ooooIYKYK, ISSUE #0004
This week, the rumor of the Audi R8’s impending return finally hit the mainstream automotive press distribution following Autocar Magazine breaking the story this platform’s analysis leading virtually everyone else last week. This got me to thinking even more about the legacy of the mittelmotor (a.k.a. mid-engine) at Audi.
Sidenote: Being one week early with that R8 story is one great reason to subscribe to this ooooIYKYK project. After decades of experience covering the Audi brand, I know where to look and who’s worth listening to. Now, with this platform, I aim to share that as it comes in. Those reading this site and newsletter regularly are the beneficiaries. If you don’t already subscribe, please do so HERE.
It’s fair to say the story of mittelmotor automobiles and the four rings has been one fraught with intrigue. Successes born from failures are part of a theme of fortitude that is such a long-running yet unintentional tradition the brand of the four rings. Watching the RS 002 Group S prototype take part in The I.C.E. St. Moritz reminded us of its earliest roots, steeped as they were in one of rallying’s most extreme Group B era.
That reminder served as an invitation to wander down the rabbit hole of research, piecing together the story behind the story of the championing of the mid-engine within a brand much more tied to its quattro technology, and much more known for hanging engines over the front axle.
If this story is going to be told, it needs to be told in its entirety. Right now, I’ve mapped that out over eight parts, nine if you count a closer look I also hope to take at UK-based EPS Motorsports’ own revisiting of this history by building their own RS 001 replica even though no originals are known to have survived.
As I see it then, this multi-part series will likely stretch out over at least eight weeks. That seems a fitting way to dive into a new way of telling the same sort of long form sort of storytelling I once did for quattro print magazine or in the earlier days of the internet on Fourtitude.com when attention-spans for online long-form content were more common.
Think you know the whole story? I’m betting you don’t. I like to think of myself as pretty in-the-know, yet I found myself learning plenty. Looking around online or digging through my own deep Audi archive, I didn’t find anything close to the full story. In as much, I invite you to dive in with me.
NEXT UP: NEWS & FEATURES
Mittelmotor Saga, Part 1: The Trouble with the quattro
When Audi dropped its quattro all-wheel drive technology on the rally scene in 1980, it started a revolution. Though those first quattros at the end of the 1980 season couldn’t contend for points, the cars very quickly began winning races in 1981 once homologated. In 1982, Audi’s star driver Michèle Mouton may have narrowly missed the driver’s championship, but the Audi brand took home the manufacturer title. They’d do it again in 1984, though by that time they could see the competition had adapted.
Is it possible quattro and even the Sport quattro weren’t enough? Hint: Yes. Yes, it was. This multi-part story begins HERE.
Event: Audi and Lamborghini at The I.C.E. St. Moritz 2025
The ice-themed genre of classic car demonstrations and concours makes for a compelling case. With a backdrop, typically a picturesque Alpine location that creates an unexpected visual and and even driving experience, the basic concept is hard to resist and entirely on season. Amongst this small yet highly exclusive niche within the automotive lifestyle event space is the I.C.E. at St. Moritz.
Read the full story with full video coverage from the event HERE.
Leaked Audi U.S. Roadmap Plots Warming Trend for New Model Launches
As measured by new model introductions, it’s been a bit of an ice age for Audi of America. 2024 sales slid markedly, due in large part to an aging fleet with few new stories to tell. Well, if this apparent internal new model introduction roadmap posted to Reddit is an indicator, Ingolstadt is about to turn up the heat.
Find all the details, analysis and additional since-released pricing for A5 / S5 and A6 e-tron / S6 e-tron via the full story HERE.
Jon Olsson Teases New Widebody RS 6 Avant
Former X-gamer plus current Youtuber, influencer and entrepreneur Jon Olsson is known for his outlandish cars often entered into road rallies. And while he’s had a mix of them over the years, an underlying theme is certainly his love for the RS 6 Avant. In fact, he’s just teased his latest and it looks pretty spectacular.
Find a full gallery, relevant social media links and details HERE.
Finds of the Week: Über Rare Audi Automobilia Finds on Ebay
With this weekly recurring Finds of the Week feature, I’m aiming to change up the typical “finds” model by curating a collection of things available for sale, typically centered around an underlying theme. For this week, that theme is Automobilia that is exclusive, rare…. and often expensive. This is next-level stuff, things that would prove as unobtainium for even connected Audi aficionado.
Wonder where you can get your own showroom rhombus sign bigger than you are or a rare Michèle Mouton French market BP gas station poster? You’ll find these and then some HERE.
Audi Motorsport Update: Week 11, 2025
There’s just so much news from down under this week. The F1 Season kicks off with the Australian GP in Melbourne, plus the expected mix of additional F1 news around that. Also, several Australian Audi Sport customer teams have announced plans for R8 LMS GT3 programs returning for 2025.
Find all of it HERE.
DON’T MISS: UPCOMING EVENTS
03.15.2025 – Formula 1 Qualifying INFO
03.15.2025 – IMSA 12 Hours of Sebring Weekend INFO
03.15.2025 – Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix INFO
03.15.2025 – Audi Club Kentucky Winter Cars & Coffee, Cincinnati, OH INFO
03.15.2025 – Audi Club North Atlantic: Annual Meeting, Marlborough, MA INFO
03.15.2025 – Audi Club Carolinas: quattros & Coffee – New Bern, NC INFO
03.15.2025 – Audi Group Los Angeles Azusa Cruise – Los Angeles, CA INFO
03.16.2025 – Audi Club Carolinas: quattros & Coffee – Raleigh, NC INFO
03.17.2025 – Audi Club Kentucky Winter Cars & Coffee, Cincinnati, OH INFO
03.22.2025 – Audi Club Kentucky Winter Cars & Coffee, Cincinnati, OH INFO
03.22.2025 – Audi Club Carolinas: quattros & Coffee – Raleigh, NC INFO
03.22.2025 – Audi Club Chicagoland: Cars & Coffee Naperville – Naperville, IL INFO
03.22.2025 – Audi Club Georgia: Pop Up Shop Tour at GMP Performance, Charlotte, NC INFO
03.23.2025 – Audi Club Northwest: Son of quattroFest HPDE 2025, Shelton, WA INFO
ALL WEEK – People’s Champ: The Impact of Ken Block at The Petersen Museum, CA INFO
Know of an Audi-themed event that hasn’t been included? Drop us a note in the comments below or via a PM to one of our @ooooIYKYK social channels.
FOUR RINGS PS.
Here’s something extra – a 5120 x 2880 pixel wallpaper of an Audi Sport quattro S1 E2 in mid-air, a photograph from Audi UK and used in this week’s lead story. Enjoy.
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