Audi Quattro Concept

Audi Quattro Concept - To know Audi's Quattro Concept, you have to recall the original Audi Quattro (a.k.a."Ur-Quattro") from 1980. Launched 30 years ago, the two-door coupe was the first sports car to feature the automaker's new Quattro all-wheel-drive system. With a turbocharged 2.1-liter inline five-cylinder engine mated to a five-speed manual transmission, the original 200-horsepower street variant was good for a 0-60 sprint of around seven seconds and a top speed of 137 mph. Rally-prepared, and with hundreds of additional horses under the hood, the Audi Quattro was unstoppable, dominating the Group B class in rally competitions around the world for years.

There are plenty of other visual ties to the Sport Quattro, the most obvious of which is the chunky, angled C-pillar. The prominently flared wheelarches, air vent on the right-hand side of the bonnet and blacked-out boot are also visual nods to the car's spiritual ancestor. Inside, there's even an oh-so-Quattro fully digital instrument cluster.

Even if Audi doesn't make this car, the Quattro Concept is a statement of serious intent. Its 1300kg kerb weight (almost identical to the original Sport Quattro's) is getting on for supermini hot hatch lightness and is a clear signal from Audi that it is ready to bring its lightweight technology to bear on mainstream cars. The aluminium spaceframe also gets help from carbon fibre there's some at the front of the car and the bonnet, rear hatch and electrically raising rear spoiler are made from it and the result is that the 402bhp, 2.5-litre turbocharged five-pot from the TT RS, slung longitudinally, can launch the car to 62mph in around 3.5secs.

The drivetrain, meanwhile is as performance-focused as the rest of the car. Out goes the woolly Haldex four-wheel drive system, to be replaced by the crown-gear differential affair from the RS5.