A car built to honor a really rather old one
In a moment when the automotive world races toward electrification and algorithmic driving, a small German manufaktur has chosen to look backward in order to move forward — resurrecting the spirit of the 1984 Audi Sport Quattro as a 600-horsepower, carbon-fiber machine called the Type 859. HSR Manufaktur, led by Ivan Garcia, will build exactly 84 examples at half a million euros each, a number chosen not arbitrarily but as a quiet act of reverence for a championship year. It is a reminder that for certain collectors, the most compelling vision of the future is a more perfect version of the past.
- A boutique German builder has staked half a million euros per unit on the belief that analog, turbocharged, all-wheel-drive thrills still command serious money in an EV-saturated market.
- The Type 859 channels the legendary 1984 Audi Sport Quattro — but with forged internals, carbon-fiber bodywork, active aerodynamics, and up to 600hp from a rebuilt five-cylinder, the tribute has real teeth.
- Production is capped at just 84 units, a deliberate echo of the original's championship year, creating immediate scarcity pressure among collectors in the US, Germany, and Switzerland who have already signed letters of intent.
- No physical prototype yet exists — only renderings and a development process still underway — meaning buyers are committing enormous sums to a car that lives, for now, largely in engineering ambition.
Ivan Garcia and his company HSR Manufaktur have built their reputation on a single audacious question: what would the 1984 Audi Sport Quattro look like if it were engineered from scratch today, with no compromises and no nostalgia for nostalgia's sake? Their answer is the Type 859, a €500,000 supercar limited to 84 units — each number a deliberate tribute to the year the original won its championship.
The foundation is a B2 Audi Coupe with a modified wheelbase, into which HSR installs a fully rebuilt 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine. Far from stock, it receives forged internals, a new turbocharger setup, and a fresh intake manifold, ultimately producing between 500 and 600 horsepower across two selectable modes. Power reaches all four wheels through a reinforced manual gearbox, a Torsen center differential, and a mechanical limited-slip rear axle — a drivetrain philosophy that owes everything to the original rally car's DNA.
The structure around it is equally serious: a hidden roll cage, new front and rear subframes, active and passive aerodynamic elements, and carbon-ceramic brakes. Carbon-fiber bodywork gives the Type 859 its unmistakable silhouette — blocky and purposeful, lined with vents and wings that earn their place aerodynamically. The whole car weighs under 1,200 kilograms. Inside, bespoke leather, carbon fiber, aluminum, and analog instruments create a cabin that is luxurious without being soft.
Demand has already arrived before a single prototype has turned a wheel. Collectors from the United States, Germany, and Switzerland have submitted formal letters of intent, and HSR is actively managing global allocation. The first physical car is still being assembled and refined — but in a market increasingly defined by electric motors and software, the appetite for something mechanical, loud, and irreducibly analog appears to be anything but extinct.
Ivan Garcia, the man behind HSR Manufaktur, has built a car that exists to answer a question nobody asked: what if the 1984 Audi Sport Quattro—that legendary, all-wheel-drive rally weapon—were born again today, stripped of nothing essential and rebuilt with everything modern engineering could offer?
The result is the Type 859, a 600-horsepower homage that starts at half a million euros. It begins with a B2 Audi Coupe, shortened and stretched in the wheelbase to accommodate what comes next: a completely reconstructed 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine, the same unit that has collected multiple Engine of the Year awards in its stock form. But this one is not stock. Before it ever sees the inside of the engine bay, it gets forged internals, new turbocharger packaging, and a fresh intake manifold. Once installed longitudinally in that lengthened chassis, it produces between 500 and 600 horsepower depending on which of two selectable modes the driver chooses. An active exhaust system ensures the world hears every bit of it.
All that power flows to all four wheels permanently through a reinforced manual gearbox sourced from the Audi S4, paired with a Torsen center differential and a mechanical limited-slip rear axle. The chassis has been thoroughly reworked: a hidden roll cage runs through the structure, new front and rear subframes anchor the suspension, and active and passive aerodynamic elements have been engineered into the design. The bodywork is carbon fiber, shaped into something that looks unmistakably descended from the original—blocky, purposeful, festooned with vents and wings and splitters that serve genuine aerodynamic function rather than decoration.
The engineering extends to the details. Carbon-ceramic brakes provide stopping power. Multi-valve coilovers handle suspension duty. The whole package weighs less than 1,200 kilograms. Inside, the interior is fully bespoke: leather, carbon fiber, aluminum, and analog instrumentation create a space that feels both luxurious and purposeful. Air conditioning is included, a small mercy in a car built for serious driving.
Garcia's company is building exactly 84 of these cars—a deliberate nod to 1984, the year the original Sport Quattro won its championship. At €500,000 before taxes, each represents a substantial commitment. Yet demand has already materialized. HSR reports formally signed letters of intent and direct inquiries from collectors across multiple countries, with the strongest interest coming from the United States, Germany, and Switzerland. The company is managing global build allocations to distribute the limited production run.
What exists now are renderings. The first physical prototype is still being assembled, still being tested, still being refined. But the appetite for it is already clear. In a market often dominated by electric vehicles and software-defined driving experiences, there remains a constituency of collectors and enthusiasts willing to pay serious money for a car that honors mechanical simplicity, all-wheel-drive capability, and the particular thrill of a turbocharged five-cylinder engine at full throttle. The Type 859 is betting that constituency is not only real but hungry.
Notable Quotes
We hold formally signed Letters of Intent and direct inbound inquiries from collectors across several countries, with the highest volume of demand originating from the USA, Germany, and Switzerland.— HSR Manufaktur
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why build this now? The original Sport Quattro is nearly fifty years old. Why not just restore one?
Because restoration is archaeology. This is resurrection. Garcia wanted to ask what that car could become if you gave it modern engineering without losing what made it matter in the first place—the rawness, the mechanical directness, the all-wheel-drive aggression.
Six hundred horsepower from a five-cylinder seems like a lot. Is that reliable?
It's the same engine architecture that's won awards in production form. But yes, this one is completely rebuilt with forged parts and new turbo packaging. It's not a stock engine pushed to the limit; it's engineered from the ground up for this application.
Why limit it to 84 cars?
The original won its championship in 1984. It's a gesture toward history, but it's also smart business. Scarcity creates value. Eighty-four units means this stays exclusive, stays desirable.
At half a million euros, who actually buys this?
Collectors, mostly. People who understand what the original Sport Quattro meant to rally racing and automotive history. People who want that lineage in their garage, but in a form they can actually drive without worrying about 1980s reliability.
The renderings look aggressive. Does it actually drive like it looks?
That's the bet. The prototype is still being built. But on paper—the weight, the power, the all-wheel-drive system, the mechanical limited-slip rear—it should be genuinely quick and genuinely playable. Not a museum piece.
What happens if the prototype doesn't work?
Then HSR has a problem. But they've already got signed letters of intent. The market is waiting.