Audi’s original quattro (without a capital letter) is currently seeing something of a resurgence in popularity thanks to a starring role in the hit BBC show ‘Ashes to Ashes’. However for those in the know the ’80s coupe has been a legend for 30 years.

Built back when Audi was a quiet, understated*, and slightly boring manufacturer of grey saloons the quattro came from nowhere to take the rally world by storm, and in doing so changing the sport forever. No two-wheel drive car would ever win the World Rally Championship again.

The quattro wasn’t actually the first all-wheel-drive production car (although Audi like to make us think it is), that honour goes to the Jensen FF, but it is probably the car that brought the virtues of four-driven-wheels to the masses. Now almost every manufacturer can count an all-wheel-drive model in their range.

This excellent recreation of Audi’s icon is the work of Flickr’s Ralph Savelsberg, and you can see more of his Ashes to Ashes spec quattro here.

*Imagine that!