MY FEEDLY

Barn Find: A 1982 Audi Quattro – Unearthed After Almost 30 Years

This 1982 Audi Quattro was parked in a locked garage almost 30 years ago, it would spend decades in darkness with just the dust for company until Jonny Smith discovered it and rolled it out into the sunshine in a recent episode of The Late Brake Show.

As a first generation Audi Quattro, this car is a highly collectible modern classic with a turbocharged inline-five cylinder engine powering the now famous “Quattro” all-wheel drive system that changed the world of rally forever.

Fast Facts – An Original Audi Quattro

When the Audi Quattro was first unveiled at the 1980 International Geneva Motor Show no one could have known quite how revolutionary it would be.
With its unusual turbocharged Audi five-cylinder engine and its advanced all-wheel drive system the Audi Quattro proved highly capable in all conditions – from regular road driving to traversing snow, ice, mud, and gravel.
Audi began racing the Quattro in 1980, various motorsport iterations of the design won countless races, dominating the sport and making all-wheel drive a necessity for any team that wanted to win.
The Quattro you see here was recently uncovered by popular motoring presenter Jonny Smith in an episode of “The Late Brake Show” that has now been seen by almost half a million people on YouTube.

The Volkswagen Iltis 4×4

In 1976 a group of Audi engineers arrived in Sweden to conduct deep snow testing with a number of new Audi front-wheel drive vehicles.

Some vintage PR action shots of the Volkswagen Iltis. Despite the the Iltis was only capable of 75 bhp. Image courtesy of Audi AG.

Among the group of vehicles was a Volkswagen Iltis, a rough and sturdy military four-wheel drive that produced just 75 hp. Much to the surprise of many of the engineers, the Iltis was considerably quicker than any of the more powerful Audis it was tested against.

The key to the success of the Iltis wasn’t its power, realized Audi chassis engineer Jörg Bensinger, but its four-wheel drivetrain.

This revelation led to the development of a new all-wheel drive system that would become a central element to Audi’s future models over the coming decades, and it would turn the world of rally on its head.

Quattro: What’s In A Name

The Audi Quattro is sometimes called the Ur-Quattro, the “Ur-” prefix is German for “primordial” or “original.” The word quattro is Italian for four, as in four-wheel drive, though it’s never been made clear why it wasn’t named vier, the German word for four.

Above Video: This is the full episode of The Late Brake Show about this Audi. It’s hosted by Jonny Smith who you may recognize from his many TV appearances, most famously on the British motoring show Fifth Gear.

These original Quattros are the only Audis that use the word with a capital “Q,” all other quattros use a lowercase “q” out of deferential respect to the original.

Now that we have all of the technical aspects of the Quattro naming conventions out of the way we can talk about what actually made the cars what they are.

The Audi Quattro

When the Audi Quattro was first shown to the world in 1980 it was seen as a new take on a pre-existing idea.

The Jensen FF from the 1960s had been the first road-going production performance car (or sports GT car) with an all-wheel drive system courtesy of the engineers at Ferguson Formula. Both AMC and Subaru had developed their own four-wheel drive road cars in the years that followed.

This Quattro sat for decades in a locked garage in England, just waiting to be rediscovered and rolled back out into the light.

What Audi did differently was that they made their new all-wheel drive Quattro a true sports car, with a 200 bhp turbocharged inline-five cylinder engine, a 5-speed manual transmission, bucket seats, and suspension and brakes intended for spirited driving.

The reason for this was that they had their sights set on the world of rally, specifically the World Rally Championship (WRC), as they knew that their new vehicle had the ability to dominate the largely rear-wheel drive competition.

A production car was required for homologation purposes of course, but the Audi Quattro quickly became much more than just another low-volume homologation special. The Quattro rewrote the DNA of Audi, turning it into one of the most desirable German automakers in the world.

The racing versions of the Audi Quattro certainly did not disappoint. The cars won a slew of WRC events including two World Championships (and two runner up finishes).

Quattros won the Pikes Peak Hillclimb three years in a row from 1985 to 1987, and they won a vast array of top flight rallies including the Monte Carlo Rally, the 1000 Lakes Rally, the Acropolis Rally, Rally of Brazil, and dozens more.

The Audi Quattro was fitted with a turbocharged inline-five cylinder engine producing 197 bhp and 210 lb ft of torque at 3,500 rpm. Power was sent to all four wheels via a five-speed transmission and Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive system.

The 1982 Audi Quattro Shown Here

The Quattro you see here is a bid of a mystery car, it was parked in a locked garage by its owner almost 30 years ago and then left untouched.

It likely would have remained tucked away if it wasn’t for the sleuthing of well-known motoring TV presenter Jonny Smith, the host of the popular YouTube channel The Late Brake Show.

In the episode linked above you’ll see Jonny and the car’s current keeper open up the garage door and roll the car out for the first time in decades. It remains in understandably original condition throughout, though it now will obviously require a full restoration.

The car currently being offered for sale in a live online auction on Car & Classic in the UK, if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.

Images courtesy of Car & Classic + Audi AG

The post Barn Find: A 1982 Audi Quattro – Unearthed After Almost 30 Years appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/barn-find-audi-quattro/
via gqrds

For Sale: A Collection Of Seven Vintage Ferrari Prints

This collection of vintage Ferrari poster prints includes seven pieces in total, each poster depicts multiple Ferraris, often in series to showcase their evolution over time.

The print pictured above on the left shows many of the more notable Ferrari road cars built over 40 years between 1948 and 1988, starting with the Inter 166 and finishing with the Ferrari F40. A great example of just how far automotive engineering progressed in those four decades.

The second print in the series (top right) includes a profile image of every Ferrari Formula 1 car from 1950, with the Ferrari 125 F1, to 2011 with the Ferrari 150º Italia. One of the other prints shows profiles of many Ferrari road cars from 1940 to 2005, including major highlights like the 250 GTO, F40, Testarossa, 250 GT SWB, and a number of others.

There are seven poster prints in this series, some of which are framed and glazed. The poster pictured above includes many of the most memorable Ferraris from the late 1940s to the late 1980s.

Among the other prints in the series is a series of artist-drawn Ferrari Formula 1 cars in action, with cars dating from the 1940s into the late 1960s. Another includes photographs of the early 2000s Ferrari line up, including the Enzo, 575 Maranello, 360 Modena, 360 Spider, and the Barchetta.

The series is being offered in a live online auction by Bonhams, the price guide is £150 – £200 which works out to $189 – $252 USD. If you’d like to read more or register to bid you can visit the listing here.

Images courtesy of Bonhams

The post For Sale: A Collection Of Seven Vintage Ferrari Prints appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/vintage-ferrari-poster-prints/
via gqrds

A Subaru-Powered 1987 Volkswagen Vanagon 4×4 Camper

This 1987 Volkswagen Vanagon has been through a restoration that included new paint, new interior upholstery, new suspension, and perhaps most interestingly, a new Subaru 2.5 liter flat-four engine.

It’s been set up as a minimalist camper, with a fold-flat seat in the rear that makes a double bed, and the addition of a small portable refrigerator. With its lifted suspension, 4×4 drivetrain, and all-terrain tires it’s ready to go where most vans can’t.

Fast Facts – The Volkswagen Vanagon 4×4

The Volkswagen Vanagon was originally introduced into the North American market in 1979. The name is a portmanteau of van and station wagon – VW claimed that it had the room of a van, but drove like a station wagon to make it seem less intimidating to people who had never driven a van before.
The Vanagon was offered in a variety of trim levels, from basic up to a more luxurious specification, and a Westfalia pop-top camper version was also offered.
The Syncro 4×4 models were produced in low numbers between 1984 and 1992. The four-wheel drive platform was actually manufactured by Steyr-Daimler-Puch in Austria.
These 4×4 Vanagons have become highly sought after due to the modern resurgence in van popularity due to the “Van Life” movement, a movement that continues to pick up steam.

The Volkswagen Type 2

The first generation of the Volkswagen Type 2 was released back in 1950, just five years after the end of the Second World War.

This is the Vanagon Syncro, meaning it came from the factory with a 4×4 drivetrain developed by Steyr-Daimler-Puch in Austria.

As the story goes the idea for the Type 2 van was actually conceived by the Dutch Volkswagen importer Ben Pon. He was visiting the VW factory and saw what they called the “Plattenwagen” – a very primate transport vehicle used to ferry parts around the factory, and it was based on a Type 1 Beetle platform.

Pon sketched a doodle of his proposed van design, it impressed the executives at VW enough that they put a version of it into production, though there was a three year delay as production struggled to meet demand for the Beetle.

When it was put into production the Type 2 (T1) proved to be revolutionary, it inspired a slew of other similar forward-control vans from manufacturers around the world, and it remained in production until 1975 when the Brazilian factories switched over to building the newer Type 2 (T2).

The Volkswagen Vanagon Syncro 4×4

The Vanagon was the model name given to the Volkswagen Type 2 (T3) in the North and South American markets.

In the rear the seats fold flat to create a double bed for weekends away in the wilderness. There’s also a portable battery powered refrigerator to keep your supplies cool.

The name is a portmanteau of van and station wagon, this was chosen to play on the fact that VW was marketing the van as being as easy to drive as a normal family station wagon.

Volkswagen Type 2 (T3) was larger and faster than its predecessors but it retained their fundamental layout, with a forward control driving position, side doors, a large rear cargo (or passenger) compartment, and a rear-mounted engine under the floor to maximize space.

A few special versions of the Vanagon were offered, from the cheaper and more simple base model to the Vanagon L with un upgraded interior. The Vanagon GL was the top of the line model with more luxury accruements, and the company also offered a Westfalia pop-top camper version.

From 1979 to 1983 the Type 2 (T3) was fitted with the classic VW air-cooled flat-four engine with a capacity of either 1.6 or 2.0 liters. From 1983 onwards they recieved more modern liquid-cooled engines with sizes ranging from 1.9 to 2.1 liters.

Perhaps the most interesting version of the Vanagon was the Syncro model, it was fitted with a full four-wheel drive drivetrain developed by Steyr-Daimler-Puch. It had a slightly shorter wheelbase, increased ground clearance, and 48/52 front/rear weight distribution.

The 2.5 liter Subaru flat-four and 5-speed transmission give this Vanagon much better highway legs than it would have had originally – ideal for cross-country trips.

The Vanagon Syncro became popular with people who wanted a more off-road capable camper van, and many remain today fulfilling this role.

The Subaru-Powered Vanagon Shown Here

The 1987 Volkswagen Vanagon Syncro you see here is a little unusual, it’s now powered by a Subaru flat-four and it has a 5-speed gearbox, giving it much better modern highway capability than its siblings.

A restoration was commenced in 2018 which saw the van get a full respray, a newly upholstered interior, uprated suspension, all-terrain tires, heavy duty off-road bumpers front and back, an LED light bar, and that aforementioned Subaru engine upgrade.

The van is now a minimalist camper of sorts, with its rear seat folding flat to create a double bed, it also has a battery-powered portable refrigerator.

It’s now for sale on Bring A Trailer out of Kirkland, Washington. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.

Images courtesy of Bring A Trailer

The post A Subaru-Powered 1987 Volkswagen Vanagon 4×4 Camper appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/volkswagen-vanagon-syncro-4x4/
via gqrds

Full Documentary: “Road To Atlanta” With Paul Newman

“Road To Atlanta” is a documentary that covers some of the SCCA racing career of Paul Newman, a talented racing driver (and occasional actor) who features heavily in the film, openly discussing his experiences and racing philosophy.

Though he’s better known for his long career as an A-list Hollywood actor, what a lot of people don’t know is that he was an exceedingly successful racing driver later in life, competing at the professional level and often winning.

When he first started racing Newman said “the first thing that I ever found I had any grace in.” His discovery of the joys of racing was essentially an accident, he had been cast in the 1969 film Winning and he enrolled at the Watkins Glen Racing School to learn how to drive at the limit.

Newman discusses his history with racing and some of his philosophy that helped him become a multiple-championship winning driver in his own right.

He didn’t know it at the time but this would be the beginning of a long and successful racing career.

Newman would win four SCCA National Championships, he won his class at the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans (2nd overall), and he later became the oldest driver to be part of a winning team in a major sanctioned race, winning in his class at the 1995 24 Hours of Daytona at the age of 70.

This wasn’t Newman’s final race, he continued for another decade including entries in the grueling Baja 1000 in 2004 and the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2005. He took the pole position in his last professional race, in 2007 at Watkins Glen International at the age of 81.

If you’d like to read more about Newman’s racing career you can visit the lengthy ESPN article on the subject here.