EPS Motorsport Completes Audi RS 001 Build

Before now, the Audi RS 001 was believed lost to time. The only real evidence of it was grainy photos shot from afar at a reclusive test of the car Audi was readying to reclaim its rally title back in the 1980s. However, through the miracle of incredible ingenuity with modern production capabilities, this long lost car has been reborn.

First: the background. By 1985, Audi realized its front-engined production car-based Sport quattro was no longer competitive with more exotic mid-engined offerings from the likes of Lancia and Peugeot. If Ingolstadt was to remain competitive in Group B rallying, it would have to elevate its game and come up with a mid-engine car of its own.

The project itself was top secret… so top secret in fact that most of the Audi top brass didn’t even know about it. That project was being designed as the egg-shaped Gruppe S (unofficially named after the next rallying iteration the FIA had planned to succeed Group B). However, as Audi still does today, it needed to test the drivetrain well before a design had been finalized. Packaging such a test mule in familiar current bodywork is the play, and it was this quattro-bodied mule that has grown into legend as the RS 001.

Had things gone as intended, the car never would have been seen. The car itself was alegedly shipped out of Ingolstadt in pieces separated into multiple crates with separate destinations marked on them. It was assembled on location in Dešná near Zlín, Czech Republic for the secret test set in October of 1985.

Unfortunately for those aiming to keep the RS 001 a secret, a local named Jiří Jermakov had heard mention of the Audi test and went for a look with a camera under his arm. When he spotted the car at a service area, he shot four photos of it. When the car was seen once more at Gratwein near Graz, Austria, it was photographed once more, this time with registration plates and Audi Sport driver Walter Röhrl at the wheel.

As the lore goes, Dr. Ferdinand Piëch ordered the destruction of the cars once he learned of their existence, at least one or more to be destroyed before him so that he was sure his orders were carried out. Though there may have been a few more of the cars in various states of evolution, the only known remaining car is believed to be the finalized design Gruppe S that remains in Audi Tradition’s collection today. No known mules of the RS 001 are known to exist. That was until now.

That brings us to EPS Motorsport. This British shop is maybe best known up until now for its green-liveried S1 Evo Pike’s Peak replica that it has run at Pike’s Peak on multiple occasions. Over the last few years, they’ve taken on an even more ambitious project of recreating the RS 001. Starting with an original chassis and building from there, they have succeeded in bringing the car back nearly as faithfully as they could while still designing it to be driven.

If you’ve been paying attention on YouTube, their series on the build has been ongoing and fascinating. Just this week, they’ve finally pulled the covers off their finished product. The result is a view back on a 1985 secret that was believed lost to the world. It’s not an exacting replica such as Audi Tradition’s Silver Arrows or the more recent Auto Union Type 52 road car, it is well near close enough.

The EPS process was similar to what Audi did with Crossthwaite and Gardiner in their own recreation process, though here the RS 001 builders had to work with grainy photos and a subsequent model car rather than period blueprints. So yes, they take a few liberties for drivability (larger Rotiform wheels and tire fitment, more modern 07K 5-cylinder engine and a bespoke transmission), but the car is still a fascinating and faithful recreation. Even better, based on what we know of their Pike’s Peak exploits, we expect this car will do more than a few heated demonstrations. Stay tuned, and for now check out the debut video EPS has kindly dropped onto YouTube.