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Old-school rally legends under the hammer

17 March, 2015

Over three decades on from its release, the Audi Quattro is a cult icon for some, and is fondly remembered by many. Why? The Ur-Quattro (‘original’ Quattro) helped four-wheel drive gain traction (sorry) in the mainstream motoring market, and enjoyed considerable success in international motorsport.

Though it shared much of its bodywork and componentry with the Audi 80 coupe, it departed tradition with a four-wheel-drive system and independent-rear-suspension system. The engines offered throughout the Quattro’s life were all turbocharged, in-line five-cylinders, though the original was a single overhead cam (SOHC) in-line five with intercooled turbo, producing 200hp.

The car was a hit with both customers and racers, and won Audi the Manufacturers’ Championship in 1982 and 1984, and the Drivers’ Championship in 1983 and 1984. Audi’s 1983 World Drivers’ Championship was taken out by Hannu Mikkola, in a Group B Quattro, which he had also used in the 1982 Monte Carlo Rally, where he placed second, and the Swedish Rally, where he finished 16th.

This very car has been restored and is now up for auction at Bonhams’ inaugural Members Meeting Sale on March 21, along with a 1985 Audi Quattro Sport SWB Coupe — understood to be one of the six original cars delivered to the UK. Both cars have estimated values of over £220,000, befitting their status of rallying royalty.

ROTARY CHIC

6 September, 2024

Kerry Bowman readily describes himself as a dyed-in-the-wool Citroën fan and a keen Citroën Car Club member. His Auckland home holds some of the chic French cars and many parts. He has also owned a number of examples of the marque as daily drivers, but he now drives a Birotor GS. They are rare, even in France, and this is a car which was not supposed to see the light of day outside France’s borders, yet somehow this one escaped the buyback to be one of the few survivors out in the world.
It’s a special car Kerry first saw while overseas in the ’70s, indulging an interest sparked early on by his father’s keenness for Citroëns back home in Tauranga. He was keen to see one ‘in the flesh’.
“I got interested in this Birotor when I bought a GS in Paris in 1972. I got in contact with Citroën Cars in Slough, and they got me an invitation to the Earls Court Motor Show where they had the first Birotor prototype on display. I said to a guy on the stand, ‘I’d like one of these,’ and he said I wouldn’t be allowed to get one. Citroën were building them for their own market to test them, and they were only left-hand drive.”

Tradie’s Choice

30 August, 2024

Clint Wheeler purchased this 1962 Holden FJ Panelvan as an unfinished project, or as he says “a complete basket case”. Collected as nothing more than a bare shell, the rotisserie-mounted and primed shell travelled the length of the country from the Rangiora garage where it had sat dormant for six years to Clint’s Ruakaka workshop. “Mike, the previous owner, was awesome. He stacked the van and parts nicely. I was pretty excited to get the van up north. We cut the locks and got her out to enjoy the northland sun,” says Clint. “The panelvan also came with boxes of assorted parts, some good, some not so good, but they all helped.”