Tag Archives: Audi

News

Audacious Automotive Reinvents the Quattro

If you’re the sort of enthusiast who thinks the best ideas from the 1980s were quietly abandoned in favor of touchscreens and torque-vectoring algorithms, then this one’s going to hit you right in the chest. The Audi Quattro—the box-flared, rally-bred icon that defined all-wheel-drive performance—is back. Sort of. And it’s angrier, louder, and packing a supercharged V8.

This isn’t a skunkworks project from Audi, though. Instead, it comes from a British startup with a name that sounds like it belongs on the back of a Le Mans prototype: Audacious Automotive. Their mission? Answer a question nobody at Ingolstadt ever officially asked: What if the Quattro never died?

A Quattro That Time Forgot

At the center of it all is Mac Zaglewski, a sculptor and restorer who clearly doesn’t believe in half measures. His creation isn’t a restomod in the usual sense. It’s what he calls a “continuation”—a parallel-universe Quattro that evolved naturally into the modern era.

Underneath the retro skin sits the bones of a Audi RS4 B7. That means a proper mechanical setup: a longitudinal engine, a rear-biased Torsen all-wheel-drive system, and—crucially—a manual gearbox. In other words, everything that modern performance cars have been quietly abandoning.

And yes, the engine. The original Quattro’s warbling five-cylinder turbo is gone, replaced by a 4.2-liter V8. Not just any V8, but one that’s been force-fed a supercharger to deliver a claimed minimum of 600 horsepower. That’s nearly 200 more than the donor RS4 and about three times what early Quattros were working with. Progress, it seems, has its perks.

Analog Soul, Modern Backbone

Zaglewski’s rejection of newer platforms like the Audi RS3 says a lot about what this car is trying to be. The RS3’s Haldex-based, front-biased all-wheel drive and automatic-only setup simply don’t fit the brief. This project is about tactility—about the kind of mechanical conversation between driver and machine that’s increasingly filtered out in modern cars.

The RS4 platform, by contrast, offers a sweet spot: modern rigidity and composure, but with an old-school feel. It’s the kind of chassis that still expects you to do some of the driving yourself.

Lighter, Wilder, Meaner

Visually, the car leans heavily into its rally heritage, taking cues from the outrageous Audi Sport Quattro S1. Expect swollen arches, aggressive ducting, and a stance that looks ready to attack a gravel stage at full boost.

And those ducts? They’re not for show. Every intake and opening serves a purpose, feeding air where it’s needed for cooling and performance. Form follows function here, just as it did in the Group B era.

The body itself is a mix of steel and aluminum for the first commission, with carbon fiber planned for future builds. The result is a weight saving of at least 250 kilograms compared to the RS4 donor. Combine that with the extra power, and you’ve got a car that should feel explosively quick in a way the original Quattro could only dream of.

Built, Not Manufactured

Each car will be individually commissioned, starting at £350,000—and that’s before you even supply the donor cars. It’s an eye-watering number, sure, but this isn’t a production car. It’s coachbuilt, bespoke, and deeply engineered.

There’s also the small matter of sacrificing classic Quattros to make it happen. Zaglewski is quick to point out that they’re not tearing apart pristine examples. Instead, they’re rescuing cars that would otherwise require unrealistic levels of restoration—giving them a second life rather than a slow death.

What Audacious Automotive is building isn’t just a tribute. It’s a philosophical argument on four wheels. In an era where performance is increasingly defined by software updates and drive modes, this reborn Quattro doubles down on something more elemental: mechanical depth, driver involvement, and just enough madness to make it all worthwhile.

It may not be an official continuation, but in spirit? This might be the Quattro that never stopped evolving.

Source: Autocar

News

Audi’s Electric 4×4 Dream Isn’t Dead Yet

Audi has always flirted with the edges of its own identity. It builds supercars, it builds sensible crossovers, it builds everything in between—but one thing it’s never quite committed to is a proper, mud-slinging, ladder-frame (or at least convincingly rugged) off-roader. That may be about to change.

At Audi’s annual media conference, CEO Gernot Döllner did everything short of confirming it outright: Ingolstadt is, once again, circling the idea of a fully electric luxury 4×4 aimed squarely at the establishment—namely the Land Rover Defender and Mercedes-Benz G-Class. And while the company line remains carefully noncommittal, the subtext is loud and clear: Audi wants in.

“There has always been speculation,” Döllner said, in the kind of statement that usually precedes a reveal by about 18 months. More telling, though, was his framing of Audi’s breadth: from entry-level EVs to sports cars to “rugged SUVs.” That last category has always felt like a missing tooth in the brand’s otherwise polished smile.

This isn’t a new idea. The notion of a flagship Audi 4×4 has been floating around since at least 2023, when then–design boss Marc Lichte pointed out the obvious: in a segment dominated by two premium heavyweights, there’s room—and profit—for a third. Audi, despite its quattro heritage, has never truly capitalized on that lineage in the hardcore off-road space. Instead, it’s spent decades making all-wheel-drive cars that look adventurous but rarely venture far beyond a gravel driveway.

The timing now, however, feels different. Audi is deep into its electric transition, and an EV off-roader offers something more than just another body style—it’s an opportunity to redefine capability. Instant torque, precise motor control, and software-defined drivetrains could give Audi a technical edge, even if it lacks the decades of off-road credibility its rivals trade on.

There’s also a strategic angle, and it’s spelled U-S-A.

Döllner made no secret of Audi’s renewed focus on the American market, where big, expensive SUVs aren’t just popular—they’re practically a requirement. The upcoming Q9, set to become the brand’s largest and most luxurious SUV yet, is being developed with U.S. buyers front of mind and will even launch there first. That alone signals a shift in priorities for a company that historically designed from Europe outward.

An electric off-roader would slot neatly into that playbook. It’s the kind of halo product that resonates in the U.S., where image and capability go hand in hand, even if most examples will spend their lives commuting between Whole Foods and a ski lodge.

And then there’s the production question. With shifting tariffs and geopolitical pressures complicating imports, Audi is actively exploring the idea of building cars locally in the United States. A niche, high-margin model like a luxury electric 4×4 could justify that investment—especially if it shares bones with other Volkswagen Group projects, like the upcoming Scout-branded SUV and pickup being prepped for a South Carolina factory.

Still, there’s an apparent contradiction here. Döllner has also been vocal about simplifying Audi’s lineup, trimming complexity, and focusing on core models. So where does a low-volume, high-cost off-roader fit into that vision?

Paradoxically, it fits perfectly.

As Döllner himself put it, these kinds of “niche” vehicles aren’t distractions—they’re incubators. They build brand image, showcase new technology, and allow ideas to trickle down into the mainstream lineup. Think of it less as a side project and more as a rolling laboratory with leather seats and a six-figure price tag.

And perhaps that’s the most compelling reason to believe this thing is real. Audi doesn’t just need another SUV—it needs a statement. Something that says its electric future isn’t just about efficiency and screens, but about capability, presence, and maybe even a bit of attitude.

For now, the company remains coy. No name, no timeline, no official green light. Just a carefully chosen line from the CEO himself: “Don’t give up on that dream.”

In the world of automotive corporate speak, that’s about as close to a promise as you’re going to get.

Source: Autocar

NEW CARS

Audi Q9: The SUV That Replaces the Audi A8’s Crown

Audi doesn’t do subtle when it comes to flagships. And with the arrival of the Audi Q9 later this year, Ingolstadt is making it clear that the age of the limousine as the ultimate expression of luxury is fading in the rearview mirror.

This is the new apex predator of the lineup—a high-riding, three-row monument to excess that quietly ushers out the Audi A8 and replaces it with something far more in tune with what buyers in places like the United States, China, and the Middle East actually want: size, presence, and a commanding view over traffic.

Positioned above the already sizable Audi Q7, the Q9 isn’t just bigger—it’s a statement. Expect a silhouette defined by a long, imposing hood and an even more imposing evolution of Audi’s signature single-frame grille, now stretched and sharpened into something that looks less like a design feature and more like a declaration of intent. If subtlety was ever part of the brief, it didn’t survive the first sketch.

Inside, Audi is shifting the luxury conversation rearward. Like its sedan predecessor, the Q9 is engineered with passengers in mind—particularly those not holding the steering wheel. Buyers will be able to choose between a conventional seven-seat layout or a six-seat configuration with individual rear thrones that promise the sort of comfort typically reserved for private jets and boardrooms. In other words, this isn’t just a family hauler; it’s a rolling executive lounge.

Under the skin, the Q9 is expected to ride on an extended version of the Premium Platform Combustion (PPC), the Volkswagen Group’s latest toolkit for large, combustion-powered luxury vehicles. Translation: big engines, long wheelbases, and the kind of refinement that can smother rough pavement without breaking a sweat.

And yes, there will be a proper engine to match the attitude. The range is likely to culminate in an SQ9 variant packing a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8—because if you’re going to build a flagship SUV in 2026, restraint is not part of the equation.

Audi CEO Gernot Döllner didn’t mince words when introducing the model: the Q9 is the new flagship. More importantly, it’s a car built with global heavy-hitters in mind, particularly the American market, where bigger has long meant better, and SUVs have all but replaced sedans in the luxury hierarchy.

Interestingly, the Q9 won’t stand alone for long. It will reportedly underpin a future flagship SUV from Porsche, currently known by the codename K1. That model, expected later this decade, will share production roots in Bratislava, Slovakia—further proof that in the modern automotive world, even the most exclusive machines are often part of a bigger corporate puzzle.

So here we are. The A8 is gone, the SUV has taken the throne, and Audi’s new flagship doesn’t glide low to the ground—it towers over it. Whether that says more about progress or preference depends on where you’re sitting. Ideally, in the back seat of a Q9.

Source: Audi