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Audi tries quattro on A1

BRAIN FREEZE: Audi's quattro all-wheel-drive system is an eventuality for all its ranges, even the diminutive A1.
BRAIN FREEZE: Audi's quattro all-wheel-drive system is an eventuality for all its ranges, even the diminutive A1.
A prototype of Audi’s little A1 equipped with quattro all-wheel drive has been unleashed on the roads of Canada. Is this a taste of things to come in performance versions of the little hatchback?

Audi says the system used in the prototype, similar to that seen in its A3 and TT siblings, uses an electronically-controlled, hydraulic multi-plate clutch located ahead of the rear axle for the best weight distribution.

In “normal” driving conditions, it drives most of the A1's power through its front wheels, except when there’s a loss of grip, of course…

Said to be a “one-off development car”, the prototype features in a “Fascination of quattro” event being hosted in Montreal, Canada, to toast the four-wheel drive system's 30th anniversary in 2010.

However, the prototype’s drive system is also in keeping with a commitment made by Audi at the 2010 Paris auto show to make quattro a feature in all performance versions of the A1.

The Audi A1 arrives in South Africa at the end of January, 2011.
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