What the heck is a Cannonball Quattro?!

How fast can a 115hp Quattro cross the USA? It's time for Ficarra to give you a tour of his 1985 Audi 4000S Quattro One Lap Cannonball Brock Yates Brumos Edition. One of twelve made to celebrate Brumos' participation in the 1985 One Lap of America, but only two are known to still exist. Find out more about its build, its history, and its participation in the 2021 running of The Musketball.
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#audi #quattro #cannonball

[@throwback19841]

Mr Ficarra is the finest car story teller on KZbin. I'd say Johnny Smith tells a good tale as well but when Ficarra drops a video it feels like storytime with Uncle John for me.

[@TalonPro]

I like him a lot better than Ed, hes more down to earth and easy to listen to.

[@G60syncro]

I own an '87 CS and it's an absolute beast!! I alegedly took it halfway up a ski slope in our city's ski center... We turned around becaus I told my buddy "If we get gaught up there, there's gonna be lots of 'splaining to do!!" Then, there was that time where the same friend told me we should go half a kilometer in the woods in the back of his house where there's a clearing and have a beer there. The trail was quite slimy and there were dips in the road with mud up to the side rub strips. I reached for the diff lock and he told me he would be doubly impressed if we made it there without! As we sat on the hood in the clearing with our beers, he told me the only vehicles that had made it there so far were the tractor, his quad and now my quattro!! Later that year he got an UrS4 because of those shenannigans, I ended up buying it from him and I'm swapping the AAN in the 4K.

[@michaelannecelli6129]

91. 200 four wheel Deslok made for some awesome rock crawling and by the way PS a 12 pack next time I’ll get you all the way up to the ski valley the top of the mountain

[@WardSpose]

I had a buddy in HS with an AMC eagle. Studded snow tires in summer 4 wheel sparky slides. It was epic and hilarious.

[@TheQuestionableGarage]

The Audi looked great while we passed it on the bridge in the bud lane!

[@FicarraClassic]

Your one, short lived advantage, Jared! Loved that bus! No room for a stripper pole in the Audi.

[@manfredschmalbach9023]

Owning an old beater is one thing. Owning an old beater that was well taken care of is another thing. Having all those little and not-so-little fights and obstacles and the necessary menacing to get all those car sales people going documented by the the owner - absolutely priceless, and all of that landed probably in the best hands in bloody whole North America. Well done, Art's widow! And well deserved, Mr Ficarra! I had a buncha old beaters myself over time, never any "written history", but some were recognized by their mechanics once I got 'em back in the original workshops (Lancia, Alfa and Citroën mostly), and I heard quite some stories about structural welds and unusual upgrades and special tuning measures that way.

[@AE86Matt]

Fridays with Ficarra!

[@gljnjo]

5 spoke wheel with 4 lugnuts looks so weird and cool in the same time Another great video

[@ulrichhaepp2657]

How to tell a great story to just an ordinary European sized car with two seats and a bunch of stickers on it. Love it. As a student, i once had the predecessor of it , wich was the Audi 80 with the "stronger" 70 hp engine , bought for 400 bucks ( Deutschmarks at that time). Took me home on the Autobahn several hundred km always full throttle 190k. It was sooooo ugly, but such a joy. Neon green on the outside and baby diarrhea beige inside- cannot get any better. The transmission ratios for Europe were such spec, that the 4th gear (5th were seldom and an option) would meet the max speed at the max rpm. As the cars weight was only 850 kilos, and the gearing was like that, they were quite agile and quick in daily use. We did not have any concerns about high rpms. That was normal use.The engines were laid out , that they could do that whole day, every day.There even was a common vocabulary for that named "fulll throttle proven", which was a must in Germany for cars. Great, that you recognized that ability, and did not any tuning to the engine. It just goes.

[@nirfz]

I think i can attest to the "full throttle proove" of old german cars. My first car was a Mercedes 300D Wagon with "meaty" 88 PS. It's topspeed according to the papers was around 133kph. When i got it, it was already 16 years old, had 265 000km on the clock and our speedlimit on most highways is 130 kph. I used it as my "comuter car" during conscript time meaning that loaded with 4 people and luggage we sat at 140 kph on the instrument for almost 3 hours. The old Merc took it without problem. Also i remember reading an old german car magazine long ago where one of the second or third gen corvettes were compared with a 911, and the utter disappointment of the german motoring journalists that the Corvette wasn't "full throttle proof" but tended to overheat when being run at full throttle for extended periods of time. On the other hand, a former working collegue of mine (now retired) was interested in the Merc SLK (the one with the F1 nose or Aardvark nose) And so he got himself a book about the devellopment (yes they sold such things). And in there was a section about them running the SLK (And the SL) full throttle in 1st gear for half a day at a time, in the area around death valley during summer, to make sure the cars would not overheat in any condition the customer would "normally" put the car through. "Vollgasfest" is not an event, but still something to "celebrate" ;-)

[@fukofalready4224]

These videos deserve much more views !

[@kingcountrytowing]

I am so in love with the Cannonball Audis, im incredibly jealous of your absolutely mint one! Brilliant video as always sir

[@abelldeez2146]

The wheel dimples kill me but they are also so darn charming I was immediately a fan. Slick ride

[@jontg429]

If nobody has mentioned it yet, the Jensen Interceptor had available 4WD back in 1969 I believe. Love the 4000 Audi's, they were sharp and always desirable

[@a3dfuel]

MORE MORE MORE! John, you are a treasure! Number 11 that's an awesome tale. I acquired a 1967 El Camino 396 SS from a wife who knew it would hurt him. Matching camper shell Corvette brakes and wheels for 750$ back in 91. NEVER let a woman get mad at you if you have a vehicle that may fall victim to her wrath I say..... SO more more more!

[@resarfw]

Not sure of the number of inserts in the video, but it appears John was shot with only one cut in the entire 23:39. The man can tell a story.

[@rjs2005]

John, your storytelling skill on YT is second to none, in my humble opinion. I'm a huge fan of 80's Audis, a love derived from a dear friend of mine who leased a '84 Audi 4000S and we would ride to work together in that wonderful car. I bought a '86 Audi 5000S after countless issues with my '85 Dodge Lancer ES Turbo- best car decision I ever made. The worst car decision I ever made was selling that wonderful Audi in favor of a '90 Oldsmobile Cutlass Surpreme 4dr. I can't wait to see the videos on your Cannonball exploits!

[@mikechan231]

This is amazing. I have an ‘85s Quattro, that I’ve owned for 30 years. Been trying to get to back on the road and restored but having trouble with the fuel distribution system. These are special cars and there aren’t many left.

[@gsmith207]

Omfg we could be brothers. I bought a 69 427 Corvette coupe, matching number that came with a Ziploc bag full of service records nobody ever looked at them except me the stories were incredible! Also found the original owners name and address inside the center cap on the driver side front. Was an engineer that worked for GM and ordered the car. That’s pretty cool. Love your channel and education. You the man

[@terrancemalone405]

Fondly remember my (non-Cannonball) 1985 4KQS. Looking forward to learning more about the Lancia Beta spotted in the background.

[@petersachs7191]

Another Great Video. RFS was amongst the most brilliant marketing minds ever.

[@Hotoldbagofbones]

This channel deserves millions of subs. You’re the best man please keep up this content, so much fun to learn and watch ❤

[@FicarraClassic]

I appreciate that!

[@hitchedtohorsepower]

Ugh the headlights 🤦‍♂️. My dad had a 87 5000 CS Turbo Quattro. He bought it new the week before I turned 4 and I took my driver's license test in it then drove it as my first car for a while. I remember my dad complaining about the headlights in the 80s so by the time I started driving it in 99 they were truly horrible. I got a 97 Saab 900 Convertible a few months into having my license which was a big impact then about a year later I got a S2000 with HID and they were such a difference, well with low beams the high beems were halogen and you could barely tell the difference between low and high haha. Absolutely love your 4000!!!

[@herrjanssen8531]

Hi John, greets from Germany! I really love your channel and your enthusiasm for European cars. You have a great and very entertaining way of telling stories that I, as a "non-native" speaker, can easily follow. I really like your lovely and slightly ironic way of storytelling. Have a good day! Cheers Alex

[@cdemon78]

Beautiful car, great story and a satisfying "clunk" from the hood. Awesome channel! Greetings from Berlin

[@joshacollins84]

I love this! I love the history, the excitement, the dedication, just all of it!

[@WhatSaab]

You’re only making me want to own one even more!! AHHHHH

[@DDE_ADDICT]

WHAT AN OWNER

[@jackvsc]

8:56 ahhh I love that u referenced those Triumph Triples. I’m a proud owner of a 24 Street 765 RS.

[@Hanks1938ELKnucklehead]

I'm glad you made a video of this car John!

[@usarms149]

"I'm keeping a dent 'cuz it tells a story." -John Ficarra

[@fisheye42]

16:16 When you said “What makes a car special… is the story.” …I knew this video was about to start pleasantly cruising into overdrive. What a trip. Thanks.

[@bryanhumphries1972]

Oh, I cannot wait for the Brumos video. That could easily be a epic motion picture. Seeing Josh run Chassis 001 last year in One Lap was something else. Wrenching, zip tying and refilling fluids to get to the end shows the true meaning of the event, car and drivers vs. One Lap.

[@1963neil]

John - please keep being you, and regaling us with these wonderful stories. And for the love of God man, please buy a Jensen FF. Oh, the geek would be epic.

[@FicarraClassic]

I've been looking for a FF for years. Epic, indeed!

[@johntosullivan]

Loved the VinWiki stories, so really digging these Ficarra Classic videos, keep em coming

[@alexgalloway7690]

What a thoroughly enjoyable story!

[@jimmyrohde5304]

Had another one of your videos pop up today and I’ve been binging some of the best content I’ve watch on KZbin. I love the educational story telling you do. Please keep it coming.

[@melvyncox3361]

I had the European version of this with the 136 bhp engine,2226cc.Great car, very rare and expensive to run All parts usually had to come from Germany.A challenge but l loved it Wish l still had actually,but replaced by a MK II Golf GTi.In Europe (l live in England),it was called the Audi 90 quattro,a development of the previous Audi 80 quattro.Also,when the'90 was introduced,the 80 quattro had the 1781cc engine from the Golf, instead of tbe previous 2144 cc motor the old 80 became the 90 (or 4000 in the US)in 1984,and production ran from 1984 to 1987.Mine was a 1986 example (one of the last) As for the 2144cc 80 quattro,l not sure wether you had that in the US. Hope this has been helpful.l certainly didn't know the 4000 had a limited Cannonball edition,or indeed competed in it! Great piece mate👍

[@TD16V]

Love this. Thanks for sharing the story.

[@temporalmadness3756]

Here beggin again for a full episode of John's detailing the "cheaty things" the Supra had..

[@FicarraClassic]

Begging always works. The Supra story is on the list! Not that we ever skirted the rules with that car .... *cough.

[@temporalmadness3756]

No, i'm not rubbing my hands in anticipation while thinking on my project car.. at all.. it's just your imagination. Thanks John, love hearing you tell stories whenever i catch a brake..

[@mikesvirtualgarage9917]

Boy was this video nice to see. I recall a guy on the old Audiworld forums (this was 20 or so years ago) that had owned one of these. The only one I've ever seen in person was the one Ed owned and that was at Carlisle last year. Astonishing to see another one and in such great shape. Love it!

[@Billyspacerocket]

Thanks John 🤩!!!!!

[@philipdodds5060]

Great vid John, reminds me of back in the day working on Audi's and driving my 1st 4kq. I was blow away at how great it handled and how much fun it was...like you said. I ended up with 2 VW Quantum Synchro's! Same running gear, with a wagon body. Loved those cars, great in the snow/skiing. Easy to maintain, was the envy of everyone when I worked at a VW/Audi dealer. I moved on from those great 5 cylinder cars to URS4 and URS6 now as well. Love driving these cars as well. Much faster of course....keep up the great informative videos!!

[@SCARSORGofficial]

My first Audi back in high school in the early 90s was an '87 4000 CS quattro. It was a great introduction to the brand and proved to be an excellent car overall. The only weak point seeming to be the door handles. They would snap off in your hand during cold midwest winters... or in warm midwest summers for that matter. To this day, any poorly engineered/built component on a car gets referred to as coming from "Team Door Handle" as a result. I know many old school Audi people know that term well. ;-) Love your car... awesome to see it surviving! (Also love your 928s... as a life long 928 fan as well.)

[@Suhspencce]

I love the story on these!

[@michaelh.9866]

Thanks John!

[@timothyhill4630]

Another great story. Let’s see and hear more from you. ❤

[@THEItchybruddah]

You’re the best John!

[@garyonnen7634]

Made the mistake of looking up the AMC Eagle, thanks for that rabbit hole. Would love to see you and Jason Cammisa, set down, turn on a camera and interview each other. Two top flight stories tellers. Thanks.

[@nirfz]

Maybe we should suggest Mr. Ficarra as guest for the carmudgeon show...

[@Max_Flashheart]

Love this video

[@RogerAlan]

This channel is fantastic. Keep ‘em coming.

[@augusthorch9111]

GREAT story, great car - love it - greetings from germany🙂

[@heatmonster420]

Great video!! Sick car!!!

[@CrackedCandy]

Thank you so much for such wonderful content.

[@sorokolu]

I see Johns new video, I like it. Thats how it is!😊

[@ortnercpa]

Really awesome having the complete history of the car.

[@DaveMcRee]

Great story! Looking forward to your cannonball videos!

[@pilotgirl5953]

Absolutely loved this vid ! I love classic cars with a story !

[@kenxiong6830]

Got to see this awesome rare Audi at Rolex Reunion. Cool car!!!

[@madaro504]

Love ya work

[@baitse7676]

These cars are so cool. I have two 4000cs quattros: one with 10v turbo motor swap.

[@MichelleVideo]

Hi John, I love your content. Please keep it coming.

[@ChrisLoew]

Nice story and great camera!

[@Metox001]

Loving the content. Also, thank you for recommending, "The Unfair Advantage." I am reading it right now and am loving every word.

[@kevinrowley2579]

I have seen #11 in the wild in Atlanta. It's the only one I've ever seen in person. Bob Snodgrass drove one in the 1985 One Lap of America event. If I had to guess, I'd bet that one was #1. You can see it in the group picture included in Grassroots Motorsports story about the One Lap posted to their site in January.

[@beautanya]

I recently acquired a 1987 Audi 4000 CS Quattro and absolutely love it. Would love to chat sometime!

[@BOB70TX]

How cool

[@Robot_Overlord]

Awesome story

[@itz_not_brennan8088]

I daily drive my 4000 every day and I absolutely love it. If anyone gets a chance to drive one they are a blast.

[@danielhussey3631]

I swear I’ve seen this car before in the wild. I grew up in Atlanta and likely saw this somewhere up at Road Atlanta as a kid in the late 80’s or early 90’s. I remember seeing that decal on the back trunk lid. But, had no idea of the story on it. Awesome that you ended up with the car!

[@ticotube2501]

17:35 ... "You parked in the wrong neighborhood' ... I always thought that was a joke from American TV series of the time... Well, there is some irony in turning a quattro into a 0WD. Glad his insurance covered some of the expenses.

[@michaellindquist31]

Another fun interesting video. That Recaro seat IS the best, most comfortable ever made. I had an 80 something Dodge Colt RS I bought new. It had a 4-speed with a transfer case making it essentially an 8-speed! That was fun to thrash around. Anyway, the tiny seats were terrible so I bought one Recaro seat from the New York distributor who installed it. It was some crazy amount of money but I didn’t care. All car manufacturers should design their seats based on the Recaro contours. How difficult could it be to make them more comfortable? Great job, John. Looking forward to the next one.

[@TonyLasagna]

Quite enjoyed this, as always John. Would love an episode on Brumos!

[@FicarraClassic]

Thanks! Brumos is on the list!

[@TonyLasagna]

@@FicarraClassic excellent. i still can’t believe they made him the seats. what a guy. love this car!

[@JamesGood]

Hey John, awesome story and video, as usual. I saw one of these the other day, can't remember where....

[@FicarraClassic]

Hmm, I wonder where? ...

[@micard_yannick]

Hi! I'll be driving across Europe just because of the stories that I grew up with my grandparents going on holidays on a road trip all the way from Portugal to France in the 60s and 70s and I always wanted to do that myself. The thing is they already passed away, and I moved abroad to Germany but as a tribute I'm going on a road trip from here in Germany all the way to to Portugal as a tribute. Do you guys have any kind of tips for a novice on these long road trips? I'm taking a plane Opel Astra GTC 1.6 that I just changed the oil and oil filter for this. Thanks Mr. Ficarra, and as always I'm a great fan of your stories

[@jamesblonde2271]

You forgot about the Jensen SS, a high performance V8 GT from England in the late 60's early seventies.

[@galeng73]

Nice. I too put stock radios back into my cars. I confess that I've actually turned down some cars because it wasn't worth the hassle to return it to stock condition. If I wanted a modified car, I'd get something bland and modified to be just like all the other modified cars. No, I want the unique experience each has to offer - and I want that experience to be as close to the original as possible. I do make some exceptions for tires and (maybe) brakes. Also, I miss my old VW Quantum. It had the same engine, the lovely Audi five cylinder engine from the 80s. The Quatro system was an option, but mine didn't have it.

[@956zapme69]

It would be great on the story how Mercedes Benz used the chassis of the McLaren F1 to develop the CLK GTR.

[@ironkcoony]

An Architect called Art...like in Art Vandelay?😉

[@daveblock4061]

Perfect Car. Recaro Seats are in-house as they are affiliated with Porsche. Stig Blumqvist?

[@magi115]

Awesome video. I owned an 86 4000Q 5 speed, same exact color as your Cannonball car. I kind of prefer my current 06 A4 Q 6 speed with S4 Recaros, RS4 rear swaybar and a Revo tune, everything else left stock. It’s faster and handles better, but doesn’t sound like that 2.2L 5 cylinder.

[@jamwest3146]

As always-great story telling. you losing weight? You are looking unusually fit.

[@MikoOhneHose]

07:28 ever heard of the Jensen Interceptor FF?

[@overlandgermany456]

😊

[@hardcoreep]

Nardi still cool dude

[@FicarraClassic]

Nardi always cool dude.

[@jutny]

Which LED bulbs did you use? There are so many options and I feel like many of them are probably awful, or way too white for my taste.

[@VXAce]

Isn't this technically a Musketball Quattro now?

[@FicarraClassic]

I'll need to get new stickers made!

[@andreaslarsson3999]

Jensen interceptor ff

[@MisterMistyEyes]

first

[@491Mystic]

Volkswagen copied those seats the 87gli

[@WatchHead]

Is that Seiko SKXA35?

[@FicarraClassic]

Correct! Good eye.

[@elarr8733]

Must've been a beefy woman.

[@DDE_ADDICT]

Hey John

[@TheAussie1970]

You don't buy or own a car like this. You need Adoption papers.

[@DestryAlecto]

What a great vid... Thanks John!!!

[@jasonmeehan1269]

AMC eagle 1980 Audi Quatro 1979 I don't think AMC beat Audi to the market with its AWD system .

[@FicarraClassic]

I was speaking about sedans. The first Eagles rolled off the assembly line in August of 1979 for the 1980 model year. The first Audi 4000 Quattro was 1984 in the US and 1983 in Europe. Even then, the first Audi Quattro coupe was sold in late 1980. So either way you look at it the Eagle came first.