Summary

In the late 1970s, when the question of making a four-wheel drive rally car was raised, Audi engineers contacted FIA to consult on homologation issues. At that time, this technology was banned, and no one raised the problem of making such a car. At the time, the FIA saw no problem in authorizing the little whim, leaving the Germans to build their own toy. Following the publication of the 1979 FIA Yearbook, which lifted the ban on all-wheel drive, Audi went ahead with its design for the revolutionary quattro. Lots of people expected the quattro to look like a Jeep. Many laughed but then there was silence. Audi went ahead with its quattro, the car that will change the face of rallying forever. It was the birth of a legend that captured the imagination and brought out fans in their tens of thousands. The future had arrived.