Fire up the Quattro! Group B great under the Bonhams FoS hammer

Unmistakeably Quattro. Audi Quattro. More than enough to stir the soul of any motorsport enthusiast, let alone rally buff.

The German supercar didn’t so much as move the World Rally Championship goalposts as rip them out and stick them up on a bigger pitch. The turbocharged, four-wheel-drive technology fired gravel in rivals’ faces, disappeared up the special stage, won lots of rallies and earned cult status.

And at next week’s traditional Bonhams auction at the Festival of Speed, one such beast will come under the hammer – ready to be rehoused by a collector and/or diehard rally fan with the wherewithal to become the next custodian of this competition classic.

Quattro chassis number 85CA900146 is thought to be the first example to arrive on UK shores. It started life as a press car and demonstrator before heading off for conversion to rally specification by David Sutton, one of rallying’s most successful privateer teams.

Its competition history includes use as a practice/recce car for American ace John Buffum on the Acropolis Rally and one of the great flying Finns, 1983 World Rally Champion and ‘Mr Quattro’ Hannu Mikkola for Manx Rally preparations.

In more recent times, BRP 223X has been in private ownership after David Sutton sold it in 1985. It’s appeared in several Quattro documentaries and well-respected marque histories, as well as getting airings in various historic events and demonstrations.

Back in authentic 1981 attire, with a catalogue of spares, a V5C and MOT certificate, and a guide price of £120,000-£150,000, this ready-to-go Quattro is sure to be a head-turner. If we’re lucky it’ll go to someone who ensures we get it to see it out on the rally stages doing what it was designed to do.