Audi could return to the international rally stage by the end of 2021. Mattias Ekström has converted an A1 into a Rally2 racer with his racing team.

The history of Audi Quattro is closely linked to rallying . Now Mattias Ekström wants to bring the brand from Ingolstadt back to the big World Cup stage. The Swede has built an Audi A1 according to the Rally2 regulations.

When you think of rallies in Germany , Walter Röhrl and his legendary Audi Quattro S1 Group B monster probably come to mind first. But since the golden days in the 80s, the rally activities of the Ingolstadt brand have become relatively quiet. Those responsible for motorsport recently preferred to rely on Le Mans and DTM projects.

For a few years now, Mattias Ekström has been trying to bring the Audi rally plant back to life. After retiring from touring car racing, the two-time DTM champion initially took part in the World Rallycross Championship, for which he converted an S1 into a 600-hp four-wheel riot rifle with the help of Audi .

As a driver for his own EKS-RX team, Ekström competed in the World Rallycross Championship from 2014 to 2018, where he celebrated one of the greatest successes of his career in 2016 when he won the title. The team merged in the meantime with the Swedish team JC of Joel Christofferson. The Scandinavians are now looking for a new challenge together.

Ekström team converts A1 with Rally2 kit

The aim is to compete in the World Rally Championship, for which a new vehicle has been put on the wheels in the past few months. Out of an old bond, Ekström naturally used a model from Ingolstadt again as the basis for his current project . This time an Audi A1 was converted according to the FIA ​​Rally2 regulations. The Northmen got help from the South African rally forge "Rally Technic".

"When the new generation of the Audi A1 was presented, it was immediately clear to us that we wanted to make something out of it," said Ekström when he presented his new vehicle. "Everyone knows my passion for rallying , which is why we quickly decided that it should be a rally car."

And so the harmless city runabout was converted into a potent rally racing car within a few months. Of course, an all-wheel drive was a must in order to live up to the Quattro name . For adequate propulsion, the engineers installed a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine which, according to official information, distributes 263 hp to the drive axles via a sequential five-speed gearbox.

First deployments at the end of 2021

The result has now been presented to the public. With the first races, however, it will still take a while. According to team manager Christofferson, they want to begin with test drives on gravel and snow before sending the Rally A1 into a direct duel with the competition for the first time. The first set-up drives on asphalt are also planned for the end of the year.

Former Junior WRC Champion Emil Bergkvist was signed up as a development pilot. It is not yet clear whether a small series of the new Rallye A1 will also be launched for customer teams at some point: "At the moment we only plan to use it ourselves. But if we are satisfied with the performance, then we will also become the model of our competitors for rent or for sale, "said Ekström .