An Audi designed by Pininfarina that has become a legend: the Quartz is a concept car that was designed in 1980 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Swiss magazine Automobil Revue.
The inspiration came at the Geneva Motor Show that same year, when Pininfarina inspected the newly launched Audi Quattro. The Italian design house immediately recognized its technical potential and saw it as the ideal basis for the project. Audi enthusiastically agreed and prepared a complete replica of the original Quattro – but without the bodywork.
In 1980, the Pininfarina team developed a completely new body structure based on the original Quattro technology platform. The body, which was about 30 centimeters shorter than the Audi model, was tested in a wind tunnel and achieved a drag coefficient of 0,45, a very low value for the time.
Despite its compact dimensions, the Quartz offers plenty of space for rear passengers and a small boot – a remarkable achievement for such an experimental concept car. The car’s design incorporates several novel solutions, such as air ducts built into the “throat” between the front lights and headlights measuring just 75 mm, which were compact and technologically advanced for the time.
The use of carbon fiber and a sandwich structure allows for a weight saving of around 90 kilograms compared to the Quattro. The result is an unladen weight of 1.315 kilograms, while the Audi technology is fully retained: the five-cylinder turbo engine with a displacement of 2.144 cc develops 200 hp and 285 Nm, plus permanent all-wheel drive. The interior combines modern design with perfect everyday usability, as all the instruments from the Quattro are carried over but integrated into a completely redesigned dashboard.
The Quartz was officially unveiled at the 1981 Geneva Motor Show and immediately attracted great interest. In 1986, the magazine Automobil Revue carried out a comprehensive test and determined a top speed of 217 km/h and an acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 7,1 seconds – exceptional values for a concept car from the early 80s. Although this prototype did not become a production model, the Quartz story lives on: the concept car is now on display at the Audi Museum in Ingolstadt.
