First look: Audi’s brutal baby S1 leaked

PICTURES of Audi’s new pocket rocket, the S1 Quattro, have leaked online ahead of tonight’s official announcement and public unveiling in the flesh at the Geneva motor show next month.

Said to be packing a 169kW turbo-charged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine that drives all four wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox, the S1 Quattro is based on the Ingolstadt car-maker’s A1 hatch, which in turn is related to parent company Volkswagen’s Polo.

The images reveal Quattro badges on the car’s flanks and an S1 badge on the blacked-out grille, along with a body kit that includes a sports front bumper, side skirts and a high-mounted rear spoiler on the hatch.

The headlights not only have LED elements but also red highlights. The roof is entirely black, while the external mirrors are metallic silver.

Audi Australia is yet to formally announce local plans for the S1 Quattro, but it has previously expressed an interest in the beasty baby of the range.

The S1 was teased in a video last week, with Audi suggesting the mystery car would be shown at Geneva, probably ahead of a European launch later this year.

However, the S1 will not be the most powerful A1 ever built – that honour goes to the limited-edition, rally-bred A1 Quattro with its 188kW engine from the Audi S3 and Volkswagen Golf R. Just 333 of the cars were built in 2012, and all in left-hand drive.