This’grass roots’ approach to the’quattro Drive Experience’ benefits the customer because the local dealership now has direct access to Audi’s fully- trained driving instructors.

Each dealership is able to host a series of targeted quattro events that showcase Audi’s advanced technology to educate those customers who reside or work within the local prime market area (PMA).

Audi in Australia also hosts the’quattro Drive Experience’ for corporate customers throughout Australia.

Initially launched in May at Solitaire Automotive, Adelaide, Audi’s market-leading ‘quattro Drive Experience’ was highly successful for the dealership, generating immediate conquest sales of quattro vehicles after potential buyers had experienced the quattro active safety system first-hand.

The ‘quattro Drive Experience’ is run by four German-trained instructors, led by Cameron McConville, who won the silver medal in an Audi A4 quattro in last year’s Australian Super Touring Championship.

Audi’s ‘quattro’ refers to an ‘intelligent’ all-wheel-drive system that reads the changes in the road’s surface, sensing the effects of an icy patch or a sharp curve on the car’s motion and adjusts the power distribution accordingly.

"Because it fulfils a proactive function, quattro could be considered safer even than airbags, because quattro four-wheel-drive technology helps you avoid an accident," said Audi’s managing director, Matthias Seidl.

For the uninitiated, the first driving experience of quattro can be astounding, according to Matthias Seidl.

"With its four driven wheels, quattro transmits almost twice as much tractive force as rear-wheel-drive cars, resulting in almost unbelievable levels of grip. On corners the distribution of these tractive forces to all four wheels keeps the steering behaving perfectly," Mr Seidl said.

"The quattro continues to perform well even if only one of the four driven wheels is able to grip the road surface. All-wheel-drive also results in better acceleration, particularly on difficult surfaces. In rainy weather, for instance, a quattro will glide effortlessly out into a moving stream of traffic on a busy street without any wheelspin.

"In fact, Audi quattro was considered such an’unfair advantage’ that it was banned from use in Super Touring Car races around the world," Mr Seidl added.

In 1998, Australia was the last country still permitted to race quattros, however this year is a different story. Audi quattro has been banished even from Australian racing circuits after Audi’s raclxig drivers came first and second in the 1998 Australian Driver’s Championship. The company also won the 1998 Manufacturer’s Championship.

The 1999 quattro season builds on the success of the company’s strategic quattro marketing campaign, first launched in June last year. The 1998 quattro campaign saw sales of quattro vehicles accounting for approximately 30 percent of total Audi sales.

The Audi ‘quattro Drive Experience’ test vehicles reflect the available model range, and are now fully liveried in corporate silver colours complete with ‘quattro Drive Experience’ badging.

The Adelaide ‘quattro Drive Experience’ was followed by drive days for Audi on the Gold Coast, and in Melbourne at Penfold Motors in Burwood, Audi Centre Doncaster and Porsche Centre Melbourne.