NO ONE who watched the original Audi S1 quattro blast its way through the Welsh forests on the RAC Rally in the mid-1980s will ever forget the sight or the sound.

The five-cylinder, 500 horsepower firebreather was a competitive creation that helped to make Audi’s name synonymous with four-wheel-drive and started a luxury car dynasty that is prospering, even in these apparently austere times.

I say apparently, as the arrival of the German car maker’s sophisticated all-wheel-drive system in a so-called sub-compact production car for the first time, suggests that Audi feels there are plenty of people out there looking for pocket-rocket thrills at far from pocket-money prices.

So the S1 name has been revived for 2014, this time offering a simple choice of a three-door model at £24,905 on the road, or five-door Sportback for an extra £730.

Both use a new 2.0-litre TFSI engine delivering 231 PS through a slick, six-speed manual transmission.

I had a 116-mile run around a mix of motorway and twisting country roads in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire earlier this month and enjoyed every second. It is hard not to, when you have acceleration of 0-62mph in 5.8 seconds on tap and a potential top speed of 155mph.

That awesome potential is controlled by a clutch mounted on the rear axle and electronic stabilisation control that delivers agile, but crucially, supremely stable handling.

Suspension has been specially reworked for the car and damper settings are adjustable through Audi’s electronic ‘adaptive dynamics’ system.

Riding on 17-inch wheels as standard, with 18-inch alternatives as an option, the S1 never feels anything except solidly glued to the road.

The only loss that an S1 owner pays over an A1 is a slight reduction in boot space to accommodate the clutch and electronics and an increase in noise on poor road surfaces.

Oxford Mail:

As the little car is being sold by the same dealers who will also cheerfully relieve buyers of more than £100,000 for a top-of-the-range Audi model, not surprisingly the S1 is a high-quality product.

The interior is a classy mix of brushed stainless steel, soft leather and piano black inserts, along with a range of creature comforts ranging from electronic climate control, six-speaker CD audio system, Bluetooth phone link and an onboard computer.

Options range from an exterior styling package to Bose surround sound and even a system to connect the car to the Internet.

Last year, Audi saw its worldwide sales achieve a best-ever figure of more than 1.5m, a rise of more than eight per cent on the previous 12 months with UK sales alone increasing by almost 15 per cent.

Little wonder that Audi has big expectations of its smallest quattro so far.

Audi S1 quattro at a glance

  • Price: £25,635
  • Insurance group: TBC
  • Fuel consumption (combined): 39.8mpg
  • Top speed: 155mph
  • Length: 397.5cm/156.5in
  • Width: 174.6cm/68.7in
  • Luggage capacity: 7.42 cu ft
  • Fuel tank capacity: 9.9 gallons/45 litres
  • CO2 emissions: 166 g/km
  • Warranty: Three years/60,000 miles