QUOTE
Back in 1981, Audi stunned the world with the introduction of the first all-conquering Quattro, a car that introduced the supercar world to the merits of four-wheel drive. It won its second rally and development was swift - four years later the company arrived at this car, the 600bhp S1. This car, and the rivals it inspired, proved to be so rapid that it was banned a year later.
Since the mid '80s, the S1 has rarely been driven in anger but today, to mark the twentieth anniversary of its introduction, the original works car has been rolled out of the Audi museum and onto the slopes of the Col de Turini - the most famous stage in the Monte Carlo rally and the roads on which the Quattro legend was born. Roland Gumpert, the team manager from the old days, is here, and so is Stig Blomqvist, who claimed the 1984 World Rally Championship for Audi. Today, I am to accompany Stig on one last blast.
Massive wing keeps 600bhp S1 nailed to the road
It's early afternoon and it's starting to snow. This priceless artefact is still on the tyres it wore in '85 and only last week, this very stretch of tarmac claimed two of the leaders in this year's Monte Carlo Rally - the blue paint from Petter Solberg's Subaru is still visible on one of the walls. The 'Col' boasts no fewer than sixteen hairpins and is framed by vertical rock faces on one side, and sheer drops on the other. And they don't think I should bother with a helmet...
Sat at the top of the hill, the S1 looks like the kind of car that you or I might scribble on the back of an envelope. Too short and too butch, it boasts a front chin spoiler that could double as a snow plough. The S1 is a cartoon of a car, and it looks terrific.
Plucked out of the Audi museum in Ingolstadt, Germany, this car is still in its original condition and the interior is a wonderful piece of '80s nostalgia. The high-tech electronic trickery that packs the cabin of a modern rally car is missing; the only 'computer' is a tiny box that looks more like a toy calculator than a professional rally tool.
Blomqvist: 58 and still competing
Thankfully, Audi has managed to close the road for our entertainment. "We talked to the Police and offered them tea and cake at the nearby hotel," says one of the mechanics. "They said it was OK if we shut the road for ten minutes at a time. You have to remember that this is France, not Germany or Britain."
Blomqvist and I are now safety strapped in and the Audi's engine is growling menacingly just millimetres in front of my toes. At its peak, this turbocharged 2.1-litre monster was developing over 600bhp. That's roughly double the output of today's heavily-regulated rally cars. The S1 weighs less too. Even now, this priceless artefact is developing something in the region of 450bhp. "It was a lot," says Blomqvist, "but you still wanted more. If the other drivers can cope with the horsepower, then you always want more."
S1's 'computer' looks like it belongs in a toy shop
He admits that "it's twenty years since I drove this car," as we descend to the bottom of the course. The Swede is 58 now but he's still competing professionally and time has not dulled his appetite for the sport. In the driver's seat he's a picture of calm concentration - a man at home in his office.
The snow is falling fast, and Blomqvist admits "that the road is a little slippery." For me, this would be a signal for caution and circumspection, but then I have not won 11 world rallies. The Audi's engine note changes dramatically as Blomqvist summons its reserves.
Alistair looking non-plussed by prospect of speeding around a cliff-top in the snow
The thrust arrives in a mighty dollop the moment the rev needle hits 4000rpm. It's like being hit by a short-arm jab and on these snowy roads, it's enough to send the rear of the Audi squirming out of line. This car belongs to the famous Group B era, when the power of the engine was out of kilter with the sophistication of the chassis. Put simply, they had too much power for their own good.
We arrive at a hairpin and Blomqvist tugs at the handbrake as the Audi pirouettes about its nose. It's fascinating to watch him in action. There is no sense of drama, just a calm authority and a method of movement. Out of the hairpin, he pumps the clutch to keep the engine spinning near its power band. It's a boy's own anti-lag system, to replace the original system that's no longer connected to this museum piece.
That original system was one of the most brutally effective pieces of engineering ever employed in professional motorsport. Audi knew that they needed to keep the turbo spinning but they lacked the electronic trickery of today, so they developed a way of injecting fuel into the exhaust system, creating a secondary explosion. That's why an S1 at flat chat could be seen throwing six-foot flames out of its exhaust pipes. It wasn't excess fuel being burned, it was the anti-lag system.
The introduction of primitive four-wheel drive systems also required the drivers to develop new techniques. Lacking the sophisticated differentials of today's cars, early Quattros understeered horribly, making left-foot braking a must. Blomqvist was one of the early pioneers of the technique of using the throttle and brake together, which balanced the car and helped it turn into the corner. He's employing it today and it's fascinating to watch his left foot as it jumps from clutch to brake and back again. A professional dancer is no more agile.
"Today's cars are easier to drive because you have so many electronics helping you," he says. "If you put the modern drivers into one of these cars, some would cope but others would be totally lost." The engine's angry now and the S1 never seems to be pointing in a straight line. For the amateur, this would be calamitous, but Blomqvist uses the car's inertia to swing us from bend to bend.
Stig keeps 'Group B' brute sideways but in control
The ferocity of these vehicles made crashes inevitable and the Group B era came to an abrupt end when the cars were banned after two serious accidents, the second of which killed Lancia legend Henri Toivonen and his co-driver. "It was really bad luck that the accidents happened," reckons Blomqvist. "I wasn't concerned for my safety and I don't think it was necessary to ban the cars. Today, corner speeds are much higher so the accidents are even bigger."
Stig's two-footed tackle: applying brakes and throttle simultaneously
We cruise to a halt and I step out of the car to be greeted by Roland Gumpert, who was the manager of the Audi team in the early '80s, and the man responsible for the development of the first four-wheel drive 'quattro' car. "We developed a four-wheel drive off-road vehicle for the German army in 1976," he recalls. "And when we went winter testing, I found that I could keep up with much more powerful cars. I convinced my boss that we ought to build a prototype four-wheel drive car."
The first quattro road car was unveiled at the Geneva motor show in 1980 and the rally car followed a year later. "When we originally tried to have the car homologated for competition use, the organisers thought it was a joke," recalls Gumpert. "But we won the second rally we entered." It was the start of a period of domination that would last until 1985, by which time everyone was using four-wheel drive.
Blomqvist is a picture of calm
Audi has now sold over two million quattro cars worldwide and quattro models now account for 30 percent of the company's UK sales. Quattro is critical to Audi's brand image and the S1, as the most extreme expression of the concept, is crucial to its history. There will probably never be another rally car that's as barking mad as the S1, which made a ride in it even more special.
Source: 4car.com
