A tuning workshop recreates Audi’s lost mid-engine Quattro prototype

Only diehard Audi fans know about the Quattro RS001, a mid-engine rally prototype built in secret and destroyed by then-Audi boss Ferdinand Piech. Only one example was ever built, and a mid-engine version of Audi’s legendary Group B rally car was never spoken of again. However, Australian tuning company EPSmotorsport is building the car that Audi refused to build, and it’s almost finished.

What makes the RS001 so special? In 1984, Audi Sport boss Roland Gumpert wanted to fix the inherent flaws of the legendary Audi Sport Quattro by building a mid-engine version. When Piëch rejected the idea, Gumpert secretly built a prototype anyway and even had Audi Sport driver Walter Röhrl test it in what was then Czechoslovakia. Röhrl was apparently delighted, as it solved all the handling problems of the front-engine Quattro.

However, when spy photographers took some photos of the car’s testing and published them in a magazine, Audi bosses found out and Piech was furious. The only prototype was confiscated and scrapped. So what was possibly the most exciting rally car of its time never made it past the testing phase and the world was robbed of its magnificence.

This is where EPSmotorsport comes in. They started with a 90s Audi Coupe Quattro, completely stripped the body and made a complete chromoly tube chassis for it. Then a carbon fiber body was built to match the original. A small model of the RS001 was bought from Germany, scanned and enlarged to make it as accurate as possible, although the only prototype ever built was destroyed in the 1980s.

As for the suspension, EPS’ “Audi Group S RS001” uses the rear upper and lower wishbones from an Audi R8 and individually adjustable racing shock absorbers from KW. It also features Alcon racing brakes with a sliding, adjustable pedal box, Rotiform ROC-H wheels and a period-correct dashboard with the same VDO instruments that the original Quattro rally cars had.

After nearly a year of work, the car is nearly complete; EPS has just finished performance testing and tuning the engine. Since the original rally car had a five-cylinder, EPS is using that as well. It’s a heavily tuned 2.5-liter turbo engine from modern Audi RS cars, and the final tune is 723 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque. While there’s no official curb weight for it yet, EPS has weighed it without the front axle mounted and found it to be about 2,160 pounds, with nearly eight gallons of fuel. So, with everything reassembled and filled with fluids, it could realistically weigh under 2,500 pounds.

You don’t have to be an Audi nerd to love this conversion. It’s a love letter to the rebellious spirit of rallying from that era and is built with incredible care, attention to detail and top-notch parts. EPSmotorsport is documenting the entire journey, which will hopefully end with a drive at Pikes Peak.

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