Audi Making 256hp A1 Quattro Hot Hatch, Limited to 333 Cars

Audi gave auto enthusiasts, especially fans of hat hatches, a very unexpected Christmas gift late on December 21 when it announced the Audi A1 Quattro. The car will launch in the second half of 2012 and be limited to just 333 units. 

It uses the Audi's 2.0 liter, TFSI turbo engine to produce 256hp and 350Nm of torque with a six-speed manual transmission and Quattro all-wheel drive, obviously. Audi claims the little car accelerates to to 100km/h in 5.7 seconds and has a top speed of 245km/h. It consumes 8.6l/100km of petrol.

The Quattro system in the car is tuned to be front-wheel drive biased but can send power to the rear wheels as needed. Audi did not specify how much power could be sent to the rear wheels. The system is also torque vectoring by individually applying the brakes to slipping wheels via the electronic differential. As with nearly every modern car, the A1 Quattro comes with ESP, but Audi says that it can be switched fully off for sporty driving. 

Audi has taken the opportunity to also dress up the looks of the A1 for the Quattro. It comes shod on 18in wheels with 312mm (12.28in) brake rotors. It will only come with Glacier White Metallic paint with a gloss black roof. It has dual, 100mm exhaust tips. 

The interior is also reworked. The A1 Quattro comes standard with heavily bolstered, Nappa leather sport seats with red seams. Parts of the center console are done in gloss black, and there are aluminum pedals. 

The A1 Quattro will definitely be available in Europe, but Audi did not announce it for any other markets. We will just have to wait and see.