AUDI A1 Quattro 2012-2013 Photos, engines & full specs

The Audi A1 started from a crazy idea presented by the Audi engineers. The recipe was simple and fun: take an A1 and place the S3 engine under its hood.

Wait… not that simple. The engineers actually had to make 600 component changes to transform the A1, the Audi’s smallest car, into the A1 Quattro.

The A1 was produced in a limited series, more precise, only 333 units were sold worldwide in a left-handed version only.

The A1 Quattro’s exterior design was fun, with funky white alloys, black detailing, a massive spoiler and front bumper air diffusers.

Back to the efforts the engineers had to make to adapt the quattro to the front-wheel-drive A1, the spare wheel had to be removed, as well as the fuel trunk needed to be reconfigured.

The impressive 2.0-liter powerplant borrowed from the S3 developed 253 bhp and was mated to 6-speed manual transmission.

The interior of the A1 Quattro was similar to the Audi S1, however, the shifting gear knob was borrowed from the Audi’s R8, plus the tachometer gauge was painted in red, with the Quattro logo written.

The small Audi had a permanent 4WD – as the nameplate suggests – and was very fun to drive, with an excellent grip. The acceleration was fierce, more like a rally car.

The A1 Quattro offered no optional extras, came in Glacier White body color paint only and had a Bose performant audio system.

Of course, the tiny tiger was not a cheap car, and its price started at around $60.000. Would you spend that amount on the limited Audi A1 Quattro?