Audi Sport quattro S1 E2
The Sport quattro S1 E2 is Group B's most extreme expression of the four-wheel-drive revolution Audi started: a 530+ hp, wing-laden short-wheelbase monster whose 1985–86 season and Pikes Peak afterlife made it rallying's definitive icon of excess.
History
Audi detonated rallying's conventions in 1981 when the original quattro proved four-wheel drive could win at the top level, taking manufacturers' titles in 1982 and 1984 and drivers' crowns with Hannu Mikkola (1983) and Stig Blomqvist (1984). But as mid-engined Group B rivals arrived, the front-engined quattro's nose-heavy layout aged fast. Audi's answer was radical surgery: the Sport quattro chopped 320 mm from the wheelbase in 1984, and the S1 E2 evolution of 1985 added the era's most outrageous aerodynamics — snowplough front, tea-tray rear wing — plus an alloy-block 2.1-litre five-cylinder officially quoted beyond 470 hp and in reality often above 530.
The E2's competitive window was short and fierce: Walter Röhrl's 1985 San Remo victory stands as its emblematic win, the five-cylinder's warble and anti-lag crackle becoming Group B's defining soundtrack. When Group B was banned after 1986's tragedies, the S1's story continued at Pikes Peak, where Röhrl's 1987 record run in a further-evolved car closed the programme in legend.
Genuine works S1 E2s are museum-grade rarities documented through Audi Tradition; the broader market trades in Sport quattro homologation road cars and period-correct evocations built on quattro platforms.
Palmarès
The quattro family: WRC manufacturers' titles 1982 and 1984, drivers' titles 1983 (Mikkola) and 1984 (Blomqvist), and over 20 WRC victories. The S1 E2 itself took the 1985 San Remo Rally with Röhrl and Monte Carlo/Sweden podiums, then the 1987 Pikes Peak outright record — 10:47.85 — as its final statement.
What to check before you buy
Sort the tiers ruthlessly: works E2 chassis (essentially unobtainable, Audi Tradition-documented), 214 Sport quattro homologation road cars (blue-chip collectibles), long-wheelbase quattro rally cars with period history, and modern evocations. For anything claiming competition history, period entry lists and Audi's records are the test; for Sport quattros, matching engine/chassis numbers and originality of the aluminium/kevlar panels dominate value. Evocations trade purely on build quality — engine builder reputation (10v vs 20v conversions) and 4WD system spec are the price drivers.
Did you know
- The S1 E2's wings weren't styling: Audi's wind tunnel found genuine downforce worth seconds on tarmac stages, kicking off rallying's aero era.
- Röhrl described the E2 as the only rally car that ever frightened him — 0–100 km/h on gravel took well under three seconds.
- Some works E2s ran an early PDK dual-clutch gearbox in 1985–86 — Porsche's transmission technology tested in Audi's rally war.
In the marketplace now
View all →No exact Audi Sport quattro S1 E2 listed right now — here is closely related machinery on the market.
