Audi RS1 hot hatchback to debut in 2017

An Audi RS1, boasting 284hp and with a four-wheel-drive, has been given the go-ahead by Audi bosses. The new model will act as a swansong for the current A1 hatchback prior to the arrival of a new, second-generation line-up in 2018.

Set to go on sale early next year, the new hot supermini will fill the void left vacant by the earlier limited-run A1 quattro– a 262hp version of the pre-facelifted A1.Unlike the left-hand-drive-only A1 quattro, the RS1 has been conceived as a regular production model, complete with right-hand drive compatibility. As a result, it will be priced more competitively than its predecessor.

As sister model to parent company Volkswagen’s upcoming Polo R, the RS1 is planned to rival a number of performance-based small cars, including the Ford Fiesta ST. However, the prime target for the new RS model – whose name was recently the subject of a copyright filing by Audi — is the Mini John Cooper Works. Sources close to the recently reorganised Audi Sport division say the RS1 has been extensively benchmarked against the hot Mini.

Power for the RS1 is planned to come from Audi’s widely used EA888 engine. The turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol unit, which, in its more highly tuned guises, uses a patented valve lift system to provide continuously variable camshaft control, is expected to develop around 284hp.

Gearbox choices for the RS1 are likely to be a standard six-speed manual or a newly developed seven-speed dual-clutch automatic unit that is engineered to handle up to 500Nm of torque. As with the sporty S1, the RS1 is also set to receive a four-wheel drive system as standard.

With greater power, the RS1 should comfortably dip below the claimed 5.8sec 0-100kph time of today’s three-door S1. With similar gearing, it also should have the same limited 250kph top speed as the S1.As with the S1, the RS1 is expected to be offered in both three and five-door – or Sportback– bodystyles. Following the launch of the RS1 next year, Audi plans to launch the second-generation A1 in 2018. Eschewing the PQ35 underpinnings of today’s first-generation model, it has been conceived around the VW Group’s versatile MQB structure, which Audi says provides the basis for significant increases in structural rigidity together with a reduction in weight due to the use of a so-called hybrid construction, with a combination of hot-formed steel and aluminium.

For India, Audi is set to launch the new A4 shortly with the A3 also expected to be replaced by the recently facelifted model before the year is out. The company as of now has no plans to bring the A1 hatchback to India.