18.02.2025Crime at the Pikes Peak: Walter Röhrl's Audi Sport quattro S1 E2

The Audi Sport quattro S1 E2 with starting number 1 is, like its driver Walter Röhrl, a legend of the unforgettable Group B era in the World Rally Championship. In 1987, the Audi team, together with Röhrl, who came to Colorado as a rookie, dared to climb Pikes Peak. The hill climb race in the middle of the Rocky Mountains and not far from Colorado Springs has been held since 1916. The company from Ingolstadt had already won it twice in a row. The last time was in 1986 with ten-time winner Bobby Unser at the wheel, who was Röhrl's advisor on his debut in the most notorious hill climb in the world.

The Pikes Peak Hill Climb is a race on a nearly 20-kilometer-long track with 156 bends and an elevation difference of a whopping 1,500 meters. The finish line itself on the top of the mountain is at an altitude of 4,300 meters, which would prove to be a problem for the Audi. The turbocharger suffered from the thin air at high altitudes and the car did not deliver sufficient and, above all, consistent performance in the training and tests shortly before the race. The Sport quattro, which had been perfected by the engineers, threatened to fail due to the air conditions at Pikes Peak.

The competition was just waiting for the Audi team to make a mistake. The Finn Ari Vatanen in the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 managed to get first place in qualifying ahead of Röhrl. Just a blink of an eye behind him were two other rivals in the Peugeot: the Italian Andrea Zanussi and Shekhar Mehta from Kenya. All three were ready and able to beat Röhrl on his way to the top.

Ultimately, the Audi team managed to get the turbocharger problems under control and get the almost 600 hp rally car to the start. Improved aerodynamics, as well as a button on the gear stick that mechanically operated the clutch so that Röhrl could concentrate on operating the accelerator and brake with his feet, helped the then rally world champion to master the car perfectly. Röhrl snaked the Audi over the steep sandy track to the top of Pikes Peak at speeds of up to 190 kph.

With his unique style and enormous skill, Röhrl managed to set a new record time of 10:47.58 minutes as a rookie on Pikes Peak. This made him more than six seconds faster than US cowboy Bobby Unser the year before.

Audi Sport quattro S1 E2 #1 Winner Pikes Peak 1987 Walter Röhrl 1:18 WERK83, RRP €108.85, item-no.: W1802801C + BluRay

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Audi Sport quattro S1 E2 #1 Gagnant Pikes Culminer 1987 Walter Röhrl 1:18 WERK83

79,95 €