20. Audi Quattro
Back in the early 1980s, Audi upgraded Volkswagen with not much to offer. Then the motorsport department proposed entering the rally championships with the Quattro. Suddenly, Audi had a championship-winning car and was at the forefront of two new technologies, all-wheel-drive systems and turbocharging (via QuattroDaily).

This resulted in the rise of Audi as we know it today has started. The Quattro Sport featured a 2.1-liter straight five-cylinder engine with turbocharger and 306 hp in street trim. With a short wheelbase, light body panels, and a short-ratio gearbox, the Quattro Sport went 0 to 60 mph in just 4.8 seconds. Despite all that, Audi sold just several hundred examples in America, and the model flew under the radar of domestic enthusiasts.