From the horses mouth, no less.
Audi Sport boss Stephan Winkelmann sure isn’t coy about what he has planned for the newly-renamed division (that he’s leaving next month to join Bugatti). Interestingly, Winkelmann believes that the future of Audi Sport will depart from the typically “evolutionary” approach that Audi’s been guilty of taking in the past, in exchange for a direction that promises to be more of a “revolution.”
Rebranded ‘Audi Sport’ from ‘Quattro’ last year, the AMG-esque sub-marque intends to make its presence known by putting a foot firmly into the electric doorway, with the very first Audi Sport electrified vehicle due in the new decade.
“From 2020 onwards, will be the start of the introduction of battery electric vehicles. This will start by the end of 2020 with the first car of Audi Sport, and then there will be more coming in the third decade of this millenium.” - Stephan Winkelmann, Audi Sport
It seems fairly clear that there will be a red-hot electric car from Audi Sport come 2020, though some suggest that these comments are less than clear. It’s possible that Audi Sport could look to make its mark by going with a highly-electrified high-performance car like the Polestar 1, pairing a turbocharged and supercharged petrol engine to a mammoth set of batteries that allow it to put out 447kW and 1,000Nm.
Such a setup would also be very interesting to see in something like an SUV, which would likely be the best way to make a statement for Audi Sport, given the popularity of SUVs and how that trend isn’t expected to go away anytime soon. On the matter, Winkelmann said to Autocar:
“We are looking into cars which are in a growing segment. These, are the Qs. We will get more of then and we think that this is going to help us because every car we are building and investing in should have global visibility. Not just in Europe, but in Asia, and in the Americas.” - Stephan Winkelmann, Audi Sport
As with any marque with historical significance, Audi Sport too will try and balance modernity and tradition, as it remains committed to its turbocharged powerplants for the near future, for as long as it can be at least. On this matter, the outgoing boss said that Audi Sport would "not forget our icons, so we will continue to build them. Legislators permitting, our turbo engines will stay."
For more information on Audi, check out our Showroom.
