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Concept
Quattro (four-wheel-drive system)
Summary
Quattro (meaning four in Italian and stylized in lower case) is the trademark used by the automotive brand Audi to indicate that all-wheel drive (AWD) technologies or systems are used on specific models of its automobiles.
The word "quattro" is a registered trademark of Audi AG, a subsidiary of the German automotive concern, Volkswagen Group.
Quattro was first introduced in 1980 on the permanent four-wheel drive Audi Quattro model, often referred to as the Ur-Quattro (meaning "original" or "first"). The term quattro has since been applied to all subsequent Audi AWD models. Due to the nomenclature rights derived from the trademark, the word quattro is now always spelled with a lower case "q" by the manufacturer, in honour of its former namesake.
Other companies in the Volkswagen Group have used different trademarks for their 4WD vehicles. While Audi has always used the term "quattro", Volkswagen-branded cars initially used "syncro", but more recently, VW uses "4motion". Škoda simply uses the nomenclature "4x4" after the model name, whereas SEAT uses merely "4" ("4Drive" more recently). None of the above trademarks or nomenclatures defines the operation or type of 4WD system, as detailed below.
Volkswagen Group has been developing four-wheel drive (4WD) systems almost since its inception during the Second World War. The Volkswagen Kübelwagen, Volkswagen Schwimmwagen, and Volkswagen Kommandeurswagen were all military vehicles which required all four road wheels to be "driven", the latter being a 4WD Volkswagen Beetle. Their military and four-wheel drive experiences later aided them in designing the Volkswagen Iltis for the German military (Bundeswehr) in the 1970s. The Iltis utilized an early form of 4WD, which would later become synonymous with "quattro".
In that original quattro system, later found in road-going passenger cars, the engine and transmission are situated in a longitudinal position. Torque is sent through the transmission to a mechanical centre differential (commonly abbreviated to "diff") which apportions (distributes) the torque between front and rear driven axles.
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