ooooIYKYK, ISSUE #oo29
I feel like something’s been missing. As this Gen Xer becomes increasingly “get off my lawn,” harking back to the good old days when things were infinitely cooler, it’s become more apparent that we’re adopting a casual, surface-level understanding of things and giving away the curiosity to dig deeper into subject matter.
Take the internet experience. Where we once used search engines on a quest for knowledge, utilizing search engines with brand names like “Explorer,” “Safari,” or the exotic “Alta Vista,” we now get a feed. Like pigs at a trough, we simply stand and eat whatever is thrown in front of us. Sort of feels Orwellian – one part Animal Farm and one part 1984.
“Can we just get back to talking about cars?” you ask. That’s actually where I was headed.
In 1984 (the year, not the book), Audi was only a few years into producing the quattro. With that car, executives took the mundane number of “four” translated into the seductive-sounding Italian language and set a tentpole within the brand vernacular of the four rings. That car would become a legend, and the name would become ubiquitous—a badge on every all-wheel-drive model Ingolstadt produced from that point on.
Because of this, somebody somewhere came up with the nickname “ur,” German (of course) for “original.”
There’s more to the quattro, though, than quattro. As drivers become car enthusiasts and car enthusiasts become Audi enthusiasts, you begin to learn the language—practical words that help describe revered qualities and tech. You share this language with others in the know. Sure, everyone knows what quattro is. But do you know what a “B2” is? Type 85 may be a bit more obscure, while “small chassis” is IYKYK… 100%. Is it a 10V or a 20V? Of course the car has “box flares” versus the “arch flares” of the B5 RS 4. Does it have “Ronals” or “Fuchs”? Or maybe you swapped in a set of BBS RS2—not the Porsche-developed Avant, but the three-piece mesh wheel, a synonym of dueling iconic proportions in enthusiast vernacular.
I’m deep in the jargon. Some of it is official, and some of it is slang created by owners themselves. Have I lost you yet with this wort salat?
My point is this: as any of us dig into subject matter that interests us, a wider understanding of the lexicon provides depth. It allows us to interact with others who share that passion, and it justifies the time and focus we invest in it. It also helps trigger commitment and buy-in, differentiating one’s own descriptors and creating staying power.
Back in 1984, most carmakers didn’t offer all-wheel drive at all. Today, nearly everyone does, yet quattro remains a standout identifier for Audi, reverently spoken among car enthusiasts and respected even amongst those who don’t really care about cars. I fear we’re losing that. In this era of social media feeds spoon fed to us, grey crossovers replacing slower-selling two-door passion plays, and autonomous driving’s robotic arrival, do we still care about what makes things different? I’d argue we do. Factory engineers do, because it is critical to their jobs. Enthusiasts do, because identity often comes down to verbal identifiers.
Unfortunately, this need isn’t always shared by marketing executives. So many seem to be off chasing media impressions while placing meaningless numbers or no badges at all on the backs of their cars. In doing so, they inadvertently communicate that the technology and identifiers simply aren’t important.
In the meantime, discerning consumers seeking more from their ownership experience find richness in the unique, satisfaction in being informed, and inclusion in the social construct of shared ownership with other enthusiasts.
I’m heartened then by a few of Audi’s recent decisions. They’re small, but they’re significant and at times nerdy in a very encouraging way. To this end I offer two pieces of evidence.
The F1 car concept revealed just a few weeks ago is the “R26” – keeping a longhand Audi tradition of naming race cars with the letter R and then a number in series. Remember R8, R10, R15 at Le Mans? There were cars representing the numbers in between, but they weren’t Le Mans cars. Likely the “26” represents the year 2026 of the brand’s inaugural F1 season rather than the series count as was the “R18” that arrived in 2011, but I’m willing to be (somewhat) lenient here given R18 remained R18 for years for marketing reasons and even Porsche has broken from its sequence of increasing numbers as it approached departure of the 900s.
The next example gets even more nerdy. Audi recently ran a press release about a new TDI engine. And while running a press release only about a new engine suggests a return to tech-focused practice we haven’t seen for years, they Audi PR team (or whomever made the call) gets compounded bonus points for naming the engine code in that press release. In as much, those of us who care were informed it’s not just a 3.0-liter TDI with electric turbo and mild-hybrid functionality, but that its internal designation is “EA897evo4”. Speak the language most fluently and that means “fourth generation of the EA897 V6 TDI.”
That’s some serious level nerd knowledge… and it gives people a reason to care.
NEXT UP THE LATEST NEWS & FEATURES
CURATED PODCASTS & VIDEO CONTENT
Audi quattro Project Series | StanceWorks
Audi RS 7 – A Proper Goodbye Tribute | Auditography
ooooIYKYK AUDI ARCHIVE UPDATES
New Section: Prototypes
Models: Audi F103 Derivatives. Audi 80, Audi 90, Audi 4000, Audi Coupé, Cabriolet, Audi Fox, Audi quattro, Audi Sport quattro, Audi S2, Audi RS2
Concept Cars & Design Studies: AUDI E SUV Concept
Engines: 3.0 V6 TDI (EA897evo4)
Events: Auto Guangzhou
Product Placement: Tron Ares (2025)
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