Monsters Inc.

The Audi S1 quattro - a fire-breathing piece of automotive history.

10 October, 2014

The ultimate ride

It was fitting for Audi Australia to launch a car with such a famous name at a race track. The challenging Baskerville Race Track just outside Hobart was a perfect place to showcase the new S1 Sportback’s dual personality, following a spirited drive through the surrounding countryside. But there was another surprise in store for the assembled members of the Australian motoring press.

Sharing the limelight with the newest incarnation of the S1 legend was the Audi S1 quattro belonging to rally driver, rally aficionado and unabashed car enthusiast, Dave Thompson.

Amongst Dave’s impressive collection of 50 automotive classics (all drivable and regularly raced), the S1 quattro holds a very special place, and he says it was always ‘one of three cars that he’d always wanted to own’.

Dave was in New Zealand rallying when he first saw the S1 quattro. The Audi is in fact a faithful replica of the original, built by Andrew Hawkeswood and boasts all of the Audi running gear that made the original cars famous. This car though is actually faster, thanks to some modifications and the addition of some later technology.

He agreed to buy the car even before driving it, and also risked the ire of his long-suffering wife Brenda, even after he’d promised not to add any new cars to the collection on that particular trip. His response when the purchase became known sums it up:

“I said, Brenda that’s not a car. That’s a piece of history.”

And so it is, a fire-breathing piece of automotive history that quite literally silenced a group of hardened motoring writers, some of whom had experienced the S1 quattros during their reign on the world stage. This particular car runs a genuine Group B engine, but it is mated to a six-speed sequential transmission (obviously not standard equipment in the ’80s), as well as adjustable suspension, AP brakes and new diffs, not available when the original cars first appeared.

In 2013, Dave took the S1 quattro to the Australian Rally Hall of Fame gala where he had arranged to have rally legend Ari Vatanen as guest of honour. Vatanen drove the car and his signature adorns the car’s bonnet along with Audi ace Michele Mouton’s, whose performance on the world rally stage behind the wheel of the S1 quattro remains the stuff of automotive legend.

Riding in this particular car, albeit with some modern refinements is nothing short of spectacular. With rally driver Stewart Reid behind the wheel on the day, the brutal acceleration defies description, and sideways on the bitumen of the track gives a taste of what it must have been like campaigning these monsters in world competition. It’s not for the fainthearted, but no true car enthusiast would miss the opportunity to experience a piece of history like this.

“It’s important to have these cars and to drive them,” says Dave of the S1 quattro. “There’s no point in just having them locked away.”

Certainly, the presence of the S1 quattro on this occasion reinforced just why the name is still revered 30 years after it jumped, slid and powered its way into the history books. Actions speak so much louder than words and the S1 quattro is all action.

Monsters Inc.

The Audi S1 quattro - a fire-breathing piece of automotive history.

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