Audi ties new TT RS to IMSA GTO-conquering 90 Quattro

"A race car has a soul."

So says Hand-Joachim Stuck, winner of the 1990 DTM Championship behind the wheel of the iconic Audi 90 Quattro. Not surprisingly, Audi would love you to draw a connection between the soul of the turbocharged five-cylinder-powered Quattro of old with the soul-stirring new TT RS. Successful racing heritage is, after all, a major selling point of this class of cars.

But does the old 90 Quattro really have anything to do with the new TT RS? Well, that's debatable. If nothing else, both cars feature a turbocharged five underhood along with all-wheel drive. Quattro GmbH engineer Michael Ganz says that the TT's engine is a direct descendent of the 90's race-winning powerplant... of course, the old IMSA GTO-spec engine boasted some 700 horsepower, which is quite a bit more than the 360 horses spun out by the 2.5-liter in the TT RS.

Regardless of your opinions as to the comparison, the video after the break is worth a watch, if for no reason other than the vintage footage of the old 90 Quattro doing its dance against an assortment of period-spec peers. See for yourself in the video below.