AUDI A1 QUATTRO BREAKS COVER!

Audi has revealed the most powerful baby hatch in its segment, the A1 quattro (lower case q). We thought it would be called the RS 1, but our thoughts were clearly off the mark. Off the mark is one apt description for this car, and you’ll know why when you read the figures later.

Audi already has a 136kW Audi A1 which shares the same underpinnings with the Volkswagen Polo GTI. I guess you could say that’s the MINI Cooper S (135kW) competitor but is not called S1. Has Audi abandoned the S and RS monikers for its baby, or are these two cars still coming?

Anyway, the A1 quattro is to be sold exclusively in a colour called Glacier White metallic that you see here, which is the same as the concept on which it is based. Other distinguishing marks include a high gloss black roof, a new front bumper and front grille, a roof spoiler, LED taillights and two very menacing tail pipes of large proportion. The car rolls on 8.0 Jx18 cast alloy wheels with matching 225/35 tyres. Those are 18-inch wheels if you didn’t catch that.

Inside you’ll find things like silk nappa leather sports seats, aluminium brush pedals, a flat-bottomed steering wheel, MMI infotainment system incorporating the name BOSE, and a 6-speed manual gearbox.

For power it uses the company 2.0-litre TFSI engine with a single turbo, ensuring a hefty 188kW at 6000rpm, and 350Nm of torque between 2500rpm and 4500rpm. It is said to sprint from standstill to 100km/h in 5.7 seconds and stop running at 245km/h. Average fuel consumption is 8.5 litres per 100km.

Here’s the catch. Only 333 of these cars will be produced from next year, and start selling after June. Mzansi could actually get one of these as we are lucky enough to source most Audi performance products. Price? Who knows. We are speculating at between R400 000 and R500 000.