When Audi presented an 182hp (185PS) version of its A1 premium supermini equipped with a slightly more powerful version of the VW Polo GTI’s 1.4-liter TFSI engine back in 2010, we were wondering why the German automaker didn’t use the S1 moniker.
One reason could have been that the automaker had not yet readied a quattro system for the A1, which came the following year with the announcement on a new Quattro model powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four with 253hp (256PS).
Aside from the significant power and price gap between the A1 1.4 TFSI and the A1 Quattro, the latter will be produced in a limited number of 333 examples, which means the brand with the four rings will eventually be left without a high performance supermini in its range.
That might not be the case, however, as our spy photographers snapped a prototype model that we believe could be a test car for the S1, mainly due to the fact that it sports quad exhaust pipes that are a trademark feature of all ‘S’ models (the RS vehicles get two large tailpipes).
Our spies tell us that the car’s engine clearly sounded like a turbocharged petrol unit, which could mean that it is fitted with a milder version of the Quattro’s 2.0 TFSI, perhaps with around 220-230 horses. If it is indeed an S model, then it should also feature Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive system.
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