Audi Sport Quattro, 1984. One of 214 short wheelbase Quattros made and one of very few sold new in Japan is to be offered at auction in Arizona. The car was owned by a Japanese collector and has traveled just 8,806km (5,472 miles) from new.
endless series of women in motorsports:
Michèle Mouton (June 23rd, 1951, France) is a former rally driver, most renowned for competing in the World Rally Championship for the Audi factory team, where she took four wins and finished as the runner up to the championship in the 1982 season, becoming so far the only woman to achieve it.
Michele went on to win the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 1985, setting a new time record, and the German Rally Championship, in 1986.
She is the co-founder of Race of Champions, an international event established in 1988 in memory of Henri Toivonen. In 2010, she became the first president of the FIA's Women & Motorsports Comission and the FIA manager of the WRC in 2011.
She was inducted into the Rally Hall of Fame in 2012. (for @tthrawn)
Ford GT70 Prototype, 1971. The GT70 project was a programme to produce a car to compete in the World Rally Championship (WRC). It was designed by Ercole Spada and powered by a mid-mounted 240hp 2.6 litre “Cologne” V6 (one car was built with a 1.6 litre Cosworth BDA engine). Alas the GT70 was unsuccessful as a rally car and had numerous problems, a weak frame, too high centre of gravity and cramped cockpit. Ford abandoned the GT70 after 6 cars were built and used the Escort for the WRC instead.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, she is an exceptional driver. We both improved so much. This is the good thing about Michèle - she never stops improving her driving skills. She keeps growing and everyone wonders how far she can go.” - Fabrizia Pons, 1982
"The first time we arrived in the workshop, I think the mechanic wonder, “what are those two women doing here?”. Then they started to see that we were quite serious. We click together very very easily and we had the same objective, the same view. She spoke perfect French - oh she was fantastic!” - Michèle Mouton, 2021