The legendary Audi model is reborn more than 30 years after being discontinued – but it switched from gasoline to EV and chose a new look

FOR almost $1 million, an Audi Quattro race car reborn as an EV can be yours – it took three years to develop and has 800 horsepower.

The owner said the car started out as a quarantine project – now it’s a full-fledged tribute produced for sale.

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The 1980s were an incredible time to be a fan of the World Rally Championship (WRC).

Automakers were putting forward their best designers, engineers and drivers to be the best manufacturers in the globally beloved series.

Class B was introduced in 1982 and is arguably the most famous, as it classified cars according to their rather unlimited restrictions on engine size, transmission and design.

The only requirement was that the car had two seats.

Some of the most impressive race cars came from that era, including the Audi Quattro and the Ford RS200, which Ford recently announced is being redeveloped for an EV revival.

The class lasted four years, and the Quattro was especially powerful with over 400 horsepower from a turbocharged engine rarely larger than 2.0 liters.

Zero to 60 times were always less than five seconds, and the all-wheel-drive technology was legendary.

He took home four championship titles in five years,

Class B was withdrawn from the WRC because the cars were “too dangerous” for customers and drivers.

However, the racing car legend lived on.

Audi produced Quattro-inspired passenger cars to maintain the love WRC fans had for the race car, but they were not as popular as the automaker had hoped.

Marcus Holzinger took the Quattro’s DNA and turned it into an EV that he formulated during the Covid-19 pandemic, and brought it back to life, reported Car and driver.

“The EL1 awakens the emotions of every sports car enthusiast,” says the EL1 home page read.

E-Legend is the company founded by Holzinger, and the EL1 is the “backfusion” tribute to the race car that inspired Holzinger.

“If you look closely, you will recognize the EL1 as the great prototype from the 1980s. Many characteristic details were modeled with love and respect on the historic model,” the website continued.

“However, the EL1 is not a copy of a classic car, but a new independent development that captures stylistic elements typical of the 80s and combines them with all the technical refinements of our time.”

The resemblance is incredible, from the angular front end to the white five-spoke wheels seen on the 80s champion.

It produces twice the power of the Quattro, with 805 horsepower, and swaps a turbocharged engine for two electric motors.

However, the EL1 has all-wheel drive as its muse, and Holizinger plans to produce just 30 hand-built models – making rarity a shared trait between the two cars.

A fully finished model was revealed at this year’s Monterey Car Week in Monterey, California, and is rumored to cost more than $960,000.

Holzinger revealed to the outlet that “several” models have already been sold and there is “talk” about an EL2 and EL3.