The Legendary Audi UR-Quattro: A Racing and Street Car Beyond Its Time

The car next to me has the reputation as being one of the most legendary rally cars of all time. Besides being a badass rally car, this street version of the Quattro was years ahead of its time. Packed with tons of innovative new tech and really made Audi the company that it is today.

I'm gonna show you some of my favorite features about this car, what made it a legend and then I'm gonna answer some of your questions, set the record straight. We're going bumper to bumper on the Audi UR-Quattro.

Okay, so first off, and I grew up in the South and until about five minutes ago, I've been pronouncing Audi, aw-dee. That's probably gonna upset a lot of you. I'm just saying right now, I'm really sorry, I'm not trying to be disrespectful. I'm gonna do my very best by saying Audi, but if I slip up sometimes, you know what, we all make mistakes, but I love it too.

Now this is the UR-Quattro. It's a legendary car that has been making waves in the automotive world for decades. The name "UR" stands for "Ur-Quattro," which is Italian for "first Quattro." The Quattro is Audi's all-wheel-drive system, and the UR-Quattro is one of the first production cars to feature this technology.

The UR-Quattro was designed to be a racing car that could also handle everyday driving. It has a sleek and aerodynamic body, with a distinctive shape that sets it apart from other cars of its time. The car's interior is just as impressive, with a range of features that were cutting-edge for its era.

One of the standout features of the UR-Quattro is its sound system. The car's five-cylinder engine makes an unmistakable sound that is both familiar and exotic. The engine's unique sound is one of the most distinctive features of the car, and it has become a hallmark of Audi's brand identity.

The engine itself is a 2.1-liter inline-five that produces over 150 horsepower. It's a powerful engine that gives the UR-Quattro a responsive and agile feel on the road. The car also features a range of other innovative technologies, including a five-speed manual transmission and a differential lock system.

One of the most interesting aspects of the UR-Quattro is its history. Audi was under the umbrella of Volkswagen at the time, and many of the car's components were sourced from Volkswagen. This is reflected in the car's design and engineering, with many of the same technologies used in other VW models.

Despite being a part of the Volkswagen family, the UR-Quattro has always been seen as a unique and special car. Its combination of performance, handling, and innovative technology made it an instant classic, and it has since become one of the most sought-after cars of all time.

So, why don't we go inside and see what's happening in the engine bay? The engine is actually quite interesting, with many unusual features that set it apart from other engines. One of the first things you notice is the presence of Volkswagen logos all over the engine compartment. This is because Audi was under the Volkswagen umbrella at the time, and many of the car's components were sourced from VW.

The engine itself is a complex piece of machinery that produces over 150 horsepower. It features a range of innovative technologies, including a turbocharger and a five-speed manual transmission. The engine also has a distinctive sound that is both familiar and exotic.

The sound of the UR-Quattro's engine is one of its most distinctive features. It makes an unmistakable noise that is both powerful and refined. The engine's sound is one of the most iconic sounds in the automotive world, and it has become synonymous with Audi's brand identity.

One of the coolest features of the UR-Quattro is its differential lock system. With a pull of this lever, the front wheels are locked together and rotate at the same speed as the rear wheels. This gives the car incredible traction and stability, making it perfect for off-road driving.

The door handles on the UR-Quattro are another interesting feature. They're designed to be pulled like a finger, which is both satisfying and intuitive. The interior of the car is also full of innovative features, including a five-speed manual transmission and a range of other technologies that were cutting-edge for its time.

Overall, the Audi UR-Quattro is a legendary car that has stood the test of time. Its combination of performance, handling, and innovative technology makes it one of the most sought-after cars of all time. Whether you're driving on the road or off-road in the mountains, the UR-Quattro is an unforgettable experience.

By the way, all this plastic, all this vinyl wrapped stuff, all the leather in this car is extremely good condition. Like I can't believe how well all the plastic pieces have held up. I mean there's not a crack anywhere on the dash, on any of the seats and obviously these aren't the same type of seats that were in the Rally B race cars.

But if I wanted to take one of these and go off-road rallying in it, these things are comfortable man. The bolsters on the hips are pretty high, they lock your legs in nice. Really gets you in a nice comfortable position. Also maybe the coolest feature in this car is the differential lock. And with a pull of this lever, it locks the front wheels so they rotate at the same speed as the rear wheels.

That's pretty cool. So now it's time to answer some questions that you guys have for us and on our community YouTube page.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(dramatic music)- The car next to me hasthe reputation as beingone of the most legendaryrally cars of all time.(engines revving)Besides being badass rally car,this street version of the quattrowas years ahead of it's time.Packed with tons of innovative new techand really made Audi thecompany that it is today.I'm gonna show you someof my favorite featuresabout this car, what made it a legendand then I'm gonna answersome of your questions,set the record straight.We're going bumper to bumper,on the Audi UR-quattro.(upbeat music)Okay so first off,and I grew up in the Southand until about five minutes ago,I've been pronouncing Audi, aw-dee.That's probably gonna upset a lot of you.I'm just saying right now,I'm really sorry, I'm nottrying to be disrespectful.I'm gonna do my very best by saying Audi,but if I slip up sometimes,you know what, we all make mistakesbut I love you too.Now this is the UR-quattro, U-Rand that is German for firstof its kind or originaland people pronounce it different ways.It's either called the yer, the U.R.,the err or the urq.At the end of the day, it doesn't matterbecause what makes this car so specialis the quattro part.So we're gonna talk about that.Beautiful quattro all wheel drive system.(bright music)Now that word, if youdon't know totally cool,means four and the namehas been used by Audito refer to the quattrofour wheel drive systemor any other four wheel driveversion of an Audi model.Now the Audi quattrowas the first rally carto take advantage of thethen recently changed rulesthat allow the use of four wheel drivein competition rally racing.(engine revving loudly)And because the car did so well in rally,to commemorate the successof the original vehicle,all other Audi production models,with this four wheeldrive system were badgedwith the trademarked quattrowith the lowercase q.Just to give you an ideaof where this model standsin the hierarchy of the quattros,you have the rally version,you have the sport Quattrowhich was the homologation specialand then you have this car right here,the street version alsocalled the Ur-quattro.Quattro is different thenmost all wheel drive vehiclesbecause it uses a permanentfour wheel drive systemwith three differentials.One for the front wheels,one for the rear wheelsand one in the center.Now the quattro system todayis a lot more advanced.It uses fancy torquevectoring differentialsbut back in the 80s this was a huge deal,especially for a passenger road car.(bright music)Now obviously the all wheeldrive system is one of the mainfeatures of the quattro right herebut there are otherrace technology goodiesthat this car has.So we're gonna go takea look at some of those.(energetic music)Take these box flares for example.Now box flares are astaple in rally car worldand they allow you to run a bigger tire.Bigger tire, more grip.Now if you were to compare this car,to an Audi of the same time period.They'd look frickin' real boring.These things give thiscar a lot of character.They're integrated very nicely,into the side panels here.Look at that, that's one piece.It's really trick, really sexy.(energetic music)Now if you look at thiscar you might be wondering,is this a US spec caror a Euro spec car?Well the previous owner converted itwith a lot of these Euro parts.(upbeat electronic music)During the 80s safetyregulations in Americabasically meant all carshad to have ugly bumpers.And a lot of people like to swapEuro parts onto their US car.This car's got bumpers,taillights, headlights,wheels and other trim piecesfrom a European Ur-quattro.(intense electronic music)Now it has all theserally car aesthetics on itbut that wouldn't mean anything,unless it had a race car motor.Let's go under the hoodand see what's going on.(upbeat electronic music)So we asked you guys onour YouTube community page,what you wanted to know about this carand the majority of you wereinterested in this engine.Now this is a 2.1 liter, inline five,this is a 10 valve version.Now they make a 20 valve butit never came to the states.And it's making roughly 200 horsepower.This, because it has a mild cam in it,it's a little bit more,but you're looking at 20 poniesand if you've never heardof a five cylinder engine,well that's because not alot of companies use them,they're very, very unique.(upbeat electronic music)35's have smoother power deliveryand high displacement thena four cylinder engineand because they're smallerthen a six cylinder,they fit in really tight places,like this engine bay.(energetic music)Now besides the placementin the engine bay,another weird thing you'll notice,there are Volkswagenlogos all over this thing.Now Audi is under VW's umbrellaand this engine was kindof a parts bin special.Even the turbo font righthere looks very Porsche esque.(energetic music)There are a few reasons whyfive cylinder engines like thisaren't commonly used.One they're slightly imbalancedand tend to rock back and forth.And two they're more expensive to produce.But this engine right herepaved the way for Audi'ssuccess in the 80s.One of the other features of this car,is the sound, a five cylindermakes an unmistakable sound.Now we're gonna hearthat engine sound later,stick around, it's really uniqueand I'm excited to hearwhat this one sounds like.So why don't we go insideand see what's happeningin the (beep) pit.(people chattering)Ooh, soft.So the first thingand most satisfying thingabout getting in this car,are the door handles.For whatever reason, youpulling your fingers like this,to open a door, it'sjust really satisfying.(energetic music)So to start off let'sgive this 80s classic,the good old smell test.(deep inhale and exhale)I don't know this scent.Yeah, this is a new smell for me'cause I'm experiencing thissmell for the first time.There's a hint of leather,like old kind of weathered leather.Smells good, smells right.(intense electronic music)So this thing is very, very, analog.All the switches right here,are all very analog.You have these really beefy buttons.The gauges look so cool.You got this really nicefive speed stick right here,wrapped in a leather bootand the clutch pedal is real soft man.I mean it's nice, it's not,you're not having topush down pretty hard.It's pretty clean.(energetic music)One of the main things that yousee when you get in this caris the style of stitching on the leather.You have it on this seat,you have it on the driver's seat.You even get it on the doors.And it's even on the moon roof.Which, another crazyfeature about this car,you can remove this paneland put it in the trunk,there's a designated spot for it.(energetic music)By the way, all this plastic,all this vinyl wrapped stuff,all the leather in this car,is extremely good condition.Like I can't believe howwell all the plastic pieceshave held up.I mean there's not a crackanywhere on the dash,on any of the seatsand obviously these aren'tthe same type of seatsthat were in the Rally B race cars.But if I wanted to take one of theseand go off road rallying in it,these things are comfortable man.The bolsters on the hips,are pretty high, theylock your legs in nice.Really gets you in a nicecomfortable position.Also maybe, the coolestfeature in this car,is the differential lock.And with a pull of this differential lock,it locks the front wheels sothey rotate at the same speedas the rear wheels.That's pretty cool.So now it's time to answer acouple questions that you guyshave for us&, on ourcommunity YouTube page.Chance Riggs asked,"How many donuts can itfit around the shift boot?"You didn't specify what type of donut,so I'm gonna go dealers choice.Let's just say roughly, aKrispy Kreme donut has about,maybe an inch and a half thickness.We can go one, two, three, four.You get about four donuts on there.Thanks Chance Riggs foryour great question,I hope I answered it to your satisfaction.Daniel asked us,"What's the height of the windshield?"So give me a second, I'mgonna measure it for you.Oh, okay.Okay the height from thebase of the windshieldto the top is 28 inches.Max seems to think you careabout this measurement,this is worthless,don't even listen to it.That's about 51 inches,from the floor to the top herebut you didn't ask that question.Max, stop it.(laughing)That's height from the floor.If you guys ask questions,be more specific.Like if you wanna know how many donuts,what kind of donut?I need specifics.If you wanna know theheight of the windshield,height from where?Apparently that's confusing.Here you go.I teased this earlierabout this very unique,sounding inline five, inlinefives already sound unique,this one sounds especially different.Take a listen.(engine turning over)(engine revving)It gives you a little rumble.(engine revving)Nice.(energetic music)Now this car is super cool,it really set the stage forwhat Audi became as a brand.The quattro is still used,in a lot of their cars today.This is really, really cool man.(upbeat hip hop music)(engine revving)Shout out to Damon forletting us feature his car.Follow us on Instagram @donutmedia,follow me at @jeremiahburton.We got a bunch of new shows coming out so,click that notification button.Go on our community page,we're gonna be posting alot more stuff on there,we wanna interact with you guys more.Thank you so, so much, bye for now.