Audi to build hot S1

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As TopGear miraculously predicted back in March, Audi will indeed build an S1, a hot version of its new A1 supermini. (That's our Photoshopped image of the hot little Audi above.) 

A quicker iteration of the A1 was always highly likely, so this was hardly the most outré prediction we have ever made, and certainly more likely than that one about the squirrels forming an independent nation state by the end of last decade.

Anyhow. This week, Audi boss Rupert Stadler seemed to confirm that his company will indeed produce a small hot hatch rival for the Polo GTI and Mini Cooper. "Sportiness is a core value for the Audi brand," Stadler said, "and we have some clear ideas in this direction."

However, there are still no details on what engine might underpin the S1. Our best guess is the turbo- and supercharged 1.4-litre engine found in the Polo GTI and Ibiza Cupra - with which the A1 shares much of its underpinnings - though potentially bumped up to slightly more power than the 178bhp output of its two siblings.

But we're told the 2.0-litre TFSI engine from the Golf and A3 will squeeze - just - into the A1's engine bay. That'd be an interesting proposition: that engine will put out plenty more than 200bhp at a canter, which would make for a properly ballistic little hot hatch.

Or maybe Audi will save that engine for the RS1. RS1, you say? Sounds like a prediction...

Sam Philip