PhinX404

The notable German motoring publication AutoBild Allrad—which focuses on all-wheel-drive performance—recently announced the quattro-equipped models of both the Audi A4 and Audi A8 had won their segments in the magazine’s 2011 All-wheel Drive Car of the Year awards. The former was the top vote-getter among cars priced between 25,000-40,000 euros ($35,175-$56,280), while the latter bested all rivals priced above 40,000 euros ($56,280).

The awards were based on votes from more than 119,000 AutoBild Allrad readers, who had to choose from among 136 vehicles in nine different categories. It’s the sixth consecutive year that Audi has had two segment victors in the awards. Of course, that’s no surprise when you realize that Audi led all premium auto brands in sales of AWD vehicles in 2010. Globally, some 437,792 customers bought an Audi configured with quattro last year, a figure that represented nearly 38 percent of total Audi sales. And while last year’s AWD success was an ideal way to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the introduction of Audi’s first quattro technologies, the company continues to evolve the system today.

For example, the quattro technology featured in the Audi RS 5, A7 Sportback and new A6—Audi has different quattro technologies tailored to its different vehicles for optimum performance in each—boasts a crown-gear center differential and torque vectoring for enhanced torque distribution. In fact, the new setup can individually adjust the power routed to each wheel for greatly improved, more-precise cornering. There’s more to come, too.

“Quattro is one of the Audi brand’s greatest success stories, and today we are writing what may well be its most exciting chapter,” said Peter Schwarzenbauer, a member of Audi AG’s management board for marketing and sales. “As we move down the road toward electric mobility, we see entirely new possibilities for quattro technology. The electric quattro of the future will be even more agile, safer and—above all—more efficient.”