Audi Sport quattro #083 by quattro GmbH (B2, 2003)

·September 24, 2003

What: Sport quattro extensively rebuilt and modified by quattro GmbH
Model Family: Sport quattro
Model / Generation Code: B2 / type 85
Model Year: 1985
Rebuild Completed: Late 2003
Country: France
Number Produced: 2
Original Manufacturer: AUDI AG
Client: Prince Rahim Aga Khan
Rebuilder: quattro GmbH
Location of Work: Neckarsulm, Germany
Chassis Number: WAUZZZ85ZEA905083
Sport quattro Sequence: No. 083
Original Exterior Color: Tornado Red
Rebuilt Exterior Color: Blue; exact color name unconfirmed
Original Interior Color: Brown
Rebuilt Interior: Blue and Cream Leather
Engine: Turbocharged inline five-cylinder with cast-iron block
Power: Approximately 345 bhp (257 kW)
Transmission: Adapted replacement manual gearbox
Drive System: Permanent quattro all-wheel drive
Wheels: 17-inch wheels

OVERVIEW

Nearly two decades after it was built, Sport quattro chassis 083 returned to Audi for an extensive restoration and modernization by quattro GmbH. The project was commissioned for Prince Rahim Aga Khan and appears to have been closely related to the company’s similarly comprehensive conversion of Copenhagen Blue chassis 144.

The project went far beyond conventional restoration. quattro GmbH increased the engine’s output, installed larger brakes, developed an air-conditioning system and extensively revised the exterior and interior specification. Reportedly built in Tornado Red, chassis 083 emerged from the project in an unidentified blue over a cream leather interior.

PRINCE RAHIM AGA KHAN

Prince Rahim was the eldest son of Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and founder of the Aga Khan Development Network. He later succeeded his father in February 2025 as Aga Khan V, becoming the 50th hereditary Imam and chair of the Aga Khan Development Network.

Chassis 083 was registered in France and remained in Prince Rahim’s ownership for decades. The later Schaltkulisse listing states that the car remained with him until 2022.

THE QUATTRO GMBH PROJECT

According to documentation summarized by Schaltkulisse, chassis 083 was entrusted to Audi in 1998. Because the proposed modifications created complications with its existing French registration, Audi reportedly acquired the car from Prince Rahim and registered it to quattro GmbH in Germany under registration IN-I 1404. Once the work and homologation process were complete, the car could be sold back to its owner and registered again in France.

The project reportedly presented two possible specifications. One centered on a complete restoration, a new interior, purpose-developed air conditioning and larger wheels. The second added an engine upgrade increasing output from approximately 305 to 345 hp. Prince Rahim is said to have selected the more extensive version.

To support the increased output, the original aluminum cylinder block was reportedly replaced by a cast-iron block. quattro GmbH also revised the turbocharging and exhaust systems and installed larger brakes and calipers. The increased brake dimensions required larger wheels because the original Sport quattro wheels no longer provided sufficient clearance.

Photographs show the completed car on white five-spoke wheels closely resembling those used on chassis 144 following its quattro GmbH conversion. The precise manufacturer and dimensions of the wheels fitted to chassis 083 have not been independently confirmed.

Inside, the original cabin was replaced by an extensively retrimmed cream leather interior. The work included the seats, door panels, dashboard and other cabin surfaces, creating a more luxurious specification than that of the original homologation model. A custom air-conditioning installation addressed one of the standard Sport quattro’s more notable omissions.

Schaltkulisse states that the restoration and conversion required approximately five years and was completed in late 2003. The car was then returned to Prince Rahim and re-registered in France.

RELATIONSHIP TO CHASSIS 144

Former quattro GmbH technical director Stephan Reil recalled that the client behind the extensively modified chassis 144 was sufficiently pleased with the result to commission another Sport quattro. The known history and similar specification of chassis 083 identify it as that companion project.

Both cars received increased engine output, larger brakes, air conditioning, extensively retrimmed interiors and similar five-spoke wheels. Their resulting specifications differed visually: chassis 144 was changed from Copenhagen Blue to black, while the reportedly Tornado Red chassis 083 was refinished in blue with a cream interior.

The projects are important early examples of quattro GmbH treating an existing Audi as the basis for a comprehensive factory remaster rather than simply adding individual equipment or restoring it to its original specification.

OWNERSHIP AND LATER SALE

Prince Rahim retained chassis 083 until 2022, according to Schaltkulisse. The Munich specialist subsequently offered the car with approximately 6,200 kilometers indicated and extensive documentation that reportedly included invoices, correspondence and its French and German registration records.

The car was later marked sold. Its buyer, sale price and current location have not been disclosed publicly.

DOCUMENTATION NOTE

Some details published with the Schaltkulisse offering require further verification. The listing attributes a final cost of DM 434,421 to chassis 083. That figure is effectively identical to the DM 434,420 total on the surviving June 2000 quattro GmbH invoice explicitly identifying chassis 144.

The listing also repeats several technical details documented for chassis 144. It is possible that the two related projects followed closely matched specifications and produced nearly identical costs, but it is also possible that portions of the documentation or history of chassis 144 were associated with chassis 083 when the later sales description was prepared.

Until invoices explicitly bearing chassis 083 are available for comparison, the exact cost of this second conversion and some of its individual technical details should be considered unconfirmed. The car’s ownership by Prince Rahim, its temporary registration to quattro GmbH, its blue and cream specification and the broad scope of its factory conversion are supported by the history and photographs published with the sale.

SIGNIFICANCE

Chassis 083 and chassis 144 represent an unusual chapter in quattro GmbH history. Completed before the company became widely associated with complete RS models, they demonstrate its ability to combine restoration, engineering development, homologation and bespoke production in a single project.

Chassis 083 is particularly notable for its long ownership by Prince Rahim Aga Khan and for the extent to which Audi and quattro GmbH were reportedly involved in transferring, modifying, registering and returning the car. It represents a rare factory-authorized reinterpretation of the Sport quattro created for an individual client rather than a production derivative or motorsport program.