Andy Faulconbridge and his navigator, Steve Elliott, are raring to go in the Paperclix Jersey Rally. Picture: JON GUEGAN (00806948)

ANYONE who came of age in the late 1970s or early 80s will know all about the legendary status once enjoyed by the Audi Quattro.

Sure, there was the odd Lamborghini poster knocking around, but the really cool kids had a Quattro on their bedroom wall.

Andy Faulconbridge was 11 years old in 1981 when his father took him to see one of the last stages of the Lombard RAC Rally. ‘It was the original outing of the Quattro,’ he recalls. ‘That was it. I decided I just had to have one.’

A few years would pass, however, before he realised his dream. In the meantime, he had to make do with driving lorries. For getting on for 20 years he has driven all over Britain and now earns his crust behind the wheels of artics for Condor Logistics.

‘I have always been interested in motorsport, but I could never afford to get involved,’ he explained. ‘Then, three years ago, I was fortunate to come into a bit of money and I just thought, I’ve always wanted to have a go, so why not?’

Andy bought the Audi he had always dreamed of – a standard road-going 1984 Quattro – and spent eight months building it up into a rally car in the workshop he shares with four other lads at Corbière. He qualified as a mechanic while still at school and worked in garages for two years before becoming a lorry driver.

Andy entered his first rally in Jersey in 2007 with Nicky Ballantyne in the co-driver’s seat. ‘The Quattro was totally standard then, with around 170 bhp,’ he said. ‘I have since spent around £60,000 building it up. Everything has to be specially made because you can’t get parts for it any more. Since last September, we have had an engine upgrade and we now have 300 bhp, so it’s fun to drive, and quite quick now.

‘Apart from Peter Lloyd’s ex-Petter Solberg Subaru, it’s the biggest car in the rally this year – and it’s certainly the heaviest.’

• Read the full interview in Motoring in today’s Jersey Evening Post