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Fiat History, Vol.14 - Michele Mouton

Tazilon Brenner | Published on 9/18/2025

Michele Mouton

Known in Rally circles as the "Queen of Speed", Michele Mouton gained her fame as a driver for Audi; however, on her way up the Rally circuits, she drove for Abarth and Fiat (and a few other marques) for several years.

June 23 is her birthday, so I thought it a fitting day to take a look at a French female who left such an indelible mark on rally that she is now in the Rally Hall of Hame.

Michele was born on June 23, 1951 in Grasse, France. After high school, Mouton began studying for a career in law. However, when she was 21, a friend, Jean Taibi, asked her to help practice for the Tour de Corse. Apparently, she did well and they clicked as a team, because a year later she co-drove with Jean in the WRC's first ever rally, the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally. After several races, her father told her she would do better as a driver and offered to buy her a car. Michele made her rally debut as a driver in a Alpine-Renault A110 at the 1973 Ralleye Paris - Saint Raphael-Ferminin and went on that year to also compete in the Tour de France Automobile.

The following season, Mouton stepped up to the big leagues, driving her A110 on the World Rally Championship circuit. In her first race, the 1974 Tour de Corse, she finished 12th. She posted consistent results the remainder of the campaign and won both French and European Female Driver of the Year accolades.

In 1975, Michele finished 7th in the Tour de Corse, and went on to repeat as both French and European Female Driver of the Year. She also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 2 liter prototype class with an all-female crew!

Years later, looking back at her Le Mans victory, she said,

"It started to rain I remember, and I started to pass everybody. I was running on slicks. In the pits they were saying 'Michele you must stop', but I did not want to because I was passing everyone."

Her Le Mans victory helped secure her first major sponsor; in 1976, her A110 was sponsored by Elf, the French oil company.

THE FIAT YEARS

In 1978, Mouton signed with Fiat. Over the next 4 years, driving an Abarth 131 and sometimes a Lancia Stratos, Michele finished 8th in the Tour de Corse followed by 5th place finishes 3 years in a row. At Monte Carlo, she finished 7th 3 years in a row.

At the same she was racing a couple events a year in WRC, she was competing in other rally events, as well. Behind the wheel of a Porsche Carerra RS, she won the 1977 RACE Ralleye de Espana and took second in the Tour de France Automobile. For 1977, she finished 2nd in the overall European Rally Championship standings. Driving an Abarth 131, she won the Tour de France Automobile in 1978.

(right: Michele Mouton rallying her Fiat 131)

AUDI

As successful as Michele was with Fiat, it was with Audi where she achieved her fame. In 1981, she moved to Audi, driving the legendary Audi Quattro. She also began competing in almost all the WRC events. Despite a disastrous first race - dirt in the fuel system forced her to not compete at Monte Carlo - successes began to pile up quickly. At the Rally Portugal, Mouton won 7 stages and recorded a career best 4 th place finish. Solid performances continued over the season. At the Rally Sanremo in Italy, Michele Mouton made history, becoming the first female ever to win a WRC event!

In 1982, Mouton improved even more, winning 3 events and barely losing the overall title to the rally icon Walter Rohrl by a mere 7 points due to a gearbox failure in the last race of the season.

Her strong performances throughout the year garnered Audi Germany's first ever Manufacturers' world title and Mouton the International Rally Driver of the Year award.

Mouton followed up her 1982 success with 3 more podium finishes in 1983, finshing 5th overall in the drivers championship.

In 1984, Audi added Walter Rohrl to their driver's line up and Mouton had a reduced role. She still managed to secure 2nd place at the Swedish Rally and 12th in the overall drivers champiosnhip. Audi ran a limited WRC schedule in 1985, with Michele competing in only 1 event. In her spare time she wandered over to the US, where she pushed her Quattro up Pike's Peak in record fashion, completing the famous hill climb 13 seconds faster than Bobby Unser's 1982 record.

PEUGEOT

In 1986, Michele switched to Peugeot. Mostly foregoing the WRC circuit, she campagined in the German Rally Championship. Quite successfully, I might add. Driving a Peugeot 205 Turbo 16, she won 6 of 8 events, becoming the first female driver to win the German Rally Championship title and becoming the first female ever to win a major rally title.

Her driving style and black hair earned her the moniker "der schwarze Vulkan" - the black volcano. Mechanical problems plagued her WRC events that year. Worse, the WRC announced the end of the Group B class for the following year. Michele decided it was time to retire. But, not before she won the last stop on the German tour, the Drei-Stadte Rallye.

Michele's involvement in motorsports did not end when she retired from rally competition.

In 1988, Mouton co-founded the Race of Champions. Originally featuring rally champions, the Race of Champions grew to include championship drivers from Rally, NASCAR, F1, and many other racing circuits. The winner is declared the Champion of Champions.

Over the years, Michele would occassionally compete in a rally, placing 2nd in several events. She also drove twice as a Press Driver in the Dakar Rally.

In 2010, Mouton was selected as the first president of FIA's Women & Motor Sport Commission. In 2011, Michele became FIA's manager of WRC. She was also awarded the French Legion of Honour. In 2012, Michele Mouton was inducted into the Rally Hall of Fame. To top it all off, in 2024, Mouton was given FIA's first ever Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Queen of Speed certainly left a solid mark on the world of rally and motorsports, overall. Michele Mouton is considered by many to be the best female driver of all time, across all racing disciplines. Niki Lauda called her a superwoman.

While she achieved her overall fame with Audi, for 4 years in the beginning of her illustrious career, Michele Mouton drove for Fiat's rally team, honing the elite driving skills which would soon propel her to Rally glory.

Driving a Stratos in the snow, chasing 3 Fiat 131s.

Airborne in her Audi!

On her way to setting a record at Pike's Peak.

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