Audi Special

It's the most powerful and most spectacular rally car ever built: The Audi Sport quattro S1. Based on the regular Audi Sport Quattro, the S1 is 32 cm shorter, has giant wings and spreads anxiety, fear and excitement among rally drivers and fans. Classic Rides visits former professional rally driver Michael Gerber, who owns the last out of 20 S1 that were ever built.

It is sexy, spectacular and comes with tremendous speed: the Audi Sport quattro S1, the most exciting rally car ever built. In part 2 of the S1 special, Classic Rides accompanies S1 pilot Michael Gerber during the second day of the Rally Legend. Plus: The whole story of the S1 told with original comments by former world champion Walter Röhrl.

Selling more than a million cars per year, Audi is now one of the most successful car manufacturers in the world. The brand with the four rings does stand for innovation, superior technology and outstanding design. In the '80s Audi revolutionized the automotive world with the Audi Quattro, which not only changes the world of rally sports but also brings the all-wheel drive to everyday cars.

The Auto Union is the incredible story of the 'Fantastic Four': Horch, Audi, DKW and Wanderer. With the sign of the four rings, they are the second-largest automotive group in Germany behind Opel in the 1930s. The four brands of Auto Union are automobile pacemakers, build technical milestones and the fastest car in the world. Today, the name is long gone, but the brand lives on.

By now, Audi has sold more than 16,000 sports cars around the world. In 2010 they upped the stakes even more and introduced the Audi R8 GT. The high performance sports car is limited on 333 units and has been designed to show Audi's expertise in the field of lightweight construction. This car, which is build in Neckarsulm in Germany, is a serious competitor for established supercars of today.

They are small, noisy and make a lot of fun: Small cars with a high engine output are very popular with drivers. That's why Audi launches an offensive and offers its A1 as a sporty S1 version. Its name gives hope for something big, because in the 1980s a S1 achieved immortality at Pikes Peak. Perfect Ride reveals if the new 231-HP Audi S1 can live up to this legacy.

In 1989 Audi introduced the first turbocharged diesel engine. Since then turbochargers became standard and result into smooth running of engines and increased driving pleasure. Perfect Ride reviews the latest TDI engines and previews the Audi RS5 TDI Concept, which shows how sporty diesel engines could be used in future production cars.

The Audi RS 6 is the benchmark, when it comes to extreme estate cars. It features an output of 560 hp combined with a maximum torque of 700 newtonmeters and an acceleration from zero to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds. But apparently, this still isn't enough power - at least according to the Audi tuners. They want to get more out of the RS 6. Supercars shows how something good can even get better.