 kg.

Incidentally, Audi revealed a new Quattro concept at a recent auto show, based on a shortened Audi A5 platform, with a 408 hp 2.5-litre turbocharged 5-cylinder engine, a 6-speed manual and all-wheel-drive. Rumour is the concept has been approved for production. We wouldn’t be surprised if it were true, given Audi’s penchant for building countless variations of cars on similar VW platforms with identical engines and mechanicals.