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Until the Quattro came along, four-wheel drive was for Land Rovers and tractors: Audi proved It had a more exciting application, especially when coupled with turbocharging, itself still a novelty in the early '80s.

The Quattro was so blindingly quick that favourable comparisons were made with all manner of bona fide supercars, which instantly raised the car's kudos.

The Quattro was an icon within months of its launch and it spawned a new generation of performance car: modern cars like the Subaru Impreza Turbo and Nissan Skyline GT-R prove the formula is still valid today.

The world had to take a fresh look at what constituted a supercar in 1980 when Audi launched the first Quattro. The fat-arched coupe had a 200 bhp turbo five cylinder engine, but more importantly, drive went to all four wheels.

As an all weather road car it was pretty much uncatchable at the time, and competition versions quickly cleaned up in the World Rally Championship. Soon the Quattro popularised the concept of four wheel drive, and while some manufacturers have tried it and moved on, Audi has stayed faithful to the cause. The superiority of the quattro system can be gauged by Audi's performance in the BTCC: it swept the board in '96, was heavily penalised in '97 but still won races, and the system has been banned for '98.

MCP Motorsport 1999/2000/2001 Last Page Update 10 March 2001