Audi RS1 heading for a Paris debut? Not according to Audi

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Rumours are rife that an Audi RS1 with 280bhp and four-wheel drive quattro is heading for a debut at the Paris Motor Show. Not so, say Audi.

Nobody could ever really accuse Audi of missing out on a niche, with a range of cars covering every feasible nook and cranny of car wants and needs.

So the idea that we might be about to get an Audi RS1, complete with 280bhp and quattro four-wheel drive doesn’t sound at all far fetched.

The imminent debut of the RS1 is doing the rounds of the internet at the moment, with many proclaiming its arrival, its regular production status and its availability in right-hand drive. And they may be right.

But Motoring in Australia has done the sensible thing to get to the bottom of the rumours, and asked a man who will know. They’re not saying who the Audi man is, but they seem pretty sure he knows his stuff. And he knows there will be no RS1.

What the Audi inside man actually says is that “there are no plans to expand the A1 range to include an RS1”, which does sound a bit like a non-denial denial (not planned, but could be in the future), but if there are no plans already in place then there’s no chance of an RS1 of the current generation ever making an appearance.

Which makes sense, even if a £30k RS1 going head to head with cars like the anticipated VW Polo R and MINI John Cooper Works would have been interesting.

Still, the man in the know at Audi might be wrong!