Quattro GmbH was born in 1983 as a division of Audi Ag. In 1985 he began marketing accessories and in 1995 he came to customize cars. Since 1996, Quattro GmbH developed high performance Audi models. In 2011 GMBH adds another business area, the automobile competition for customers.
Until the presentation of the Audi RS 2, Quattro GmbH had been responsible for supplying sports accessories to Audi, as well as the sale of exclusive lifestyle items. But for the Audi RS 2 substitute, a specific development and research department was created with Quattro GmbH in front, which immediately became a future laboratory. Already the first model of Quattro GmbH, the Audi S6 Plus of 1996, mounted a powerful 4.2 -liter V8 with 326 hp (240 kW) of power. And four years later, the first Audi RS 4 was born, presented in the spring of the year 2000. Controlling the power was not a problem thanks to the effective Quattro traction, and the powerful 5 cylinders of the RS 2 gave way to a new V6 biturbo engine that gave 380 hp (279 kW) with just 2.7 liters of cylindrated.
Two years later, in 2002, the RS 6 innovates with its 4.2 -liturbo V8 engine of 450 hp (331 kW) and novelties such as the Dynamic Ride Control –DRC– system, to compensate for the balancing and balancing movements of the body. The 480 hp (353 kW) of the Limited Edition of the Audi RS 6, the RS 6 Plus, was only an advance of what was yet to come: in 2008 the second generation of the RS 6 was presented, with a V10 Biturbo engine of 580 hp (426 kW) that remains today the most powerful Audi engine in its sporting models as standard.
Among the two generations of Audi RS 6, in 2004 the substitute for the first RS 4 was born, which becomes the first Audi RS with an atmospheric engine. This takes the FSI technology of the Audi winners in Le Mans, its 4.2 -liter V8 engine, capable of turning at 8,000 rpm, which reaches 420 hp (309 kW). In addition to improving the Quattro traction with a new central differential, Audi offered for the first time this sports version in three variants of body, Berlina, Avant and Cabrio.
From the hand of Quattro GmbH, Audi continued to explore new paths and created an unpublished sports concept. On the basis of all luxury, the Q7, in 2008 the SUV with the most powerful diesel engine of the category, the Audi Q7 V12 TDI, with a power of 500 hp (368 kW) and 1,000 Nm of maximum torque.
Compact sports of the Audi range also have their respective RS versions since 2009, and in 2010, the Audi RS 5 rolled to the RS 5 range, responsible for debuting the last evolution of the Quattro whole traction, with a new central crown differential.
In 2006 the first Support of the brand was presented, the Audi R8. In 2010 the convertible version arrived, the Audi R8 Spyder. More than 80 percent of these vehicles are assembled by hand in the Quattro GmbH factory in Neckarsulm, where the Audi R8 LMS and the Audi TT RS are also handmade.
At the beginning of 2011, the R8 LMS Ultra and the TT RS, laid the foundations for the creation of the third pillar of Quattro GmbH, the Audi Sport Customer Racing. This is, together with long -distance championships, Le Mans and DTM prototypes, the third area of Audi activity in motor sport. In the 2012 season, the R8 LMS Ultra won in the 24 hours of Nürburgring and in Spa. In total, since its debut three years ago, this Deportivo has reaped more than 150 victories on four continents.
Quattro GmbH models today
Quattro GmbH models are the dynamic Audi spearhead. The entire range of RS models and the Audi R8 are the result of a close collaboration of the technical development of Quattro GmbH with Audi AG. At present, these models are the Audi RS 3 Sportback, the Audi RS 4 Avant, the Audi RS 5 Coupé and RS 5 Cabrio, the Audi TT RS Coupé and TT RS Roadster, the Audi RS 6 Avant, the Audi RS 7 Sportback, the Audi R8 Coupé, the Audi R8 Spyder and the R8 V10 V10 Plus.
In 2013, Quattro GmbH will launch four new models to the market, starting with the RS 7 Sportback revealed in the Detroit Motor Show, so that the RS portfolio will become the largest of its history.
Quattro GmbH will also focus this year on the special limited series, such as those marketed since 2009 under the name Audi Exclusive Concept (Q7 V12 TDI, the Audi A8 L W12 and the SQ5 TDI). In addition, Quattro GmbH is responsible for a larger amount of small and special series with a number of specimens between two and three digits. From now on it is not also ruled out to produce small series with special technical packages.
