German automaker’s impressive quattro all-wheel drive system not with A1

There's no word until now whether Audi plans to offer the A1 in the U.S., but we should know more when the compact runabout is revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

Audi and Quattro go together like peanut butter and jelly, but Autobild is reporting that the four-ringed automaker's fabulous all-wheel drive system will be excluded from the forthcoming A1 mini car. We're a little surprised to hear that the Quattro tech won't be added considering that the A1's design study, the Audi Metroproject Quattro Concept, includes the word "Quattro" in its name.Meanwhile this news might be a problem for purists, on the practical side, the inclusion of AWD means additional weight and cost, something that's antithetical to the A1's stated mission.

The A1 will reportedly only be available with one gearbox: a seven speed S-Tronic automatic transmission. Autobild reports that the A1 will be available throughout Europe in August or September of next year, with a sportback version coming online in late 2011 and a cabriolet in early 2012.

But, here is some good news though: the sport version of the A1 will receive the quattro all-wheel drive system.

Regards,

DILEEP

[Source : Autoblog]