The Audi Quattro Spyder Is The Supercar Concept We Wish Made It To Production
Concept cars have been used by automakers for quite a while now to not only test new technologies that could one day make their way into production models but to also show off what the automaker in question can accomplish — of course, without the pressure of having to mass-produce the cars of the future while facing public scrutiny. This is why concept cars are often shown at some of the biggest motor shows. While many of these experimental cars aren't large topics of conversation for car lovers, there are a handful that people wish had made it into production.
One example of this is the 1991 Audi Quattro Spyder concept car. This impressive mid-engine supercar was first shown off at the Frankfurt Motor Show and has since gained quite the reputation (via Top Gear). The Audi concept presents a sleek ride, and it inspired one car in particular that happens to be considered among the auto brand's best. The concept is powered by a 2.8-liter V6 engine that's paired with a 4-speed manual transmission; it has a max of 172 horsepower and a torque of 181 lb-ft, plus it is an all-wheel-drive model. The Audi Quattro Spyder also served as a foreshadowing for the mid-engine future of many Audi cars.
Which model did this concept inspire?
The question many people have when it comes to concept cars is why they never went into production, especially when they're as beloved and well-respected as this one from Audi. In this case, buyers were never able to own the Audi Quattro Spyder because of financial concerns. Specifically, the car would have cost around 100,000 German marks at the time, according to Motor 1, which would have been far too small a market for Audi to target. Money is often the reason we don't get the best concept cars — they cost too much to produce, oftentimes, which means they would be too expensive for most consumers to purchase.
Though not directly based on the Quattro Spyder, the R8, which was released in 2006 to the public after being shown at motor shows for years, is seen as the product of the 15 years that stood between the concept and the model that actually made it to production. The production model released in 2006 was an all-wheel-drive mid-engine two-seater that happened to be more powerful than the concept car it was partly derived from: it had a 4.2-liter V8 engine under its hood offering 414 horsepower at 7800 rpm and a torque of 317 ft-lb (via Carfolio).
Fast-forward to today and drivers still love the R8, viewing it as what the Audi Quattro Spyder could have been. It's always sad when quality cars can't be sold based on number crunching, but seeing at least some of the ideas from cars like the Quattro Spyder make it to models that people can buy makes the effort worth it in the long run. Perhaps someday the company will finally bring the original Spyder concept to the market, as there are now cheaper ways to build it.