Audacious Automotive has revealed the IV, a modern tribute to the Audi Quattro, built in Edinburgh and limited to just 50 hand-built examples. The IV combines the B7-generation Audi RS4’s underpinnings with the short-wheelbase Quattro’s styling, and is powered by a 4.2-liter V8 that can be specified to rev as high as 10,000 rpm. Prices begin at £350,000, excluding VAT, donor vehicles, and other costs, with the first customer deliveries scheduled for late next year and a build process of around three years per car.
The original Audi Quattro established the marque’s reputation for all-wheel-drive performance and became a rally icon. Audacious Automotive’s IV reinterprets that legacy by using the RS4’s modern chassis, suspension, brakes, and six-speed manual gearbox, while offering a body in either original Quattro metalwork or new carbon fiber panels. Founder Mac Zaglewski said the project avoids pristine donor cars, aiming instead to “give tired cars a new lease on life.” Most customers are expected to choose the carbon fiber option, which brings the target weight down to 1200kg, compared to 1400 to 1450kg for metal-bodied builds.
Four engine specifications will be available, all based on the naturally aspirated 4.2-liter V8 from the RS4. The entry configuration adds a supercharger for 600bhp, while a Stage Two package with strengthened internals and enhanced cooling and fueling lifts output to 750bhp. The most ambitious variant is a 10,000-rpm version, available with or without the supercharger. Zaglewski said the car must be “very much usable, very much enjoyable and very much analogue,” which led to the choice of the B7 RS4 base and its Torsen all-wheel-drive system, rather than the current RS3’s Haldex setup.
The IV’s bodywork is inspired by the Group B rally Quattro, with some cues from the IMSA GTO version of the Audi 90. It does not wear Audi badges, instead carrying Audacious’s own. The interior has been redesigned to evoke the original Quattro’s brutalist style, with a new dashboard, instruments, and switchgear, but keeps the RS4’s wingback seats and their electronic controls.
Each IV will be tailored to its buyer, with Audacious offering a personalization program for exterior color, interior materials, suspension tuning, and mechanical specification. Zaglewski said, “no two examples of the IV are identical,” and that the specification can be modified according to how the owner plans to use the car. The car shown in Zermatt Silver is a 750bhp, road-focused example. The IV is claimed to reach 60 mph in 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 200 mph, though Audacious hasn’t specified which engine configuration achieves these figures.
Production is capped at 50 units, with the majority expected to use carbon fiber bodywork and the rest to be built from original Quattro shells. The price starts at £350,000, not including VAT, donor cars, or registration. The full build process, from commission to delivery, is expected to take three years.
The magazine has also looked at Audi’s most powerful production car, the latest RS 6, for readers interested in the brand’s contemporary high-performance models.
Sources
- Autocar: Revealed: Legendary Audi Quattro returns with 10,000rpm V8 twist, October 30, 2026
- Car and Driver: A British Marque Is Building a New Audi Quattro with a 10,000-RPM V-8, October 30, 2026
- Motor1: A Modern Audi Quattro With A 10,000-RPM V8? Yes, Please, October 30, 2026
