Escort RS1800 & Quattro Group B, Sport, Sport S1 – 217

The very productive Robson continues his enjoyable Rally Giants series with these latest offerings on two of the iconic rally cars from the last 30 years. Both titles are in the same, now familiar format: 128-page soft cover books with plenty of fine photos. But the cars themselves certainly are very different: it’s easy to forget the impact the quattro had when it was introduced, while the Escort started off looking like a pretty standard family car! The two models didn’t quite coincide on the world rally scene, as the Escort’s days at the top ran from 1975-’81, while the quattro was one of the top dogs from 1981-’86. But they won rallies and titles aplenty, and it’s fascinating to follow their rallying exploits. Both books chart the development of the cars; their drivers, from Clark and Vatanen to Mikkola and Blomqvist, plus all the others behind their many successes; the competition they faced, and lovely little snippets like registration numbers and the occasional blind alley.

Escort RS1800 & Quattro Group B, Sport, Sport S1 by Graham Robson
Review copy supplied by the Publisher
Review by Mark Holman

1935 Audi 225 Front Special Roadster recreated for centennial exhibit

This year marks the centennial anniversaries of several European automakers, including Morgan, Bugatti and Audi. To celebrate its 100th anniversary commemoration Audi has just announced its plans. A new exhibit at its mobile museum will feature several historic automobiles from Audi’s past as well as a comic-book-style storyboard highlighting events from the company’s history.

Among the historic pre-war Audis on the reunion tour is a reconstructed version of the mythical 1935 Audi 225 Front Special Roadster (pictured), a particularly elegant runabout of which only two were made, but none survived. Audi Tradition commissioned private coachbuilder Zinke to recreate the Front Special based on an original chassis and some archival photographs. The very first Audi, the 1911 Type A on loan to Audi for the first time from the Technical Museum in Prague, will also feature in the exhibit, taking its place among other historically significant four-ringed automobiles.

Haynes Great Cars: Audi Quattro – 209

When the Audi quattro first appeared in 1980 it caused a sensation, and it’s probably responsible for more motor-noter purple prose than any other car before or since. Four-wheel-drive road cars were nothing new in 1980 — Spyker had been doing it during the vintage years and, of course, classic car enthusiasts could hardly forget Jensen’s Interceptor FF. However, Audi — with its obsession for technical innovation — brought the formula into the modern age and, in doing so, revolutionised world rallying and took road-car handling and grip to new levels.

With this new entry to Haynes’ Great Cars series, Jeremy Walton updates the quattro book he originally wrote in the ’80s. As with all the other entries in this series, this one if beautifully produced and presented but, although Walton has updated the details, this new entry is not as comprehensive as his earlier book.

For readers coming to the quattro for the first time, this book makes an excellent starting point — while died-in-the-wool quattro-ists may come away wanting more detailed information.

Haynes Great Cars: Audi Quattro by Jeremy Walton
Review book provided by Techbooks
Review by James Black