Wunderkind: The 1989 Audi 90 IMSA Quattro Story
Following their domination in Trans-Am, Audi was effectively banned by the SCCA. So they dominated at IMSA instead.
The 1988 Trans-Am season proved a pivotal moment for Audi in the US. Up until that point, Audi’s reputation was, at best, some weird German luxury brand. And at worst, dangerous, thanks to a series of publicity stunts that ruined their name. Their debut back into road racing was as much an act of desperation as anything. They saw modest popularity in rally following the dissolution of Group B with the 1987 Pikes Peak record run. But after the Quattro’s retirement, no one in the US really cared about Audi’s accomplishments on the dirt. So, Audi decides, if the US cares more about road racing, then road racing’s what they’ll do. And they come along with a big AWD family sedan, with a tiny little 5-cylinder, and win at Trans-Am like it was handed to them on a silver platter.
While fans loved it, this didn’t exactly ingratiate Audi in the minds of the powers-that-be. In fact, it resulted in numerous rule-changes, the principle two being: Domestic engines only, and no more AWD. Thank you, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
Undeterred, Audi saw this as an opportunity. Essentially, instead of calling it quits, they used the SCCA as a springboard. Rather than fight it out in a handicapped sedan, they would build a totally bespoke silhouette race car. And once again, show everyone how they do things in Germany. To this end, Audi signed up for the 1989 IMSA season in the GTO category. And yes, in this category, they got to keep their AWD, and their trademark 5-cylinder lifted from the Quattro S1 E2.
Audi Enters IMSA
Haywood’s car being prepped in the Sears Point garage.
IMSA’s an entirely different beast than Trans Am. Rather than being based on a roadgoing chassis, almost nothing is shared between an IMSA silhouette and a road car. Audi took advantage of this lax ruleset in the design template of their new vehicle, based on an Audi 90. Once again, they sourced the engine from the Quattro, as well as its AWD system. This particular engine belonged to the record-setting 1987 Quattro, and produced 720 horsepower at its peak tune.
Audi subjected the carbon-composite body to extensive wind-tunnel testing and careful weight placement of the mandatory ballast. Audi even fitted the car with real-time telemetry, their first ever. They knew very well that this was gonna be a winner. And they wanted to make sure that it’d perform out of the gate. So they used every second of the interim between the end of 1988 Trans-Am and 1989 IMSA.
However, as their first foray into IMSA, this remained largely non-treaded ground for Audi. Remember, at this stage, they had exactly one year of road racing experience. And competition was fierce this year. In GTO, you had the Mercury XR-7 Cougar, Ford Capri, Mazda RX-7, Camaro, and more. The “O” in GTO stood for “Over,” meaning over 2.5L engine displacement. And the Audi 90 IMSA GTO had 2.2L, but it was turbocharged, of course. Still, they were operating at a disadvantage. Or so the other teams were led to believe. Audi hired the same drivers from the 1988 Trans-Am season, and had largely the same mechanics and crew. Same numbers and livery as well. Everything was set for a solid opener. Well, everything but the car.
A Slow Start
Taking the win at Mid-Ohio.
Audi didn’t fare too well out of the gate, unlike their earlier successes in Trans-Am. For one, they missed the first two races of the season, due to continuing engine development. As it turned out, powering a GTO race car with a rally / hillclimb engine designed to run for 15-20 minutes wasn’t easy. And Audi had several untested parts left over, which we’ll get to later. But for now, all parts were thoroughly checked for reliability to ensure they’ll make it to the checkered flag. Unfortunately, both cars DNF’d in Race Three. Hurley Haywood had an accident, and Hans Stuck suffered gearbox failure. Audi had no points three races into the 15-race championship.
But you know what Audi’s like. So for their next showing at Summit Point, Audi took a 1-2 finish. Their first full race under the IMSA banner (where their cars didn’t break down), they mopped the floor with everyone. In fact, the only other car on the same lap was Pete Halsmer’s Cougar XR-7.
Audi continued with another win at Mid-Ohio over Dallenbach’s XR-7, but that was the last of the streak. At Mosport, Stuck DNF’d with steering failure, and Haywood came 5th. Then another loss at Road America, second to the Cunningham Racing 300ZX. They were certainly fast. But they weren’t 1988 Trans-Am Audi fast. Still, they were in the points, and points win championships. So the team remained hopeful and continued iterating and improving on the car. By this point, the Audi 90 Quattro IMSA GTO, its full name, was ludicrously fast by anyone’s standards. But it was competing on relatively equal footing, at least according to the finishing results thus far. Let’s see how long that lasts.
Audi Picks Up the Pace, then Drops the Ball
Another win at Sears Point for Hans Stuck.
After another win at Heartland Park, Audi found themselves back in contention. They developed a rivalry with the XR-7, finishing just behind Dallenbach’s again in the following race. They trailed by just two seconds. Which was the last time we’d see them without a gold trophy for a while. Because now, Audi started their comeback run. And they came back swinging for the fences. They swung so hard, in fact, that they won the next four consecutive races. By the final race, it was down to three drivers: Hans Stuck, Pete Halsmer, and Wally Dallenbach, Jr. The championship could go to any of them at this point. So for the final race at Del Mar, the team made a fateful decision.
Remember those untested engine components? They were Audi’s supposed ace up their sleeve. But due to the fact that the engine was originally intended for rally, there was no knowing whether the components would go the distance. As it turned out, they didn’t. Both vehicles’ engines blew almost simultaneously, only a few minutes apart from one another. Haywood’s car went out first, belching fire from the massive exhaust. And Stuck lapped his stricken car battling for the lead against Dallenbach’s Mercury. His car erupted in a plume of white smoke just one turn after passing Haywood’s Audi. The fateful race is, thankfully, posted in its entirety on YouTube, with the moment recorded here. With both cars out, this secured a 1-2 XR-7 championship win, with 203 points to Halsmer and 201 to Dallenbach. Stuck came in third with 170 points. A tragic end to an otherwise heroic season.
The End of an Era
Image source.
Audi shifted focus back to Europe after this. They ultimately repaired their reputation in the US, at least well enough to maintain a presence. Which was their goal, to begin with. And now that they had caught the racing bug again, they tackled domestic touring car racing with the 1990 Audi V8 DTM car. A car that matched or exceeded what the other big-name German manufacturers threw at the competition. They maintain a very strong touring car and GT presence to this day, especially in DTM, GT3 racing, and so on. And that’s not even getting into the prototypes. And we all know how dominant those ended up becoming, but that’s a story for another day.
Back in the US, Audi returned to racing more gradually, really picking up speed in the 2000s and later the 2010s with entries throughout touring-car based series. In 1999, their prototypes made their debut, followed by their 2004 DTM car under the new restrictions. These cars, along with many others like the TT and C5 RS 6, became well-respected and feared competitors in the US and abroad. While the days of the IMSA silhouette cars are long gone, the legacy of the Audi 90 GTO speaks for itself. If it wasn’t for this car, and its SCCA older brother, Audi simply wouldn’t exist as we know them today. Certainly not in motorsports to the degree they are. There aren’t many times can you say that one or two seasons (one of which was lost) changed the outcome of a brand. But you can definitely say it here.
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