Jeremy Clarkson recently appeared on his Youtube channel comparing the Lancia 037 Rally to the Audi Quattro. https://youtu.be/6lo4dGTrzr8 It made for some interesting viewing and if factually correct, and why wouldn’t it be, Lancia played some dirty tricks in their all out attempts to do battle with the all-weather gripping Audi.
Lancia were not all that stupid because they knew their limitations of the rear wheel drive 037 and therefore didn’t always compete. The Audi was pretty much king of the rally stages except on the asphalt.
You will have to watch it to see who Clarkson found to be the more favourable but what, say, if you don’t have access to 2 of the greatest rally cars but also want to rock up with a comparable contest like Jeremy? I give you the Audi Quattro and Lancia 037 Rally from the 80’s back catalogue of Tamiya. 2 icons of vintage R/C with 2 very different takes on chassis engineering.
Kit Started
Out of the boxes, the Audi is the more favourable as its spec sheet reads RS540 motor. The Lancia has to make do with the RS380. The Audi also had a differential. The Lancia has what can only be described as a limited slip diff. It was very limited. There was no slip at all.
Both cars have pretty basic front suspension set ups. The Audi using upright springs and lower wishbones. The Lancia using a sort of double wishbone set up with horizontal springs. The rears were worlds apart. One car being basic and the other elaborate, over engineered and cumbersome. It’s quite fitting really that it sort of was the same for the cars they represented. The Lancia having simple yet effective trailing arms compared to the Audi’s use of a floating gearbox attached to a solid back axle attached to the chassis with rear trailing links. Constructing this was a thing of beauty. In practice it was power sapping and there was the Audi’s problem. Well one of them.
Underside
The bits that hold it all together vary greatly too. The Audi has a waterproof box for all the essential electronics. It’s efficient in doing what it was designed to do: keeping them safe from the elements. The Lancia uses a lightweight and study space frame. There is little to no protection for the essentials. Even the servos are susceptible to lower edge damage from rocks with no skid pan for protection.
Off the line the Audi would take the lead leaving the Lancia standing. The RS540 motor making up for the shortfall in bulk that the Audi had to carry due to its bloated box tub chassis. The Lancia would soon be on the Audi’s heels due to its lighter construction and handling.
Getting to the corners first is no good if you can’t go round them. The Audi with its all sophisticated differential would spin off some power after terminal bounce-steer had set in. The softly sprung front was no match for the sophistication of the rear. The Lancia however would simply go where it was pointed. The front wheels being better planted to the ground with geometry aimed at keeping them better fixed with the road surface and less prone to bouncing.
Unlike the real rally cars, it all changes when you go off road. The Audi would lose out in the handling but the extra power from the motor would make up for its shortfall over the Lancia with its little engine. That’s to say that you still had the 380 fitted. Let’s say for instance that you decided to be a bit flexible with the truth like Lancia were. Perhaps lie under oath and fit a 540 to the Lancia. Suddenly the Lancia is unstoppable and trounces the Audi everywhere.
Moving Along
Unfortunately being unstoppable like the car it was made to look like would result in rearrangements of the hard moulded shell. The Audi with its mix of highly detailed front and rear panels mounted to a polycarbonate shell was the more durable. And being slower meant it took a lot less abuse than the Lancia. Look at these secondhand and you’ll find pretty good looking Audi’s and beaten to death Lancia’s.
Ignoring the Audi’s caricature proportions and the Lancia’a truck like stance with its over dramatised track width and it’s amazing to think that for all their vices and victories as model cars, they represent an almost identical solution to off rally racing as the real things from Tamiya, first in quality around the world. The question now is which one was better?
The Victor is……
As a piece of toy engineering, it goes to the Audi. It’s highly flawed as a race car. In many areas its sophistication let it down and yet visually it just looks better as a piece of creative art you can admire. But it’s the Lancia that I’ll take to the track. The track is no place for spectacular eye candy. It’s not Paris fashion week you know. It’s racing! I want to win races not look good. Besides, gaffer tape is great thing for fixing broken bits.