Audi Quattro by Graham Robson

The Audi Quattro is a Rally Giant because it was the first to combine four-wheel-drive and a turbocharged engine. It was also the first to run with more than 300bhp. As it was re-homologated/transformed from Group 4 into Group B in 1983, Quattro was also the first successful Group B car. This work presents its story. http://www.dropshippers.co.za/

The Audi Quattro is a Rally Giant because it was the first to combine four-wheel-drive and a turbocharged engine - not the most sophisticated, but it was the first, and very successful. It was also the first to run with more than 300bhp. As it was re-homologated/transformed from Group 4 into Group B in 1983, it was also the first successful Group B car. The Quattro dominated rallying from the start of 1981 until late 1984 (when the Peugeot 205 T16 took over). Quattros won no fewer than 23 World rallies from 1981 to 1985, won the Makes Championship in 1982 and 1984, and drivers Hannu Mikkola (1983) and Stig Blomqvist (1984) also won the World Drivers' series in Quattros. The Quattro led the World and European rally scene in the first half of the 1980s. http://www.dropshippers.co.za/

New Zealand Classic Car, January 2009
NZ magazine
The very productive Robson continues his enjoyable 'Rally Giants' series with these latest offerings on two of the iconic rally cars from the last 30 years. Both titles are in the same, now familiar format: 128-page soft cover books with plenty of fine photos. But the cars themselves certainly are very different: it's easy to forget the impact the quattro had when it was introduced, while the Escort started off looking like a pretty standard family car! The two models didn't quite coincide on the world rally scene as the Escort's days at the top ran from 1975-'81, while the quattro was one of the top dogs from 1981-'86. But they won rallies and titles aplenty, and it's fascinating to follow their rallying exploits. Both books chart the development of the cars; their drivers, from Clark and Vatanen to Mikkola and Blomqvist, plus all the others behind their many successes; the competition they faced, and lovely little snippets like registration numbers and the occasional blind alley.
Speedscene, October 2008
The magazine of the Hillclimb and Sprint Association
The industrious Graham Robson's book on the Peugeot 205 T16 was reviewed in Speedscene 146 and here are two more in the on-going series of Veloce's 'Rally Giants' series. Equally informative, as one would expect from the author with such a worldwide reputation as a motoring historian- fueled by his parallel career as a competitor, team manager, organizer, reporter and commentator (not to mention National Motor Club Quiz chairman, as this reviewer remembers, having been on the HSA's losing semi-final team in a Ford-sponsored series some years ago!) -these books cover the development and competition careers of two iconic rallying legends of the seventies and eighties. The Cosworth 16-valve BD engined Mk2 Escorts were arguably the most consistently versatile and successful rally car of all in the second half of the seventies, while the Audi Quattro was the first 300bhp plus World Rally car and the first to combine 4WD with a turbocharged engine, which brought new standards to the sport in the early years of the eighties. Their histories have been documented before, but Robson's compact and informative series or Veloce provides an ideal reference. http://www.dropshippers.co.za/

• Title: Audi Quattro
• Illustrations note: 134 full colour photographs
• Imprint name: Veloce Publishing PLC
• Table of contents: Foreword Introduction The car and the team Inspiration The Quattro's importance in rallying The Quattro's home ground Facing up to rival cars Homologation - meeting the rules Engineering features Motorsport development, and improvements Was the Quattro unique? Building and running the works cars Personalities and star drivers Competition story The works Quattro's career Past its best? Which rivals took over? World/major European rally wins Victories in British international rallies Index
http://www.dropshippers.co.za/