• Hamish White’s 1986 Audi ‘Sport Quattro S1 E2 build is his take on the legendary rally car from the ‘80s.
• From its inception in 1980 to Group B’s demise in 1986, the Quattro dominated the world rally stage.
• With a level of precision and engineering to rival Audi’s own, Hamish’s Quattro is the perfect modern take Sport Quattro recipe.

“I had an open can of race fuel that needed using before winter, so I’ve put that in.” Not the usual message I receive from an owner the night before a shoot, but a very welcome one nonetheless. After seven months of waiting and three failed attempts, it’s safe to say I was excited to finally shoot Hamish White’s Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2 build. Knowing it would be running on 120-octane race fuel for the day just made it even better.

This car you see before you is 11 years of hard work and consistency. An engineering background crossed with consistency, precision work, and dedication to meeting Hamish’s vision for his perfect Audi Quattro.

Audi’s Group B Legend

The Quattro was not only the car that cemented Audi’s place in motorsport history but also the car that gave its name to Audi’s now infamous four-wheel drive model range. What you may not know is that Audi engineers got their idea for a performance 4WD system from Volkswagen’s military vehicles. The rear-engined, air-cooled VW Iltis may have been designed for climbing hills and fording rivers but Audi’s development gurus saw another use for the permanent 4WD: going fast on loose surfaces and in all weather conditions.

A longitudinally-mounted five-cylinder engine in front of the front axle pushing 197hp with a locking center-differential was plenty quick for the 80s, enabling a 0-60 time of 7.1 seconds in most weather conditions. The UR (original in German) Quattro saw rallying success in 1980, immediately upon entry into top-flight rallying. By 1982 Group B regulations were in place and the Quattro saw its development into “A1” and “A2” models, with wider arches and 300bhp.

In 1984, the Sport Quattro S1 was launched, a short wheelbase version with even wider arches and a dual overhead cam, all-aluminum version of Audi’s five-cylinder engine, now rated at 450bhp. The final evolution came in the form of Sport Quattro S1 E2; with crazy bodywork and 590bhp. In their final form in 1986, they were lethal cars. The fall of Group B is well documented, but it’s no surprise the class became too dangerous to race with modern power figures in often unsafe cars weighing less than a tonne.

Not His First Rodeo…

Die-hard VW fans might recognize Hamish’s name from forum days over a decade ago or from a combination of magazines and the early internet. If you were a part of Edition38 or a Performance VW reader back in the day then you would likely have come across Hamish’s previous SWB Quattro build. A less “comprehensive” conversion, Hamish’s old car resembled a road-going Sport Quattro more than a rally car. It was an incredible build—enough to earn it a center-spread poster spot in PVW with a photo session in a dedicated studio—but this one tops it in a completely different way.

Hamish had a second shell in storage after a crash in the first car took it off the road for a little while, with plans to swap the drivetrain over and keep it as it was in every other sense. Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be. Life goes on, however, and the first car was sold for Hamish to fund a house purchase with his now-wife. Three kids and a career took up most of his time since then, but any spare minute was dedicated to building a new Quattro from scratch.

Nothing Left Untouched

“The car was given to me for free after I had crashed my old Quattro during testing 10 years ago,” Hamish recalls. “I was looking for a new roof (slick top) and was offered the full shell. It had a sunroof but it was too good to turn down.” The shell was a 1986 B2 Audi Coupé, the commuter version of the Quattro with a non-turbocharged engine. The engine may have been lacking, but the floorpan was almost identical on “Coupé Quattro” models making it the perfect base.

Using his previous experience, Hamish used a custom jig to shorten the chassis by 320mm as per the Sport Quattro. Unlike his previous build, it was time to go the whole nine yards and add the detail that sets his build apart from most of the other conversions out there. The windscreen and forward roof section from an Audi 80 sedan were grafted onto the Coupé bulkhead—a modification requested by rally drivers in the 80s to reduce glare on sunny stages.

By the time he was satisfied, the only parts of the steel chassis left on Hamish’s Quattro were the floorpan, bulkhead, and front chassis rails. Everything else has been cut away and replaced with carbon-kevlar body panels wrapped around a multi-point roll cage. T45 steel tube ensures FIA-grade safety and rigidity, whilst the fit and finish of the body panels are simply out of this world. Just like the factory cars, the roof skin has been bonded onto the roll cage itself for stiffness. Unlike the factory cars, however, the roll cage has been designed as a stressed member at the rear; pick-up points for the rear differential are part of the rear cage structure.

My favorite touch is the ‘QUATTRO’ script in the Lexan rear window, a stylish touch designed to add more stiffness to the screen. The yellow headlights are OEM items from a French-market UR Quattro and the carbon fibre around the car has a beautifully uniform weave.

Stop and Turn and Go Like a Rally Car

Everything underneath Hamish’s Quattro is solid-mounted and rose-jointed to eliminate any deflection. After some mildly scary time in the passenger seat, I can tell you that not only is Hamish’s Audi incredibly stable on the move, but you can certainly feel and hear the road and drivetrain in the cabin. It is loud.

The front strut towers have been raised for more suspension travel at the lowered ride height, and have been triangulated into the cage. Custom-made subframes sit at both ends of the car, with custom tubular suspension arms connected to multiple pickup points for a vast range of adjustments. KW Competition two-way coilovers and bladed anti-roll bars complete the suspension package; inverted dampers and solid bearings mark out the KWs as bespoke motorsport items, not your usual Clubsports or V3s. The anti-roll bars are bladed in design, meaning they can be stiffened or softened depending on the angle at which they’re adjusted on the car.

330x32mm two-piece discs sit at all four corners of the car with eight-piston Brembo and four-piston AP Racing calipers at the front and rear respectively. They sit behind a stunning set of Magnesium BBS E50 wheels, dated as a 1986 set. Measuring 16×9 inches all around with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires, they fill the wheel arches perfectly for that motorsport stance so many struggle to achieve. Not one to do things in half-measures, Hamish has a second set of E50s in 16×9.5 wrapped in slick Michelin tires for sprint days and hill climbs in the car. Why the race rubber? Well, a ground-up rebuilt AAN 2.2-liter engine pushing 450bhp on race fuel in a car weighing 2300lbs (1050kg) with a short wheelbase could do with all the grip it can take on a tight street circuit.

A Garrett Motion G28 turbo blows air out through a custom 3.5” downpipe which splits into two 3” side-exit exhausts. Cooling is taken care of by a bespoke radiator and intercooler setup, designed to use all of the available surface area side by side at the front of the Audi. Power is transmitted to the locking and limited slip differentials via a six-speed Audi S4 gearbox, with a custom flywheel and S1 shifter tower in the cabin. Also in the cabin is a 40-litre race fuel tank with twin Bosch 044 fuel pumps, and a dry-sump tank in anticipation of Hamish’s second engine build.

The whole setup is controlled by a MOTEC M130 ECU and PDM 30, hooked up to a MOTEC switch pad and digital dashboard by aerospace quick-release fittings as part of a bespoke harness. I mustn’t forget to mention the Bosch drive-by-wire throttle too, for near-instant throttle response. The anti-lag is a riot, and I can tell you Hamish’s Quattro doesn’t spit flames out of those side exhausts, it breathes fire. Enough to light up the road in front of the car at night, just ask me how I know!

Details, Details, Details

The interior of Hamish’s Audi, vibrations and noise aside, is a very pleasant place to be with thoughtful touches around the car for comfort. A pair of Recaro SPA seats—genuine ex-WRC Items used by Peter Solberg and Phil Mills—provide plenty of support and cushioning on England’s broken mountain roads. A fun easter egg is the rally legend’s signature under the passenger seat cushion.

Ex-WRC Sabelt harnesses, Puma branded as Ford’s WRC sponsor at the time, keep you pinned in and even have titanium adjusters. Every gram counts, after all. Porsche GT3 Cup power steering allows Hamish to drive fast without exerting all of his effort on fighting the road, whilst the steering column itself is adjustable. Why, you may ask? Because his wife is insistent that she’ll drive the Quattro one day, and he wants her to be comfortable when she does.

A simple yet foolproof reverse gear lockout, custom handbrake, and sliding passenger window are more examples of small details that make a build as comprehensive as it is easy to live with. Add to that the fact that it looks incredible and that everything except for the paint and wiring was done in-house by Hamish and his dad in their spare time. This is a build that deserves respect from every angle you look at it, and it’s my favorite car I’ve experienced all year.

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