Audi Axes The Sport Quattro Concept

Sam McEachern
by Sam McEachern

The Audi Sport Quattro Concept, which served as an homage to the original Audi Quattro of Group B rallying fame, won’t make it to production after all.

The Sport Quattro Concept was first shown at the 2010 Paris Motor Show and marked the 30th anniversary of Audi’s Quattro all-wheel-drive system. The German automaker reaffirmed its interest in the concept at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, introducing an updated version powered by a 4.0-liter twin turbo V8 with a hybrid system, good for 690 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque. Rumors surfaced Audi was going to put it into production, but Audi Sport boss Stephan Winkelmann put them to bed in a recent interview with Car & Driver.

“It’s a nice dream,” Winkelmann said in regards to the concept. “but I think we have so much in front of us that the most important thing is to get the lineup where we need it. I think there is the opportunity for a very limited car, but this is not my top priority at the moment.”

Instead of investing in limited-run halo cars like the Sport Quattro, Audi is turning its attention toward introducing more RS models, namely crossovers and SUVs. In a separate sit down with C&D, Winkelmann said “a CUV shift is due” for the RS brand as crossovers and SUVs have good global appeal. The Q7 and upcoming Q8 are said to get the RS treatment first, but the Q5 may also get a performance injection.

There’s not just crossovers and SUVs from RS on the horizon, thankfully. The RS4 Avant is on the way and Winkelmann confirmed the brand is working on an all-new RS6 Avant for 2019. We may not get the former in North America, but C&D sources say Audi of America is currently trying to make a case for bringing the latter over. We imagine there’d be few complaints about that.

Sam McEachern
Sam McEachern

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  • Tosh Tosh on Mar 26, 2017

    Jack it up a bit and put some underbody cladding on it: new trend of 3-door utes. Kinda like the SAAB 9X concept was going to be...?

  • SilverCoupe SilverCoupe on Mar 26, 2017

    Dang, that looked pretty sweet, and even my wife agreed. The original Quattro was the car that first made me fall for Audi in the first place, long before I could afford one. As the former owner of a TT, and the current owner of an A5, this could have been right up my alley, but honestly, I do not need 690 HP. An S5 is probably as far up market as I will ever go.

  • Ajla On the Mach-E, I still don't like it but my understanding is that it helps allow Ford to continue offering a V8 in the Mustang and F-150. Considering Dodge and Ram jumped off cliff into 6-cylinder land there's probably some credibility to that story.
  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
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