New Vs Used: Would You Rather Buy An Audi S1 Or Classic Quattro?

The fact that Audi's latest hot hatch shares its name with the legendary Audi 'S1' Sport Quattro homologation special got us thinking. While Sport Quattros are absurdly expensive to buy, a standard, low-mileage 'Ur' Audi Quattro like this can be picked up for around £25k, the same price you'd pay for the new S1 model.

With that in mind, where would you rather spend the cash? From a purely clinical perspective, you could say the Quattro doesn't have much of a case. With 217bhp from the later 2.2-litre turbocharged five-pot it'll do 0-60mph in 6.5 seconds and top out at 142mph. Certainly quick, but the dinky S1 beats that hands down. With 228bhp, a 0-60mph time of 5.8 seconds and a top speed of 155mph, the new S1 will easily outgun the Quattro in any performance test.

Performance, though, isn't everything. We're expecting the S1 to be a hoot to drive, but it's highly doubtful it'll be as involving or as exciting to drive as the older car. Also, the Quattro is one of the all-time motoring greats, with a near-unbeatable motorsport pedigree. It's an incredibly cool car to be seen in, and let's not forget the prospect of that warble from the car's turbocharged five-pot.

As a 25-year-old car it'll need much more money spent to keep it going, and won't be particularly economical to drive, whereas an S1 will come with a fresh warranty and has a claimed fuel economy figure of 40.4mpg. But, and this is a big 'but', a classic Quattro should appreciate in value, whereas the owner of a new S1 will experience the full brunt of depreciation from the moment they drive it out of the showroom.

The question is, which car would you rather drop £25k on?