If I could pick one vehicle that excited me the most at the LA Auto Show, it would have to be the Quattro Concept in the Audi booth.
Andy Blackmore covered this car a bit when he looked at the Paris Motorshow , but I thought I’d post some of my own observations on this beast from the LA show floor.
Audi built this concept to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original Quattro and you clearly see the resemblance.
Styling-wise, the defining feature for me has to be the rear roof line, reminiscent of the original Quattro’s angular roof.
Lots of angles up front too. Slightly more modern here though.
The rear profile also stays in line with the retro 1980’s looks. Is the this the most “modern” retro-themed car we’ve seen yet?
The wheels are properly pushed out to the edges of the bulging fenders.
The concept is powered by a 408hp turbocharged five cylinder mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox. Combined with a curb weight below 3,000 lbs, this car is more than a homage – it’s a fire breathing performance machine.
Just now there have been rumors flying that the new Quattro is in fact headed for production.
I don’t see how you can take one look at it and not say “yes please”.
-Mike Garrett
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
i'll have this one please: http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/12/2010/11/quattro2.jpg
Okay, this is how I see it: chop off the front end and scrap the rest. That rear end IS retro, but who says retro is always good? The rear end looks so generic, I would be ashamed to drive around with people looking at that... But that's my take. Others have different tastes.
Can we get one picture for wallpapper
I love the rear end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One of the ugliest cars on earth
Love it. If I can't have the original Sport Quattro, this will be the closest thing!
Man, this thing looks ugly. The designers didn't make up their mind if they wanted angular or rounded shapes. Plus, it suffers from the same problem that most cars have these days: it's too damn fat. The windows look tiny compared to the bloated body, and that typical Audi front end doesn't help too much.
The only thing I like about this car is the performance. It's only 10 kg heavier than the original quattro, and is great to know that the inline-5 is attached to a manual 6-speed transmission. It's supposed to be an homage to the original car, so why mess with the boring automatic gearbox when you can feel the car in all its rawness?
Pretty darn ugly. But the original wasn't exactly a looker either.
I hope that they do different levelsof trim with this, and it doesnt turn into an 80k lmited prouction car...I would gladly pay 35k for a base model....
Futuristic .. but it doesn't even look like an Audi anymore imo . . not hatin' you know
just sayin'
REALLY and awesome car! already one of my faves from audi!
they sure know how to design a car properly 
haven't seen any interior shots..
its bland and boring already and its not even confirmed for production, add it to the fact it looks more like a squashed A5 than a classic quattro and you have another bland generic german car.
could have done it so much better, instead we just have another fast golf.
I say "yes please" when looking over the whole car....until I get to the nose and say "no please."
Why must every manufacturer stick oversized flat grills on the front of their cars now? It's like the whole design looks good but the nose just kills it.
Audi (and other manufacturers), please go back to a smaller grill design....your grill size doesn't need to be the same size as a semi truck or double as a fireplace curtain. Thanks.
I could dig the rear lights and the rear roof-line but the front is too "modern audi", not enough "original Quattro" related and there are no real wide fenders, just designers "make you believe it's real" shadows on the wings.
The engine's from the TTRS so should be good, I guess it'll come with S-tronic along (-fine but a normal manual's still better for involvment), the chassis is RS5, ok but they'll have to sort the lack of steering feel and the not so great damping...
The low curb weight ( if it survive in production) could its real advantage.
Audi should also make sure that their car doesn't look like an Alfa Brera because to me, the overall proportions are pretty much the same.
Very cool, don't like the front but the rest...yes please..
Bram: It's the same car with the lifted back spoiler and other set of rims.
LOVE the rear ^^ bahahahaaaha
I think the opposite, neoncoyote. I like the rest, I'm not sold on the front.
It looks like it weighs well over 3000 pounds, you know?
I'd like to see more modern cars that actually appear to be (and are) lightweight.
itls like a conversion in the fron of a lancer evo and the rear of a camaro but hatchback jaja!
@neoncoyote: The whole point is for it to be retro. It's paying homage to the Audi Quattro of Group B rallying... They couldn't completely change the styling and then say they are trying to pay homage, that doesn't make much sense.
lol ironically Peter Birtwhistle, who designed the original SWB Sport Quattro, recently called his creation "bloody ugly." what does that say about a recreation?
I wasn't sold on it before but now I think it's great.
what the hell are they thinking. its uglier than sin. this should not share anything with the original quattro. its just too ugly.
The roofline isn't Audi Quattro...
It's VW Corrado. What has been seen cannot be unseen.
"Audi built this concept to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original Quattro and you clearly see the resemblance."
Are you drunk or blind? Have you ever seen the first generation Quattro, or the concept models that lead to it? For everyone's sake, go back and read about Giugiar's work before making such absurd comments in the future.
That monstrosity bares no relationship to Giugiaro's Ace of Spades concept, and has none of the wedge shape, smooth aircraft inspired detailing, or lack of ornamentation of the original.
It slightly resembles a scirocco to me. I love it
Well, at least it could prove that Audi will use the inline5 turbo in other cars than the TT RS. The noise made by the Quattro S1 was coming straight from hell ! I'd love to hear the sound of the new motor.
I'll take two please.
nice car, old shapes are cool! =)
I loveAudis, but is everyone blind?
Notice the front headlight design and the area going in towards the grille...
Thats unmistakeably Mitsubishi's Evolution X headlight/grille style...
Dont like this car too much...
love it
Im not sure I really like this car. I definitely liked the direction audi was headed with their newer a6 and a4, actually all of their cars except for the TT. This just looks like an Evo X front headlights on a half evoX half Audi grill. Then the a pillars to the c pillars (above the windows only) looks like a late 60's charger which I absolutely love. But then the car just ends at a weird square drop with no rear end to match the roof. It just looks weird with that half hatch half trunk look that it has where it really wants something coming out of the back like a newer audi sedan rear end but it just cuts it off. I'm rambling but I would rather see Audi follow the route they were going before this.
I'm a huge fan of the original quattro, although i do like the rebirth of the original one especialy with the famous I5 turbo, but i don't really dig the front of this car to much grille for my taste. Looks like roadkill collectors. I would really like to see this slightly redesigned and put into production with its 5 cylinder turbo engine.
One of the first Audi's that I have liked in a very long time.
I'm suprised by the choose of the engine... when I saw the first immage I tought: there will be some crappy eco-diesel engine under the hood... and ... surpise!!! a real engine! and what an engine!! awesome! really awesome, and I'm not an audi fan!
i LOVE this car all the way up to the front bumper, but it stops there. the front is no good. the rest, though, oh my word, so nice. it reminds me of the VW Corrado a little from the side, which is definitely a good thing
overall shape of the car is masculine, some very angular styling cues.. love the back end, not feeling the front end, with that deep 'mouthy' look.. but at least its in keeping with the Audi family look! good idea:- the embossed badging on the rear shoulders - i think, most "modern" retro-theme sums it up to a tee!
The back end makes me 'think' of a Quattro but that's where it ends. The body is an A3 with a slight roof chop and the front of an R8 smashed together. Back to the drawing board then instead of photoshopping existing cars, Audi
Daamn!! This car is AMAZING!! The best looking retro-themed car so far! Hopefully it makes to production, I'd love to drive one of these!
i like it alot, everyone is so negative. designers are in there positions for a reason. there is resemblance to the original, just compare the two profiles. you cant please everyone all the time,if it looked EXACTLY like the original people would be saying "way to go audi, way to not even attempt to modernize a design". take it for what it is a CONCEPT car. i think if it doesnt green light for audi it would be a shame, maybe it could get handed down to the VW label. all in all i think it looks sexy and mean.Ive always been a fan of hatches.