Photo: Audi
Audi started making Q5 SUVs in Mexico last year, wanting to be closer to the North American market. And it's from that factory in San Jose Chiapa that the 8 millionth quattro system came. The milestone car is a garnet red Audi Q5 2.0 TFSI quattro, much like the one in the photo.
From a simple technology Audi had in the 80s, quattro blossomed into what the company says are 100 model versions. For America, quattro all-wheel-drive systems are standard in the Audi Q7, the Audi A4 allroad quattro, the Audi A6 allroad quattro, the Audi A8, the Audi R8 and all S+RS models.
The little A1 is the only Audi series that doesn't offer it. But they did re-engineer the back axle for quattro on the S1.
The company hasn't counted all the beans for 2016 yet, so it's dumping a bunch of 2015 numbers to prove the popularity of quattro. That year, 44% of their cars were sold with all-wheel-drive to customers all over the world. The Audi Q5 topped the list with about 262,000 units. The quattro models generated strong sales in the United States, Canada, Russia and in the markets of the Middle East. In Germany quattro accounted for 122,048 cars in total.
There's basically three types of Audi AWD. There's the one used for compact cars with transverse-mounted engines, which can send a limited amount of torque to the back. Most bigger cars, the ones that use the MLB platform, use a self-locking central differential. Normally, the split is 40:60 towards the rear.
In recent years, we've seen two additions to this setup, one being the quattro sports rear locking diff, which actively distributes the torque between the rear wheels using two superposition units, each with an electrohydraulic multi-plate clutch. Audi has also developed a quattro ultra drive which on models like the A4 or Q5 can cut the power for the back to save fuel. The third quattro tyle is, of course, the one use by the R8.
The little A1 is the only Audi series that doesn't offer it. But they did re-engineer the back axle for quattro on the S1.
The company hasn't counted all the beans for 2016 yet, so it's dumping a bunch of 2015 numbers to prove the popularity of quattro. That year, 44% of their cars were sold with all-wheel-drive to customers all over the world. The Audi Q5 topped the list with about 262,000 units. The quattro models generated strong sales in the United States, Canada, Russia and in the markets of the Middle East. In Germany quattro accounted for 122,048 cars in total.
There's basically three types of Audi AWD. There's the one used for compact cars with transverse-mounted engines, which can send a limited amount of torque to the back. Most bigger cars, the ones that use the MLB platform, use a self-locking central differential. Normally, the split is 40:60 towards the rear.
In recent years, we've seen two additions to this setup, one being the quattro sports rear locking diff, which actively distributes the torque between the rear wheels using two superposition units, each with an electrohydraulic multi-plate clutch. Audi has also developed a quattro ultra drive which on models like the A4 or Q5 can cut the power for the back to save fuel. The third quattro tyle is, of course, the one use by the R8.
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