Evaluation: From The Gran Turismo Collection. Campaigned by Hannu Mikkola at the 1985 Lombard RAC Rally, where the former champion was leading the rally overall before retiring with engine trouble. This ex-Works car seems to be in a generally original racing condition with wear consistent with being campaigned although it was resprayed in around 2012 and treated to restoration work, according to the catalogue description. Good paint for a rally car, looks recently polished and prepped. Original-looking wheels with what looks like paint over corrosion. Surprisingly clean seats and harnesses. It is one of 15 known survivors of the quattro S1 E2s with only four in private hands.
Bottom Line: Peugeot topped both the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ titles in the 1985 World Rally Championship season, with Audi runner up. But Audi was earlier to the Group B arms race and ushered in the now-ubiquitous all-wheel drive tech to the WRC. The 5-cylinder growl and turbo whooshing of the winged Sport Quattros are also some of the most famous sounds of their era. Audis, then, are some of the most coveted of the Group B era rally cars, and with historic rallying an increasingly popular hobby in Europe, there are opportunities to use them.
Finding an ex-Works car for sale is not an opportunity that comes along very often. The only other recent result for anything like this is the €1,968,000 ($2,368,488) brought by a Sport Quattro S1 rally car sold last year. But that car never turned a wheel in anger in period, which certainly makes this one look like the better deal.
