Walter Treser

The project leader who named the quattro and then, as the first head of Audi Sport, took it into the World Rally Championship.

Grouve Sport documentary

Episode 8 — The Architects: Fiorio, Todt, Gumpert, Turner & the People Behind Group B

The engineers and team bosses who built Group B.

Audi quattro

Walter Treser (18 April 1940 – 13 November 2021) was born in Bad König in the Odenwald. A racing driver in his youth and test manager at Pirelli, he joined Audi and from 1976 led the pre-development of special vehicles. He was project leader of the Audi Quattro, developed after chassis engineer Jörg Bensinger saw how the four-wheel-drive Volkswagen Iltis performed in winter testing, and he gave the car its name.

Audi Sport

From 1980 Treser was head of Audi Sport and responsible for the rally programme that brought the quattro into the World Rally Championship in 1981.

Project leader and namer of the Audi quattro, first head of Audi Sport.

Treser cars and Opel

From 1982 his own companies built special vehicles based on Audi and Volkswagen models, including a quattro convertible, and the Treser TR1 roadster, of which 24 were built before production ended in 1988. In 1991 he became head of motorsport at Opel, where he took the four-wheel-drive Calibra into the DTM, and from 1996 he led Opel’s advanced development.

More from Designers and engineers

Sergio LimoneThe Abarth engineer behind the Lancia 037, and the Delta S4.Read more →Claudio LombardiLancia's engine designer for the 037 and the twin-charged Delta S4, later Ferrari team manager.Read more →André de CortanzeTechnical director of Peugeot Talbot Sport, later designer of the Toyota GT-One.Read more →Tony SouthgateThe racing-car designer who drew the Ford RS200's chassis.Read more →John WheelerFord's Boreham engineer who won the RS200 design competition.Read more →Ferdinand PiëchThe Audi engineering chief who made the quattro possible.Read more →

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (DE), Walter Treser — https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Treser
  2. Wikipedia (EN), Audi Quattro — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_Quattro

All text is original writing for Grouve Sports Management Group, based on the sources above. Facts checked on 21 October 2026.

Follow Grouve Sport on YouTube — rally Shorts now, Group B documentaries soon.

Subscribe

Thumbnail photos on this page: KKPCW（Kyu3） (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Steven Straiton from UK (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Jorjum (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).