And the battle of the beefy hatchbacks continue this time with the Audi S1. Audi is trying to make their bets in the market segment more competitive especially with the likes of BMW’s MINI John Cooper Works. Even the Fiat 500 Abarth Esseesse looks beefy enough to trump any slightly large car for that matter. Audi seems they wouldn’t have any of that.

The S1 will be powered by a 1.4 TFSI that comes both with a turbo and a supercharger to make a whopping 200 hp. That’s quite the overkill with the small engine. I wonder what precautions they took in making this one to make sure the engine wouldn’t just blow up. Power will be transmitted to a an AWD layout. 0 to 60 will be around 6 seconds and the car can go up to 155 mph. That’s enough to match most electronically limited saloon Mercs.

A few tweaks on the standard A1 body will be made as well with the S1 having flared arches. It will also sport 19-inch allows, a roof-mounted spoiler and it even has a low front splitter and modified air intakes.

Audi’s estimates that the sportback will be available in 2010. The A1 is set to be released this year.

Source: eGMCarTech

Audi has effectively put their petrol-electric hybrid plans on hold, thanks to the company’s commitment to developing cleaner and more fuel-efficient diesels. With this decision, Audi has announced that the development of the hybrid Q5 is indefinitely postponed.

The Q5 would have gotten the hybrid power source after Audi cancelled plans of giving the Q7 a petrol-electric powertrain. Now, the Q5 is poised to benefit from the newer diesel technology and stop-start system that Audi is set to apply. The system won’t be given some high-sounding name so as to foster the notion that improvements are part of the process at Audi, and not just some gimmick.

“Audi won’t produce a petrol-electric hybrid until we can make nickel metal hydride batteries safer in crash situations and hybrid technology more efficient overall,” sources from Audi said. “Until then we will concentrate on producing more efficient diesel engines and aluminium chassis.”

Sources claim that the new technology could be launched with Audi’s A1 Supermini slated for a 2010 release date. However, the technology should be able to see some early run in the next wave of models, since it is already in the late stages of development.

Source: Autocar

First, I have to apologize again for the sporadic posts. Been hurting lately and I might be developing carpal tunnel syndrome (apparently from too much typing, the price for being a total keyboard junkie). While that may keep me from typing, that wouldn’t keep me from blogging. Good thing we’ve got voice recognition software.

Anyway, back to business and some catching up to do. Let’s start with the Audi A1 Metroproject Quattro concept. Tokyo will be filled with concepts ranging from cute to crazy but this one, being designed by Europeans, boasts engineering instead of eccentricity.

The mug alone makes it a little mean bugger to look at – small but terrible. It’s like a pitbull pup ready to take your whole ankle off when it bites.

Targeted to bear down on the MINI Cooper, the concept hides a 1.4 TFSI engine under the hood which can dish out 150 bhp. It is front wheel drive and sports an S-tronic dual-clutch gearbox. What’s more interesting is that this little bugger’s green being a true plug-in hybrid promising zero emissions while driving in slow zones. Still, it racks up some impressive numbers 0-100 kph is 7.3 seconds and a top speed of 201 kph (roughly 125 mph).

As for the handling part, the A1 Metroproject features magnetic ride shock absorbers – the same technology found in the A8 and the TT. It also sits on massive 18-inch rims.

Source: Motor Authority