Mandatory: Brief history of mighty Audi quattro system

It’s hard to imagine Audi being anything less than what it is today – well known premium brand, famous for it’s technical achievements, sporting records and very a strong line-up of road cars. Back in the 80s, however, Audi was just another German automobile brand, with no real plan for world domination, especially in rallying. That all changed, of course, when Audi decided to up their game and apply their revolutionary quattro all wheel drive system to their rally machines. Suddenly, outrageous quattros were devouring both tarmac and gravel, finding grip where there was none to be found for RWD cars.

As a tribute to it’s rallying heritage and technical development, Audi released another edition of Moments of Truth short documentary, this time presented by one of Audi’s rallying heroes, Hannu Mikkola. Offical description of the film, and the video itself, lurks just below.

Audi RS “Moments of Truth” is a series of highly stylized, dynamic short-form documentaries that capture a moment in time — visual, visceral proof of the impact that technological innovation and risk-taking has had on performance in a highly competitive world.

This film tells the story of Audi quattro and the advantage that four-wheel drive technology afforded Audi race teams in the early 1980s on the FIA World Rally Championship circuit. Audi driver and WRC Champion Hannu Mikkola tells the story of his win at the 1983 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland — a grueling race full of big-air jumps and hairpin turns. Audi quattro GmbH head of development Stephan Reil links the story to modern day refinements of the quattro drivetrain bringing to life the technological benefits of the crown gear and sport differential through dynamic track footage of the all-new RS 5.