Car Throttle

Up until this point, Audi's A1 has been interesting, but not exciting.  The small avante-garde hatch, based on the VW Polo chassis, has enjoyed brisk sales in it's home country thanks to clever packaging and an appealing price.  But with engines topping out at a 185bhp 1.4 TFSI (like the one in the Skoda Fabia VRs our man Adnan test drove) and front-drive only, it's not really a hot hatch.  More like a warm hatch. Well, Audi finally saw fit to fix that.  Meet the A1 Quattro, all 256bhp and 4 driven wheels of it.  This will be a limited-production model, but it lifts the A1's performance from "meh" to "Oh hi there, you're pretty.  I didn't catch your name!  You have plans later?" Under

We still can't get one in the US, and now there's another reason to be sad about that:  Audi will be introducing the production version of the A1 5-door (Sportback) at the Tokyo Auto Show at the end of November. Audi previewed the 5-door A1 with the A1 Sportback Concept at the '08 Paris show, and the real thing isn't especially surprising.  Dimensions will be nearly identical to the 3-door A3, riding on the same 97.2" wheelbase, and an overall length within 5mm of the 3-door as well.  The 5 door will come with an optional color-contrasting roof and pillars (while the normal one just has the pillars in a contrasting color.)  It's  mostly the same inside as well, meaning small but high-quality. Engine choices will

Mini Cooper SD, watch out! Your not alone in the hot diesel premium supermini market anymore as Audi has spiced up the diesel A1. Originally the only diesel engine available for the A1 was a 1.6L TDI  with 103bhp and 136 lb ft of torque. Now you have a choice between this and a 2.0L TDI that produces 141bhp and 236 lb ft of torque, less horsepower yet more torque than the Cooper SD but the differences are minute. Unlike the smaller 1.6L TDI A1 the bigger 2 litre comes with a 6th gear ratio for the manual 'box. Speed wise it's a similar situation, stationary to 62mph takes 8.2 seconds in the A1 with a top speed of 135mph whilst the manual Cooper SD gets

The minicar segment is growing in the United States with the Fiat 500, MINI and Chevrolet Spark entering the marketplace. It is still a small segment though, and one luxury automakers haven't dared to go into yet. Despite leaving us out of the plan for the A1, the car features heavily in Audi's global plans. It has been selling very well overseas, and new spy shots show that Audi is working on an RS1 model. RS1? There isn't even an S1 yet; Audi could be skipping that designation. The RS3 is currently the smallest RS vehicle, and it is powered by the 350-horsepower 2.5-liter five-cylinder that is also used in the TT-RS. We get the TT-RS, but not the hotter version of the A3. That's down

So far, the only really successful minicar in the United States has been MINI. BMW brought the original back and it was met with smashing success. New models like the Clubman and Countryman are helping to expand that appeal. The Fiat 500 is the only direct MINI competitor. Globally the MINI figures even more importantly though, and as such it was a must for Audi to compete against rival BMW with a model of its own. Enter the A1, a car we don't get here in the U.S. Audi has just announced that production for the car has reached 100,000 in its first year. The A1 is produced at Audi's plant in the Forest district of Brussels, Belgium. With an important milestone reached, Audi

The Volkswagen GTI turns 35 this year. 35!  They've really been selling a hopped-up version of their shopping cart for 35 years now!  And it's really not that much of a surprise.  Sure, people were skeptical that the GTI would be popular when it first came out - who wants a fast Golf?  Why wouldn't I just get a Mustang? - but the combination of fun-to-drive and practicality sparked an entire market segment that still persists today, having gone through more troughs and waves than the stock market.  (OK, maybe that's a stretch.) Also celebrating a milestone anniversary this year is the Wörthersee festival held in Reifnitz, Austria, which is officially putting 30 candles in it's cake.  This GTI-centric 3-day show attracts thousands of rabid fans

Audi's A1 subcompact is a neat little car. It's a nicely German take on the whole Mini Cooper/Fiat 500 segment - tiny but filled with aluminum and steel and Vorschprung durch Technik.  You can even get it with a powerful 180bhp 1.4TSI motor.  But up until now, the one thing it's been lacking was, oddly enough, four wheel drive. Considering Audi is a brand who's reputation is based around four-wheel-drive, that's sort of an unusual oversight on their part.  So it's not surprising that they would work quickly to fix this lack of Quattro grip.  Audi announced today that they're working on a 4WD version of the A1, and all of a sudden this overpriced subcompact starts to make some sense. The Quattro system in the A1

What's wrong with you, Audi?  Why do you hate us? While the US is getting a full-on bombardment of subcompact, modern cars (finally!) like the Mini Cooper, Fiat 500, Ford Fiesta, Mazda 2, and so on and so forth, you've put out a seriously neat little micro-car, and we can't have a slice of the pie.  Even though you know we want it - see how many Mini Coopers get sold here, even though they're campy and overpriced?  To add more salt to the wound, Audi will be introducing a new variant of the A1 at the Paris show that actually has some power.  Cue weeping and crying. Previously, the most powerful engine in the A1 was the 1.4L TSI engine, a four-valve DI aluminum-block motor

Senner Tuning is a German company known for its recent efforts tuning Audi vehicles. One of those is their take on the A5 Sportback, dubbed the Grand Prix. It is one of our favorite tuned examples of the A5 (which we unfortunately can't get here in the United States). Now, the company has turned its attention to the A1 supermini, being one of the first tuning companies to offer a package for the diminutive Audi. Senner started with the A1 1.6 TDI model, and the main change is boosting power output from 103 to 138 horsepower. The changes are available individually, or as a package. The bump in power will set you back €899 (about $1,146 USD at current exchange rates), a figure that

Manufacturers have been preparing to launch new small models in the United States more than ever. T he Beat is coming from Chevrolet, Ford is bringing over the Fiesta and Fiat the 500. Mercedes-Benz has even been rumored to be considering the A-Class and B-Class to our shores. The A1 is a supermini that many have wanted to see as a full competitor to the MINI, which is really the only successful car of its type in our country. That could be the reason Audi has an apprehension about bringing it over. Audi A1 S-Line Pictured In Europe, the car has met high demand, with Audi receiving over 50,00 preorders ahead of the car's summer launch. Apparently the brand sees its U.S image as a serious competitor to BMW and