Learning a New Mountain: David Hackl Takes His Audi quattro to Mt. Washington

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After more than a decade and 13 starts at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, David Hackl knows what it takes to race a mountain. But in 2026, he faced a completely different challenge when he brought his 1983 Audi quattro to the historic Climb to the Clouds at Mt. Washington for the first time.

In this episode of All Wheel Driven, David takes us behind the wheel of one of Audi’s most iconic hill-climb cars and explains what makes Mt. Washington so different from Pikes Peak. While Pikes Peak offers a longer, faster course and extreme elevation, Mt. Washington presented a narrow, steep and unforgiving road that David had barely had an opportunity to learn before race day. Then came the weather. Fog, rain and dramatically reduced visibility made an already unfamiliar mountain even more challenging. With limited practice and no years of experience memorizing the course, David knew the goal wasn’t simply to unleash the car’s approximately 750 horsepower—it was to make it safely to the finish.

David also tells the story of the 1983 Audi quattro that started life as his daily driver before being transformed into a competition car. After spending roughly 2,500 hours building the car for its 2012 Pikes Peak debut, he has continued developing it for more than a decade. Now, with plans to eventually push toward 900 horsepower, the quattro still has plenty of life left. From learning a new mountain and managing unpredictable weather to mentoring fellow Audi competitors and reflecting on more than a decade of hill-climb racing, David offers a fascinating look at what it takes to compete at the edge—and why he keeps coming back.

▶️ Watch the episode below, or listen on your favorite podcast platform: Spotify | YouTube.