One of the coolest cars that Audi chooses not to sell us Americans is the wee A1. It's a sexy and stylish little baby hatch, but for some reason, the Germans don't think we'd go for it. But the Germans aren't all bad, though: just check out the insane A1 Quattro if you need proof.
We toss words like "crazy" and "insane" around quite a bit at Jalopnik, but the A1 Quattro truly deserves that adjective. It's a tiny A1 fitted with all-wheel-drive, an absurd body kit and set of wheels, but most of all, the 253-horsepower, 258-lb ft. turbo four from the Audi S3. It's rally-bred craziness distilled into an adorable little package, and it's wonderful.
Our pals at XCAR recently got the chance to drive around in one of just 19 A1 Quattros allocated to the United Kingdom, and only 333 were made worldwide. They say the car is living, driving proof that at least one German has a sense of humor.
"Tiny car? Giant insane engine? Shouldn't work, really does." I can only imagine.
To the few people who own this car, I have to say I'm jealous. I can only hope that Audi will see the light and sell the A1 (and its stronger forthcoming S1 variant) in the U.S. someday. We like things that are ridiculous, too!