Audi Sport Quattro S1 Evolution 2 Shows Group B Rally Cars Weren’t For Mere Mortals

As Henry Catchpole puts it, when you think of a definitive Audi Sport model, chances are you’re thinking of a Sport Quattro. But even when you’re driving that, chances are you’re imagining yourself driving the Group B rally car: the mental Sport Quattro S1 Evolution 2.

This one earned itself second place at the 1985 Thousand Lakes Rally in Finland. That race was run with Stig Blomqvist at the wheel who, in this video, says that the car was a lovely one to race in the jump-happy, high-speed rally.

“It was behaving more like a front-wheel driven car than a rear-wheel driven car, so I think I had a big favor compared with the other guys,” says Blomqvist. “I was the only one who came from the front-wheel-driven car. Because I had left-foot braking and all these things into the corner was doing the same job there. So that was helping me a lot.”

According to Catchpole, the car feels alright off boost, but once the turbo kicks in it’s just trying to fight you. If you listen to Blomqvist, that might be because he isn’t driving quickly enough.

“Of course, if you try to be a bit careful and slowly, then it was not nice at all really,” said the rally legend. “You have to be quite tough to it and in the early days when we didn’t have the differential that we had in the end and things like that. So you have to drive the car, you can’t let the car drive you.”

That’s good advice, says Catchpole, but it’s easier said than done for mere mortals.