30 years of success — Audi is further expanding quattro technology

(January 25, 2011) The quattro permanent all-wheel drive system has been a successful technology for over 30 years and an Audi cornerstone. Now Audi is making it even better — with new models and new approaches to the technology.

The Audi RS 3 is being launched now; the A1 with quattro drive will be ready for series production soon. quattro with electric torque distribution, on the other hand, presents a radical new technology — the quattro drive system for the mobility of the future.

The current model lineup includes more than 120 quattro variants; several models are available exclusively with all-wheel drive. The dynamic S and RS models also play key roles. The Audi RS 3 will be added to the range in just a few weeks, with the A1 with quattro drive to follow.

Audi RS 3

On March 1, 1980, the first Audi quattro debuted at the Geneva Motor Show, heralding the start of a series of triumphs in racing and on the roads that continues to this day. In the more than 30 years since its debut, Audi has produced roughly 3.7 million cars with permanent all-wheel drive. The brand has long been the world’s leading premium manufacturer in this field of technology.

There is a succession of technologies stretching from the first Audi quattro to the very latest evolutionary stage, the crown-gear center differential. Over the last 30 years, Audi has repeatedly broken new ground with quattro permanent all-wheel drive, including for the models with transverse-mounted engines and for the R8 high-performance sports car with its unique technology layout.

The engineers already have numerous ideas for the future. One of them is the electrical quattro, a hybrid concept in which the front axle is powered by a combustion engine and an electric motor while the rear axle is entirely electrically powered. This technology puts Audi in an outstanding position with regard to the mobility of the future. The quattro permanent all-wheel drive system will also continue to add new chapters to its success story in the decades ahead.