MTM surprised the world this year with their record breaking MTM A1 Nardo Edition. At the Nardo highspeed circuit in Southern-Italy it set a top speed record of an unbelievable 324km/h. MTM invited us to join them in Germany for two days and hit the road with the unique MTM A1 Nardo Edition.

The first thing you will notice when you see the MTM A1 Nardo Edition parked outside the MTM Headquarters is the distincive MTM livery that we saw on some of their latest creations including the MTM RS6 Clubsport that we drove in Monte-Carlo in May. But apart from the livery this car is still undeniable recognizable as an A1. When you open the bonnet its a completely different story, the regular engine has been swapped with a 2.5 liter five-cylinder engine from the TT-RS. This engine in stock condition produces a very cool 340hp. But this wasn’t enough to take the record at Nardo so the MTM engineers, under supervision of company founder and CEO Roland Mayer, have lifted the output of the five-cylinder turbocharged engine to a whopping 500hp.

Taking the engine from the TT-RS and lifting it into the Audi A1 was just the beginning of this engineering challenge. The Audi A1 remains front-wheel drive which means the front wheels and the drivetrain had to cope with 500hp and 600Nm of torque. To help, MTM mounted a limited slip differential and six-speed manual gearbox.

Read more: Road Test: MTM A1 Nardo Edition