Audi R8 30 Years of Quattro AWD

On a small assembly line in Neckarsulm, Germany, no more than twenty exotic Audi R8 sports cars are built daily. The entire process is overseen by small teams of specialists that oversee every step of production. Every single part is inspected carefully, and nothing goes unchecked. It is a level of hand-built quality one might expect to find in a Ferrari Enzo or the Vector W8A of the 1980s, but almost unheard of from a manufacturer the size of Audi AG. The Turbo Quattro Coupe (or Urquattro) of the early 1980s was largely assembled by hand much in the same way, but Audi has refined the process for the R8 and has introduced one of the most spectacular sports cars ever. I hope this book will provide a better insight into the design, development, and production of this magnificent automobile.

Alan Crawford was born in 1970 and has been a huge fan of cars since he could crawl. His early teen years were spent upgrading wannabe muscle cars from a 1973 Plymouth Duster to countless Pontiac Firebirds. Although his love for early 1970s American muscle cars never died, his life would never be the same after he drove the 1983 Audi Quattro Coupe. His teen years were spent mostly in Utah, where often half the year is spent in deep snow. The experience of driving the Audi Quattro for the first time redefined the winter driving experience in Utah. Rear-wheel-drive muscle cars were frightening in the winter, and the experience of all-wheel drive meant there was no going back. In 1990, he founded the Audi Car Club of America and had the pleasure of receiving photos and stories from Audi owners across the world. The love for Audis was apparent as owners joined from every continent. In the process, he had the pleasure of meeting many of the grassroots Audi fans that propelled Audi to a world leader, like Josef and Michael Hoppen, Ned Richie of Intended Acceleration, Frank Beddor of the Quattro Club USA, and many more. Eventually he found a 1983 Quattro Coupe for sale and, after driving it for a couple of years, decided to upgrade it. He performed the notorious engine swap, replacing the stock motor with one from a late '80s 5000 Turbo along with the ECU, wiring harness, etc. It remains one of his favorite cars of all time. He has driven most, if not all, Audi models since then and enjoys them all, but the R8 stirs the soul like the Quattro Coupe did in the early 1980s-only with horsepower drivers could have only dreamed of then. It is a new generation of Audis, and the author hopes that this book helps provide a feel for what led to the continued development of the Quattro system as Audi has employed thirty years of motorsports experience and put one of the most incredible sports cars ever into production.