The Audi A1 Quattro rally, Ekström's nice publicity stunt

A few days ago, Mattias Ekström hit the headlines around the world rally by presenting the specially developed Audi A1 Quattro. It must be said that by using the legendary yellow and white livery of the brand's creations at the Group B Rings, there was something to strike a chord with enthusiasts.

“When the new generation Audi A1 was launched, we knew we wanted to do something, explained the Swede to the official website of the WRC. As everyone knows my passion for rallying, building a rally car was an obvious choice. The car is ready. All that remains is to work on the settings.

We have to string together the test kilometers and compile the information. We don't have a precise schedule, but we should see the car in certain competitions as early as spring or summer. For now this car is for our own use, but we will offer it for rental to purchase as soon as we are satisfied with its performance,” declared the world champion of rallycross 2016.

However, from there to talking about a return of Audi to the WRC, there is a huge step that must not be taken. Indeed, this A1 Quattro is in reality a kit affixed to a Rally2 vehicle, the new name for the R4!

Moreover, the Audi has the standardized engine and gearbox supplied by the French fromOreca, namely a 1,6-liter turbocharged unit with 263 horsepower with a five-speed sequential gearbox.

In addition, Audi has not provided any official support to this initiative, because the South African company Rally Technic was responsible for the creation of this dress in the company of EKS JC. Finally, this is not the first time that an Audi A1 body has been used on an Oreca kit; the Barcelonans from ASM Motorsport or the Austrians from Signed Streets Motorsport have already done it in 2020.

Audi A1 Rally2-Kit (R4) by Oreca with Signed Streets Motorsport pic.twitter.com/Kl6IzM9gyW

— eWRC-results (@eWRCresults) March 5, 2021