After it set tongues wagging in anticipation of a resurrected Quattro at the beginning of this decade, Audi has once again got the attention of enthusiasts the world over with the news that it will unveil another Quattro supercar concept at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show.
According to Autocar, Audi will focus on all-wheel drive at the Frankfurt show next month, somewhat of a counter to premium brand rivals like Mercedes-Benz and BMW increasing the amount of AWD models in their respective product line-ups.
“We have a great history with quattro four-wheel drive and this will be reflected by what we have in store for the Frankfurt motor show,” a source apparently told the British publication.
Just like the original Quattro, which was a techno-laden rally-bred icon of the 80s, the Quatto concept will showcase the Ingolstadt-based manufacturer’s penchant for innovation. A production version is pegged to be priced well above any other existing Audi, and will most likely only be available in an extremely limited run.
With the previous concept based on the A5’s platform (which weighs in at close to 1 700 kg), it’s going to take some doing to get the Quattro down to 1 300 kg – probably through the extensive use of aluminium and carbon-fibre.
Unlike the previous concept, which made use of a turbocharged 2,5-litre, five-cylinder motor in homage to the original, the new Quattro concept is believed to make use of a tweaked version of the company’s bi-turbo 4,0-litre V8 powerplant that will produce in excess of 440 kW. Power will be sent to all fours via a seven-speed dual clutch transmission and quattro all-wheel drive.
The new Quattro is expected to go on sale during the course of 2014.
