Hong Kong Witnesses First Aston Martin One-77 Crash

2013 Volkswagen CC Gets Sporty R-Line Trim

Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix Weather Forecast
Sarrazin Gains Final Seat For Toyota Racing At Le Mans

Indy 500 Carb Day Practice To Franchitti; Dixon Takes IZOD Pit...

Volkswagen Golf R Cabrio Patent Photos Revealed
2013 Cadillac XTS Configurator Launched

BMW Zagato Coupe Unveiled At Villa d'Este

New Firestone Indy Lights Formula For 2014

Report: Audi Working On All-Wheel-Drive RS1

Nelson Ireson

Editor BIO

Nelson is an Editor at High Gear Media focusing on reviewing cars and covering the hottest topics in luxury and performance cars, car culture, and... More

LATEST ARTICLE
Volkswagen Golf R Cabrio Patent Photos Revealed
What to do if you love the Volkswagen Golf R, but just can't do without a drop-top car for summer?... Read More

#3LEADERBOARD RANK
5443ARTICLES CONTRIBUTED
205COMMENTS POSTED

1 697 views Nov 8, 2010

Follow Nelson

Add to circle

Audi A1 1.4 TFSI live photos

HI-RES GALLERY: Audi A1 1.4 TFSI live photos

Yet another reason to be jealous of our European counterparts, lovers of all things fast and small may get a special treat from Audi come 2012: an RS-badged A1. All-wheel drive, a turbo 2.0-liter borrowed from the Golf GTI and some serious suspension and appearance tweaks could make for an awesome little package.

It would, possibly, be the beastliest little hot-hatch around. Not in the near-wagon sense of the Focus RS/ST or Mazdaspeed3, but in the truer, classic sense, as the A1's platform should allow for something suitably lightweight to be built from it, even in all-wheel-drive turbo form.

At this point, it's little more than rumor and speculation, though the RS1 has been part of the talk for more than a year now. If it is built, the early side of the production would come during calendar year 2012. Power, if sourced from the GTI's turbo 2.0-liter could top 200 horses, as that's what the 2010 GTI gets, along with 207 pound-feet of torque. That's not much of a gap on the twin-charged A1 1.4 TFSI (nee S1 but for a lack of quattro), so it's possible Audi could turn up the wick a bit to get nearer 220 horsepower. Considering additional drivetrain losses with the quattro system on board, an RS1 would likely require something in this range to meet performance targets.

We'll keep you posted as the idea firms up, though we Americans will almost certainly miss out on the car should it come to fruition, as we're not slated for the A1 in any form until its next generation, sometime around 2015.

[AutoBild]