It was Audi that came out with a viable high-performance all-wheel drive system for cars in the early 1980s and since then, no high-performance rally car has been competitive without such a system. Towards the late 1980s, Audi entered its orphaned rally creation at the Pikes Peak race and showed North Americans the incredible traction capabilities of all-wheel drive in loose surfaces. First, it was Michele Mouton who set a record in 1985 for fastest time up the mountain. In 1987, Walter Rohrl also took the overall win up the mountain. That was the last time the Pikes Peak S1 would be seen because Audi did not return for the 1988 edition of the race.
For the Pikes Peak event, Audi used its Quattro Sport S1, which was basically a rally car with an all-aluminum, 4-valve, 5-cylinder KKK-turbocharged engine tuned to produce (officially) 600 horsepower from its 2.1 liters of displacement. While 600 horsepower street cars are relatively common nowadays, 600 horsepower was a huge amount of power then. However, it was that the turbo, with an anti-lag system, actually produced 1,000 horsepower. The all-wheel drive system was complemented by three locking diffs and a six-speed, dual-clutch sequential transmission. Other highlights include a Kevlar body and carbon fiber driveshafts, which helped to keep the car's overall weight to an even 1,000 kilos.
With a power to weight ratio of .6 bhp per kilogram (at 600 hp), performance calculations place 0-60 mph times at 2.6 seconds and the quarter mile in 11 seconds. One can only speculate how violent the acceleration would be with 1,000 horsepower. With performance like this, one can see why the Audi Quattro was an unbeatable car in its prime. Article on the Quattro here.
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