Revisiting the mad, rally-inspired Audi A1 Quattro – car pictures of the week
Audi launched a £41,020, 252bhp four-wheel drive supermini back in 2012 – we revisit it in the latest issue of evo
When you think of rally-inspired, turbocharged, four-wheel drive production superminis, it’s Toyota’s GR Yaris that generally comes to mind. But Audi was first to have a go at the formula with its limited-run A1 Quattro, which muscled onto the scene nearly a decade earlier.
In issue 330 of evo, we get back behind the wheel of the Quattro to discover whether its superstar-in-miniature appeal endures today, and to discuss what on earth possessed Audi to launch a highly specialised supermini that wouldn't end up making a profit. To read the full feature, pick up a copy of evo 330 in-store or online via the evo shop.
A glance at the Quattro’s spec sheet reveals it to be much, much more than an A1 with a fruity engine. Audi threw everything at the project to make a truly capable hot hatch with a unique mechanical make-up – it had a 252bhp 2-litre engine, four-wheel drive and a completely different rear axle to the base car, with 600 components being either modified or replaced.
And desirable the Quattro was and still is. At launch, it cost £41,020 – a chunk more than the then-new Porsche 981 Boxster – and used examples sell for upwards of £40k today. Does the driving experience warrant that price?
‘The first rush through the gears is quite a surprise,’ we said. ‘This is a seriously fast car, but in a slightly frantic, almost old school kind of way. It’s less linear than a modern turbo hatch, the boost swelling with a whoosh above 3000rpm, the wheel jinking in your hands with the torque as you ping up the road. A GR Yaris would have no trouble pulling away, but a new Golf GTI, I’m not so sure.’
To read the full feature, pick up a copy of evo 330 in-store or online.
