Wednesday 4th September 2013

Audi Sport Quattro Concept

Audi's Sport Quattro concept is reborn for Frankfurt, this time as a 700hp plug-in hybrid

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Remember the Audi Sport Quattro Concept of 2010? A chopped down, lightened RS5 with squared-off design, a 408hp five-cylinder turbo from the TT RS and a good old-fashioned manual gearbox it's perhaps the most PH-worthy car of recent years Audi has never built. More's the pity too.

2010 Paris concept was a 1,300kg waif...

Like the Terminator though the Sport Quattro Concept is back, meaner and more heavily armed than before. And this time it's in a partying mood, Frankfurt marking 30 years since the original Sport Quattro was unveiled.

Out goes the five-cylinder turbo of the 2010 concept and in its place is the RS6's 4.0-litre V8 with 560hp and 516lb ft, attached to which is a disc-shaped electric motor bringing an additional 150hp and 295lb ft to the party for a combined system output of 700hp and 590lb ft. Enough for 0-62mph in 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 189mph, even with brick privy aerodynamics and physique that adds over half a tonne of beef to the 1,300kg of that original Sport Quattro Concept. Now weighing in at 1,850kg it has grown somewhat too, the wheelbase 184mm longer than the previous concept and overall length up by 322mm, diluting some of the Sport Quattro referencing stumpiness.

...new one is a near two-tonne slugger

Interesting to note that, even with all that extra power and the inevitable eight-speed auto, it's only a couple of tenths faster to 62 than the manual five-cylinder car too. What price progress, eh?

This more exciting range of ability is accessed in the inevitable Sport mode but this is Frankfurt 2013 so even if it looks like a vein-popping hard nut the Sport Quattro Concept has a sensitive side and can trickle along on pure electric power for around 30 miles, a halfway house hybrid mode waking the V8 when required, its familiar Cylinder On Demand system contributing to the 113mpg and 59g/km.

The rest of the car is classic show concept stuff, all LED headlights this and 3D configurable displays that with promises that the more muscular elements of the styling, including the aggressive new grille, will be interpreted in future Audi road cars.

All very impressive but given the choice between a lightweight modern-day Sport Quattro with an evocative five-cylinder warble and manual gearbox and bells and whistles hybrid, albeit with 700hp, which would you choose?

 

[bodhi808]

Want!
I love the look of it and prospect of a new quattro makes me a bit giddy.
Now if I could just stop thinking "fire up the......"

[Froomee]

The original concept was better in my opinion 400+ BHP and 1300kg........

[kambites]

A step in the wrong direction, IMO.

[BUG4LIFE]

With that amount of power, it's to sloooow!

Edited by BUG4LIFE on Wednesday 4th September 10:21

[dave7692]

Looks very nice, but the price

[Kronstein]

kambites said:

A step in the wrong direction, IMO.

Yes. Lots of power to offset bloated weight and hybrid stuff no-one wants.

Plus unless they get Lotus or Porsche to sign-off the ride/handling, probably best appreciated stationary.

[aka_kerrly]

Tremendous, but why couldn't Audi do both versions, a hardcore 5 cylinder and a more luxurious v8 GT version?

BUG4LIFE said:

With that amount of power, it's too sloooow!

slow? 0-62mph in 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 189mph is now considered slow?

[mikebradford]

some pics remind me of a blown up corrado!

[4a4]

Lovely as an idea - but far too heavy surely?!

Plus Vuhl 05 front end and Aston V12 Vantage S rear end?

Still, massive wants.

[delays]

kambites said:

A step in the wrong direction, IMO.

I agree.

I guess it depends on what Audi wish to re-imagine here. The original Quattro was a poshed-up, relatively luxurious high-tech coupe version of a regular saloon (which this concept appears to be).

I was hoping for something a bit more like an evocation of the short wheelbase Sport Quattro - light, 4 wheel drive, mental 5 cylinder engine, manual gearbox, low weight, somewhat pared back.

What they've ended up with is a heavy, gauche, gaudy RS6 coupe.

[kambites]

aka_kerrly said:

slow? 0-62mph in 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 189mph is now considered slow?

Well for 700bhp, the top speed does seem oddly low.

186 I could imagine being a limiter (300kph) but 189 seems weird.

[TheBigUnit]

Here we are, 3 years down the line from the wonderful 2010 Sport Quattro and Audi have taken a massive step backwards. But you cannot blame them - they know that the headline power figure is more important to the wallets that will be able to afford this car, than all the lightweight technologies. Forget the green credentials, the hybrid system is just an easy way to add power, and they will see 700hp as a way of justifying the vast price should they ever put it into production. They also know that the market wants auto-boxes, so they would not dare dictate with a manual. But for all the driving enthusiasts, the people that watched the WRC in the 80s and grew up with pictures of URs and MBs on their walls, this is a big kick in the teeth.

[Agent Orange]

Original concept seem better to me. ie. Low weight.

Not 100% on the styling. I like it but I can just see a cut and shut of 3 cars. Front end off a Citroen, rear end Aston and I know I'm exceptionally biased towards Corrados but the side profile of the roof looks pure Corrado.

[jeremyc]

The concept of a tribute to mark the original Sport Quattro appears to have been lost along the way. Surely it should stick with the warbling 5 pot, short wheelbase and manual gearbox.

This is nothing like the original concept of the Quattro, and a car I don't want to buy.

The 2010 concept, however, would have me reaching for my wallet ...

[SonicShadow]

kambites said:

Well for 700bhp, the top speed does seem oddly low.

Im sure poor performance at VMax events will put off potential buyers.

[kambites]

"Corrado" was the first thing I thought when I saw it... that might be partly because I owned a bright yellow Corrado, though.

[kambites]

SonicShadow said:

kambites said:

Well for 700bhp, the top speed does seem oddly low.

Im sure poor performance at VMax events will put off potential buyers.

Nothing will put off buyers because they wont make it.

But if they did, the low(ish) top speed probably would put off some people. Not because people will ever approach that sort of speed of course, just because they want to know (or perhaps want other people to know) that their car is capable of it.

[Nors]

I prefer the looks of this one to the 2010 concept, but can't help thinking this is a big lost opportunity in terms of the overall concept.

It doesn't pay that much homage to the original in terms of looks as it is, the least they could have done was to retain the 5 cyl engine (not like it's not already in the stable) and went with lighter body as per the original Sport quattro. But to give it a Auto box too, they've ruined it for me.

Also, those performance figures are no more (however fast) than they're achieving with the flagship 'estate car'. Are they right though? Lighter, but with more power = same perfomance!!!

[anonymous-user]

I actually went down the local Audi dealers to try and stump up the deposit for the 2010 concept when it was rumoured it was soon imminent for production.

Sadly this seems a heavy, watered down, and shudderingly expensive version of the 2010 car so not for me I'm afraid. Still looks lovely though - just a shame Audi can't take a leaf out of the Toyota GT86 book and make a simple quattro that looks this good, but's that's fairly affordable. A sub £50k list price for this sort of car would see them queuing out the door.

[trashbat]

That must have raised a few eyebrows at Aston!

The more I look at the profile of it, the more it feels weird to me - a bit like how the Alfa Brera just didn't work when looked at side-on.