The All Aluminum, mid-engine Audi Quattro Spyder has created an enormous stir when it was unveiled at the Frankfurt International Auto Show earlier this year.
The Spyder was developed with help from Ferry Piech, who is part owner of Porsche AG. Piech has often stood in complete disagreement with the way Porsche has been managed. One of Piech’s reasons for having the Spyder developed was to show Porsche what his idea of a sensible sports car was. The engineers at Audi were able to demonstrate how easy it was to build a fast and affordable sports car with the track day enthusiast in mind.
At first glace the Spyder is reminiscent of the Porsche Cayman and carries a lot of the same characteristics. A two-seater, mid engine sports car, with front and rear trunk areas. The Spyder utilizes the venerable 2.8-litre Audi V6 mid-mounted and strapped to a 6-speed manual transmission with Quattro all-wheel-drive. Horsepower, Torque and Speed numbers are yet to be released. But the Spyder is available in three colors: Tornado Red, Baltic Green and Fahrenheit Orange. Prices are expected to start around $45k US.
April Fools! – we hope you enjoyed this throwback to 1993.
The Audi Spyder was an actual pre-production vehicle with only a handful built. But after much hesitation, Audi decided that the recession in the automobile business required full concentration on larger-volume models, therefore the Spyder would never reach full production. In the end, the final decision not to produce the Spyder may have been influenced by the desire not to compete directly with Porsche.
