AUDI UR QUATTRO 20V

Deep pockets needed to be the true ‘Stig’

‘Boxy styling & Eighties graphics’

The original (or Ur) quattro’s legend was of course forged in rallying. But by the mid-eighties its timing sheet returns were dropping and this large Germanic coupé was finally ditched from rallying duty in 1987

– a year after the wild Group B regulations that cemented its success in the first place. That didn’t stop its appeal in showrooms as the quattro name was still doing big business by the end of the decade, despite fashion moving away from boxy styling and overtly Eighties graphics.

The Ur had a final fling in August 1989 with the arrival of the 20V power unit. Using the same 2226cc displacement as the old 10V five-cylinder engine, this new motor gained a four-valveper-cylinder head and a hike in boost pressure to 0.84 bar. The result was a 220bhp engine that ‘Quattro’ seat fabric is worth the price of admission.

was not only more powerful and made better torque, but was also more efficient – that last bit was a big selling point in the soon to be economically recessed early Nineties.

Aside from the engine changes and a few peripheral components, the 20V Ur was near identical to its valve-deprived predecessor. The big changes were seen on the inside with better carpets, snazzy new ‘quattro’ seat stitching and a neat three-spoke, leathercovered Audi Sport steering wheel. These final, and most would say finest, quattros were made in very limited numbers – circa 300 in right-hand drive for the UK.

Driving a quattro is all about boost and understeer management. If you’re a less sensitive sort you can easily find yourself in a cloud of your own front tyre smoke. Take a slightly more considered approach to cornering and when digging into

Same five-pot block, but with twice the valves.

the quattro’s deep power reserves and you’ll find a machine that’s both fun to drive and still furiously fast.

This one’s no different, being sold in CCA’S forthcoming (at the time of writing) Summer Sale on June 18 and with just 32,000 miles, it’s looking like it could be a record breaker. Guided between £80k and £90k it might be well shy of the £163k paid at a Silverstone Auction sale in 2021, but it only takes two bidders who really want it to push it up to this level.