Every manufacturer has that one car which forever changes its fortunes. For Porsche, it was the 911. For BMW, the M3. And for Audi, it was unquestionably the Quattro. Unveiled in 1980, the Quattro revolutionised the World Rally Championship by proving that four-wheel drive wasn’t just for slow off-roading — it belonged on fast rally stages too. The Quattro went on to dominate the sport, and became the poster child of the legendary Group B era. More importantly, it cemented Audi’s place among the world’s great performance car manufacturers, and also influenced many other Audi road cars.
Even in stock form, the Quattro is a wild, wild machine, and only a handful of companies have dared to give it the restomod treatment. The latest one comes from Britain. Say hello to the Audacious Automotive IV — it’s a Quattro B7 Audi RS4 underpinnings, and an optional V8 that’ll rev to a staggering 10000 rpm.
Rather than attempting to modernise an ageing Quattro shell with countless structural reinforcements, the company has retained the RS4’s underpinnings, including its chassis, suspension, braking system, electronics and overall geometry, before clothing them in an entirely new body inspired by the original Quattro. That transformation, however, has been anything but straightforward. The original Quattro and the B7 RS4 are fundamentally different cars in terms of size and proportions. The RS4 features a considerably more steeply raked windscreen, a longer wheelbase and a much larger footprint, meaning Audacious couldn’t simply drape a Quattro body over it and call it a day. Instead, the company has painstakingly reinterpreted the Quattro’s signature styling cues to suit the RS4’s architecture.
You’ve got to give it to them, though — visually, they’ve absolutely nailed it. From the unmistakable box arches and upright stance to the short overhangs and bluff front end, the IV genuinely looks like one of the fire-breathing Group B Quattros that terrorised rally stages in the 1980s. Buyers will have two body options to choose from. The first uses hand-formed steel and aluminium panels, while the second goes all-in with carbon fibre, prioritising outright weight saving over customisation. Whichever route customers choose, the IV is expected to weigh at least 250 kg less than the standard 1650 kg B7 RS4, with the carbon-bodied version shaving off even more kilograms.
As for the engine, buyers have two options. The first retains the RS4’s glorious 4.2-litre naturally aspirated V8, albeit with a TTS supercharger strapped to it, pushing output to a mighty 750 bhp. It sends power to all four wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox and Audi’s quattro all-wheel-drive system. Tempting though that version sounds, it’s the second engine that’ll have enthusiasts dreaming. Audacious is developing a high-revving naturally aspirated version of the same V8 with one extraordinary target: a 10000 rpm redline. Phew. To survive those engine speeds, it’ll receive extensive lightweight internals and strengthened components capable of coping with the five-figure revs. Better still, this version will also be offered exclusively with a proper manual gearbox.
Perhaps the best part of the entire project is that no pristine Quattros are being sacrificed in the process. Instead, Audacious plans to source donor RS4s that would otherwise require uneconomical restoration, giving them an extraordinary second life while preserving original Quattros for future generations. Production will be capped at just 50 examples worldwide. And the price? Anywhere between £350,000 and £500,000. That’s roughly Rs 3.5 crore to Rs 6 crore in our speak. Want one? I surely do.
