1983 Audi Quattro
Build Sheet
| Year | 1983 |
|---|---|
| Body | 2-door coupe (Ur-Quattro, permanent all-wheel drive) |
| Engine | 2.1 L (2,144 cc) turbocharged inline-five, 10-valve SOHC (WR) |
| Horsepower | 197 hp (200 PS) @ 5,500 rpm |
| 0–60 mph | approx. 7.1 seconds |
| Production | 11,452 total Ur-Quattro (1980-1991, all years) |
| Original MSRP | approx. $35,000 (US, early 1980s) |
| Current value | approx. $50,000 base-model market average (2026) |
The Story
Few cars rewrote the rulebook as thoroughly as the Audi Quattro. When it appeared at the dawn of the 1980s, full-time all-wheel drive was the stuff of trucks and farm machinery, not fast coupes. Audi proved that channeling power to all four wheels transformed traction, grip, and bad-weather confidence, and the rally world was never the same again.
The heart of the car was a turbocharged 2.1-litre inline-five, an unusual configuration that gave the Quattro its distinctive warbling, off-beat exhaust note. In 1983 WR specification it made around 200 metric horsepower, enough to fire the boxy coupe to 60 mph in roughly seven seconds, brisk for the era and downright unstoppable when the tarmac turned wet or icy.
On the world rally stage the Quattro was a sensation, dominating events and forcing every rival to chase four-wheel-drive technology of their own. That competition pedigree, combined with its blistered arches, deep front spoiler, and purposeful stance, gave the road cars an aura that ordinary coupes simply could not match.
The Quattro was always rare and expensive, and in the United States only a few hundred were ever officially sold, which makes survivors genuinely scarce today. Collectors now prize the Ur-Quattro as the founding father of an entire performance philosophy, and clean examples command strong money. Its name lives on across the Audi range as a badge of all-weather capability.
