Audi is offering a 1:43 scale model of the US quattro, which is made from die-cast aluminum and boasts numerous details. The press release states that this beautifully detailed 1:43 scale model of the Eighties original is in its road-going form. Audi revealed that the 1:43 model from Audi quattro is made from high quality die-cast aluminum.
Each detail of the original’s styling will also be kept, including the four rings livery on the doors to the ‘quattro’ tags on the back passenger windows.”
The actual car, which came to the world at the 1980 Geneva Auto Show, is powered by a turbocharged five-cylinder 200 hp engine and an ultra-capable four-wheel-drive system.
For the children, Audi is offering a mini Quattro for children, with the vehicle gettng five-spoke wheels, a horn, low-noise tires, and a trailer hitch that can be used for the optional quattro trailer.“
Audi also said that the mini Quattro may take delivery of their own (RRP £65.49), which is fitted with five-spoke wheels, a horn to warn wayward bystanders and pets, ‘factory-fit’ trailer hitch and low-noise tires as standard. The ride-on quattro is offered in several sporty red or executive silver finish.
The first generation Audi quattro was first unwrapped by the German premium carmaker in 1980 at the Geneva Automobile Show, thereby signaling the launch of one of the most significant innovations in the current world of automobiles.
At the time, the all-wheel-drive system was not really new since four-wheel-drive constructions had been in existence since the turn of the century. Of course, all-wheel-drive technology is vital for off-road vehicles, and there had been attempts to use 4WD in Formula One.
Audi, however, was the first carmaker to come up with a complete permanent four-wheel-drive suitable for large scale production. Traditionally, power in 4WD vehicles is transmitted to both the front and rear axle through a heavy and large transfer gear located behind the gearbox.
Significant changes could be made to the chassis structures and a large propshaft tunnel could be installed – making the space in the passenger compartment much smaller – but they result in unfavorable conditions that are unlikely to be offset by the benefits of four-wheel-drive.
Audi, however, looked to innovate and managed to develop a small light gearbox that is just a tad longer than the transmission in a conventional front-wheel-drive vehicle. Audi was able to arrive at this solution by connected a center differential to a hollow gearbox shaft that contains a second shaft for the front wheel drive.
Initially, this innovative technology was only available for the 200 hp Audi quattro top model. Soon enough, most of Audi’s model could be availed with a permanent four-wheel-drive. Later, Audi brought the quattro from the road to the rally races and then to the tracks, thereby demonstrating how this sophisticated technology could bring real dynamic benefits not only off the road.
In fact, the quattro drive first demonstrated its superiority in World Championship Rallying, and then managed to amass wins in the American TransAm and in the IMSA Series, as well as in the German Touring Car Championship (DTM) and in touring car series around the world.
