Last updated on: 03/10/2023
The story of this Audi started when ROC, the swiss racecar manufacturer, was interested in competing in the Dakar rally. When they had pulled out (presumably due to closure), the SEAT Sport team bought the remains of the project to finish developing it for the Spanish Championship. They did this to cut down on development time and use that time to train the SEAT team for their next race car. This new prototype didn't run yet, and the SEAT team had to develop it further to fit T3 regulations. Josep Maria Servià was chosen as the driver, an official SEAT Sport driver that had a triumphant win in the 2WD class just the year before at the 1989 Baja Aragón using a contemporary “Safari” Mk.2 Golf.
It had a front-mounted 5-cylinder engine, presumably the same one being used in the other Audi race cars, along with a “BorgWarner K26” turbo making about 300 HP at 6,500 RPM to all four wheels using a limited-slip differential with 60/40 split. For its running gear, it would be fitted with McPherson struts (later upgraded in 1991 to the point where the hood had to be modified, see slide 8) with four-piston ventilated brakes and 225/70R16 Dunlop wrapped wheels.
Along with his co-driver Enric Oller-Carbo, they would achieve third place behind the Citroën team, in the rally among fierce competition. There was half an hour between them and 10th place, the same difference between them and 2nd. In a rally in which finishing at all is a great undertaking, these results were very promising for the Spanish team. The next year, they would make modifications to the chassis and wear a new Camel sponsorship. This year would be less successful, finishing in 7th place, the best of any other Spanish team that year. After this, the car was retired from competition and replaced with the SEAT Toledo Marathon in 1993. Rumor has it that the Audi is stored in a warehouse next to the SEAT Museum in Barcelona.
This article is one of the first, if not outright the first, articles on this car in English. It was a pretty interesting story as pics of this car have been circulating the internet for a while but no one had a super concrete history of it. I was able to get in contact with Servià to get the story straight as to where the car was obtained and what the team was trying to do with it. He tells me that what he's up to nowadays is staffing for the Africa Eco Race, he and his wife are in charge of planning and the road book.
I’m writing this part months later from the original article post as the website came after I made this article, and I remember this one being the biggest article I had conquered yet. In total, it took me about a week of research and writing to make sure I had all the information correct. Originally the article was wrong due to my incorrect interpolation, but thanks to Servià, it’s as accurate as it can be.
