Not just hype and fluff
It is not easy being a marque-specific tuner: When a new model comes out there is the compulsion for the tuner to make its own automotive statement. Take for instance the Audi A1 and the firm Abt Sportsline. The lifestyle compact built in Ingolstadt has inspired the tuner to come up with some dazzling and not so easily digested livery colour concept options. There are names like ‘Aloha’, ‘Splodge’ and ‘High Voltage’. There is talk of the ‘cool beach-boy’, of the ‘splash of colour for the urban lifestyle’ and of ‘the bad boy on the prowl’ and if all of this makes sense to anybody… so be it. But finally Abt have turned serious about the Audi A1 and now offer a real power upgrade and not just a riot of kindergarten colours for the top-of-the-range model.
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- In race track look, based on the Abt Sportsline autos in the DTM and GT competition series, the tuned Audi A1 looks best, even it is still just a bit over the top.
Fiscal prudence à la Abt
To be exact, the model in question is the A1 1.4 TFSI with 185 with sporting character which we have tested and found convincing… more of this soon. In stock configuration the little car has 185 horsepower and puts out 250 Newton metres of torque at the driver’s disposal. It races to a hundred in 6.9 seconds and tops out at 227 kilometres an hour on the Autobahn. The extra that Abt have been able to get out of this motorization is perhaps modest but worth noting nevertheless. Now the 1.4 TFSI delivers after revised electronic tuning 210 horsepower and 290 Newton metres of torque and this just a bit more exciting than the stock model. Three-tenths are shaved off the zero-to-a-hundred time, now 6.6 seconds, and the top speed rises to 240. And the power boost is not unduly expensive. Fiscal prudence à la Abt Sportsline means 25 horsepower and 40 metres more for just 1,490 Euros.
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- The Audi A1 by Abt Sportsline in ‘Aloha’ look is supposed to evoke the ‘cool beach-boy’.
Well designed wheels
One is either extremely self-confident or a hopeless ‘fashion victim’ if one goes for one of these polychrome packages. But as for the range of wheels on offer the buyer is on safer ground as far as style and taste are concerned. The 18 inch DR rims with a hint of turbine design suit the A1 just as well the classic 17 or 18 inch wheels. ‘Z-Titan’ is the name to note. But good taste has its price. For example a complete set of the alloys will cost 2,790 Euros. On top of that 2,625 Euros is asked for the décor kit of aluminium body elements comprising front spoiler edge, side skirts, wheel-arch trim, rear skirt and roof spoiler. All of these contribute to an impressive visual presence and the driving dynamic is also improved… thanks to the sports springing installed… and the motor sound is amplified by a sports exhaust system.
