Audi Sport Quattro

Starting point

The Audi Sport quattro, also known as the short one or Baby Quattro, was built in just 220 units and is regarded as a piece of rally history. According to the report at the time, it was offered from December 1984 for 195,000 DM, making it the most expensive German production car of its day; a Porsche 911 Turbo cost barely half as much. On 1 January 1985 the price rose to 203,850 DM. With this example, something had gone wrong in storage: the photographs show mould in and on the car. The brief: preserve all materials in their original state, optimise the paint and restore the value as if nothing had ever happened. The full extent only became apparent after stripping.

Work

In protective gear, the interior was stripped and everything accessible was disinfected by hand in several stages. Chlorine or hydrogen peroxide were out of the question, as they would bleach and further damage fabrics, leather, artificial leather, plastics and rubber. Bacteria that had caused foul odours were tackled with active bacterial cultures. As a precaution, the entire interior was finally fumigated to destroy all mould spores. The paint was carefully freed of scratches by paint cleansing; the subsequent hologram removal eliminated the 3D cloud effects and increased the deep gloss. A special degreasing wash drew all polish residue out of the pores of the paint, and only then was the LZ-730 brilliance sealant applied in five coats.

Result

The photographs from the report at the time document the result of the complete remediation of interior and paint. The company points out that car repair workshops usually turn such cases down, for health reasons and because the knowledge of how to deal with mould is lacking. When a car is infested with mould, Autoblitz Mayer, in exclusive vehicle detailing since 1997, takes such cases on.

Workshop archive, original report. Product details reflect the state at the time.