Audi A1 quattro costs £41,020

The Audi A1 quattro is coming to the UK

The Audi A1 quattro Limited Edition has been confirmed for the UK – although in LHD – with just 19 cars coming to the UK priced at £41,020.

When the Limited Edition Audi A1 quattro was revealed just before Christmas, we did warn you that it would probably cost in the region of £30 when the 333 A1 quattros arrived this year. But we were wrong. Audi want a frankly silly £41,020 for the 19 A1 quattros heading for the UK.

That’s £10k more than the equally quick Audi S3 – from which the A1 quattro borrows its 252bhp 2.0 litre Turbo engine – and almost as much as the 328bhp S5. And you don’t even get the steering wheel on the right side.

But ignore the ludicrous price and the A1 quattro is appealing. Looking rather like the love child of a 1980s quattro and the £13k entry-level A1, the A1 quattro gets a big front bumper, side skirts and some big tail pipes. There’s a spoiler on top of the tailgate, a black roof, some nice alloys and a  Glacier White paint job.

But the joy of the A1 is under the skin. The 252bhp 4-pot turbo will scoot it to 62mph in 5.7 seconds and keep going to 152mph. The clever quattro system, re-jigged just for the A1, will keep everything nicely gathered in – even if you get a bit silly – and the A1 quattro is, without doubt, a proper little pocket rocket.

Audi say most of the 19 A1 quattros heading to the UK are already sold, so if you have £41k burning a hole in your pocket for a £13k car with lots of go-faster kit (and £11k of goodies, which is almost the whole of the Audi A1′s option list) then you’d better scoot down to your Audi dealers promptly with your debit card in hand.

But if you’re sensible, you’ll wait for the inevitable Audi S1 quattro, with the steering wheel on the right side and a price that makes sense.

(41 photos – click any thumbnail for full gallery)

By Cars UK