Reincarnation Of A Legend - Audi A1 Clubsport Quattro

You’re probably wondering to yourself right now, what I mean by reincarnation. Surely there was never an A1 prior to this, and sure as hell there wasn’t one that looked like a RallyCross homologation special? That’s because there wasn’t. But I’m thinking back quite a while…

…Yup, that far. The Audi Sport Quattro. The rally-ready legend we all know and love. What does this have to do with a small economy car with some aero bits stuck on? More than you would think.

First of all, the powerplant. The original Sport Quattro had a 2.1 litre turbocharged inline-5, churning out just over 300BHP in the road going state of tune and 444 for the rally car. The reason the engine was slightly smaller than the regular Ur-Quattro’s 2.2 5-cylinder was to accommodate for the forced induction scale factor (1.4), bringing the 2133cc engine comfortably into the 3 litre class.

Whilst not a homologation car, the A1 Clubsport still packs a hefty punch. From its RS3-derived 2.5 TFSI 5-banger, it produced the right side of 500BHP and 487lbs/ft of torque, with Quattro AWD (who’d’ve thought it?) and a good old six-speed manual transmission helping it muscle its way to 60MPH in around 3.5 seconds.

Not only are they alike in terms of oomph, but also in terms of exclusivity. The Sport Quattro had just 224 examples produced, each costing around 204,000 Marks (roughly £88,500 in 1982, coming to nearly £220,000 when adjusted for today’s money). Examples for sale right now can fetch well over £350,000. The A1? Well, there’s one, and it’s not for sale. Trumped.

Now for the ones you can get your hands on. There are two, as I couldn’t do one without the other. The first is the A1 Quattro. Whilst at a glance it may look the same as its ludicrous Clubsport concept twin, further inspection reveals that it is now without the larger, wider air intakes, flared wheel arches, wider, more aggressive track and side exhaust. It still looks pretty mad though, in my humble opinion. It no longer has the 500BHP nuclear bomb under the bonnet, either, making do with a 2.0 TFSI four-pot squeezing out 256HP, ripe (alongside a simple manual transmission) for a 0-60 sprint of 5 seconds dead. Unfortunately, only 333 were made, making these not exactly a dime a dozen either.

Which is where this little guy comes in to play; the S1. Keeping the manual, losing some power (though still plenty of shove, at 227HP) but all for good reason. You can go and buy one from a dealer whenever you like. The tiny performer can still jump to 60 in a spritely 5.8 seconds, making the trade off in power and exclusivity worth it (though these are still not cheap!), not that most people would have a say in it. Besides the lucky 333 who have a Quattro.

Thanks for reading!