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With a fizzing turbocharged engine and sensational grip, the Audi quattro set new standards in motorsport and on the road at the start of the 1980s. Its 0 to 62mph time was a scorching — for its day — 7.1 seconds and its flat-out speed 137mph, though misty-eyed former owners claim it was faster.
Yet like penicillin and Post-it notes, its success came about almost by chance. Its German designers planned to build only 400, the minimum number for it to be entered for rallying and recognised as a production car. When reviewers climbed inside the boxy four-seater and discovered its road-holding abilities, courtesy of its four-wheel-drive system — hence quattro — they asked why rally drivers should have all the fun. In response, Audi
