Audi quattro Concept Review
We drive the striking 402bhp, 4wd quattro Concept car as Audi decides whether it makes production
What is it?
It’s a concept that brings the Sport quattro of 1983 into 2010. As it’s a concept, there’s only one at the moment but if the reactions to it are good (they haven’t been anything but) then it might make production in limited numbers…
Technical highlights?
It’s essentially a rather classy parts bin special. The chassis is based on the RS5 but with 150mm taken out of the middle. The engine is the 2.5-litre turbocharged five-cylinder from the TT RS but mounted longitudinally and tuned up to 402bhp. The most impressive thing is that through extensive use of carbonfibre (it’s everywhere you look inside) the weight has been kept down to just 1340kg. The production car would be another 40kg lighter still, apparently.
What’s it like to drive?
Because it’s a concept car, it doesn’t have the sport differential and torque vectoring that a production version would have. And as it’s the only one in the world, Audi were also a little precious about how hard and fast we drove the car. Nonetheless, some things were immediately obvious, for example the engine has just as much character as you would hope, with a low burble when you press the starter button and all sorts of cooings and twitterings from the turbo when you change gear or lift off the throttle anywhere above 3000rpm.
More reviews
Group tests
- Ravage Alpine A110: France's perfect sports car made even more perfect
- Alpine A390 v Hyundai Ioniq 5 N – are these EV crossovers fun as well as fast?
- Ariel Atom 4R v Ariel Nomad 2 – is grip more fun than slip?
- Ariel Atom 4R v Caterham Seven ‘evo25’: power-to-weight heroes go head-to-head
- Audi Quattro, RS2 and RS3: five-cylinder icons head-to-head
- Who makes the best GT car? Aston Martin v Bentley v Maserati
- BMW 230i M Sport v Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport
- Caterham Super Seven 600 v Super Seven 2000
- Great Ferrari hypercars driven: 288 GTO, F40, F50 and Enzo head-to-head
- Hardcore Ferrari V8 specials go head-to-head
In-depth reviews
- Abarth 600e review – electric hot hatch with surprising character
- Alfa Romeo Junior review – small Italian crossover to rival Ford's Puma
- Alpine A110 R (2023 - 2026) review – the flawed but fantastic Porsche Cayman GT4 alternative
- Alpine A390 review – France's flawed rival to the Porsche Macan
- Alpine A110 review – the sports car Lotus should be building
Long term tests
- How lowering the roof on the Abarth 695C is a threat to my driving licence
- Alpina B10: Alpina B10: end of term report
- Alpina B10
- My £200k Aston Martin DBX707 comes with a built-in shower I didn't ask for
- My Audi S8 can’t make me hate it, even if its safety systems are often terrible
- Why you've probably been driving the Audi TT RS wrong this whole time
- Living with this £40k Caterham Seven even makes the KFC drive-thru memorable
- Caterham Seven evo Edition revealed – bespoke 420R joins the Fast Fleet
- It has a VW Golf R engine, but the Cupra Leon is quietly old-school
- Cupra Ateca VZN Fast Fleet test – four months with Cupra's hot crossover
Reviews
- Abarth 695 (2012-2024) review – why we’ll miss Italy’s Mini Cooper S rival
- Abarth 500e 2023 review
- AC Cobra 289 review – British sports car with an American V8 heart built to fight Ferrari
- AC Cobra 378 Superblower MkIV 2021 review – another V8 Cobra, but with a GM heart this time
- Acura Integra Type S 2024 review – a Honda Civic Type R with added restraint
- Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale 2025 review – a rare Italian jewel beyond compare
- Alfa Romeo Tonale 2023 review – 276bhp Speciale version tested
Despite steering that could do with being a bit quicker, you can feel how light it is and what a short wheelbase it has as it snaps into corners with the rear end feeling particularly keen. It also rides amazingly well for a concept car with big 20in wheels. Even after a limited drive I want one.
How does it compare?
It’s the best one-off concept that I’ve driven – most are made of sticky-back plastic cereal boxes and can’t go above 30mph, if you can drive them at all – but without a price, it’s quite hard to compare it to anything. I would love it to be a 911 rival, but due to its limited numbers our bet is that it will cost somewhere around £150,000
Anything else I need to know?
If you put the sat-nav into ‘Race’ mode then it will apparently read you pace notes for the road ahead like a rally co-driver! For the full story on the quattro Concept look out for issue 153 of evo.
Specifications
| Engine | In-line 5cyl, 2480cc, turbo |
| Max power | 402bhp @ 5400rpm |
| Max torque | 354lb ft @ 1600rpm |
| 0-60 | 3.9sec (claimed) |
| Top speed | 186mph (claimed) |
| On sale | Keep your fingers crossed! |
Find a used Classic Audi Quattro for sale on the Classic and Performance Car site
