Audi confirms A1 quattro for UK 25 | 01 | 2012

IT WAS NEVER SERIOUSLY in doubt, but Audi has confirmed its explosive new four-wheel-drive Audi A1 quattro will come to the UK. The downside? It'll openly be available in strictly limited numbers: and it will only be available in left-hand drive.

First revealed late last year, the 252bhp A1 quattro from Ingolstadt is poised to take the supermini class by storm.

Audi will only build 333 A1 quattros, and — deep breath — only 20 will come to the UK

Due to arrive in the UK towards the end of this year, Audi has confirmed it has already received several deposits from customers for the car. And though it has still to reveal the price of the A1 quattro, Audi also expects all 20 to be sold well ahead of the car’s launch.

Harking back to Audi’s rallying heyday of the 1980s, the baby quattro combines a powerful turbocharged engine and the latest Haldex-style four-wheel drive technology.

Powered by the same turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine used in the S3, the car churns out 252bhp at 6000rpm and utilises a six-speed manual gearbox.

See more official photos of the A1 quattro

Expect the A1 quattro to hit 62mph from standstill in 5.7secs — that's the same as the S3 — and go on to a max of 152mph. By comparison, it's also 1.2sec and 11mph faster than the front-wheel-drive A1 1.4 TFSI.

According to Audi, the car's combined fuel figure is 33.2mpg.

Audi has also given the A1 quattro something of a styling makeover. The resulting competition-car look, is boosted by a deep new bumper housing enlarged air ducts and a large black-framed grille.

There's also flared sills, which help give the car a wider stance, while 18in centre-lock white-painted wheels, shod with 225/35 tyres, sit at each corner.

Five-door Audi A1 starts at £13,980

But just take a look at the car's rear-end. Not only is there a prominent spoiler to provide added downforce at high speeds for greater stability, but also a deeper rear bumper with a prominent valance panel and twin chromed exhausts.

And Audi has transformed the car's interior too. The upgraded interior gets heavily bolstered sports seats, a flat-bottom steering wheel and new door trims, all decked out in black leather with red stitching.

Read our roadtest of the 2012 Audi A4

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Jim McGill