As a fan and champion of everything related to hot hatchbacks, I often find myself giggling every time an aftermarket tuner presents a tuning program for a hot hatch. I’m not ashamed to admit it, but my reaction was no different when B&B Automobiltechnik presented its latest tuning exploit, a program for the Audi S1 that heavily focuses on the engine.

This is a good one, especially for those who aren’t satisfied with the S1’s standard output of 231 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque. B&B certainly addressed that by presenting a five-stage engine upgrade program that helps the Audi pocket rocket increase its output to as much as 380 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of torque.

There’s plenty to digest here, not the least of which is the differences between the five-stage engine upgrade. In addition to that, B&B is also offering chassis and suspension improvements and a new set of 18-inch wheels that promises to add some extra jolt of character into the car.

The versatility of the program is evident and B&B deserves credit for that. But the kit also its downside, which I will address shortly. Let’s just say that the five-stage engine upgrade may be overwhelming on the surface, but does one really differentiate greatly from the next upgrade, or could B&B have made it simpler for everyone by leaving more room for distinction among the programs?

Continue after the jump to read the full review.

Exterior

Exterior upgrades are limited to a new set of B&B’s very own 18-inch B9-style allow wheels. The fancy rims are shod in 225/35ZR18 tires.

Interior

The program doesn’t come with any interior upgrades.

Drivetrain

As if a three-stage tuning kit isn’t enough, B&B’s engine program for the Audi S1 involves a total of five different stages, peaking at an impressive 380 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of torque. That’s a huge increase from the S1’s already imposing 231-horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque standard output.

There’s a lot to go by here so let’s start with the Stage 1 kit. This program is made up of a simple ECU remap and adjustments to the fuel and ignition maps. It’s admittedly not much, but it’s more than enough to raise the output to 286 horsepower and 313 pound-feet of torque. If that’s not enough, B&B is also offering a Stage 2 kit that adds to what’s already been improved with upgrades to the intake paths and air ducts. That puts the output to 310 ponies and 332 pound-feet of torque. Then there’s the Stage 3 kit, which adds a special downpipe with sports catalysts to increase the output to 326 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque.

The Stage 4 kit brings the output up to 354 horsepower and 380 pound-feet of torque. A modified turbocharger is a big part of that, as is an uprated oil cooling system, a separate ECU remap, and a bespoke downpipe that by itself adds an extra 16 horsepower. B&B is also offering either a new sports exhaust or one with a sport catalytic converter. Last but certainly not least is the Stage 5 kit, which puts everything together to place the output of the S1’s 2.0-liter turbocharged TFSI engine to 380 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of twist. The result of this particular upgrade helps drop the S1’s 0-to-62-mph sprint time to just 4.5 seconds, 1.4 seconds quicker than the standard model. Even more impressive is how the B&B-tuned S1 can hit 124 mph in just 16.8 seconds, a staggering 6.8 seconds quicker than the 23.6 seconds it takes the standard S1 to do it. And since all of B&B’s upgrades come with the Vmax limiter being getting removed, the S1 now packs a top speed of 177 mph.

Chassis and Suspension

The massive amount of work that was put into the S1’s turbocharged four-cylinder also called for the hot hatchback’s driving dynamics to be removed. B&B addressed that by offering a sports spring set that drops the hatchback’s ride height by 1.38 inches. The tuner is also offering a fully adjustable B&B / KW V3 coilover suspension kit that offers more than just adjustable ride height, it also comes with bounce and rebound damping control adjustability.

Pricing

Pricing details could vary depending on the stage of the engine upgrade. For a clearer picture on the prices, please refer to the table below:

Competition

Audi S1 by ABT Sportsline

ABT Sportsline is considered one of the most popular Audi tuners in the business and back in 2014, the German tuner presented a program for the S1 that revolved around its ABT POWER New Generation system. The end result is an output of 310 horsepower and 324 pound-feet of torque, or a 34-percent increase in power compared to the hot hatch’s standard output. Because of ABT Sportsline’s tuning module, the S1 can now sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 5.3 seconds, although its top speed remains at 155 mph.

Read our full review here.

Audi S1 Supercar Concept By EKS

To be clear, this is not a tuning program in the purest definition of the term. But it's worth mentioning because it shows the potential of the Audi S1. What EKS did back in 2014 was raise the output of the S1's turbo four to a staggering 600 horsepower, allowing it to sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 1.9 seconds. Obviously, the car wasn't made available to the public as it was used at the inaugural FIA World Rallycross Championship in 2014.

Read our full review here.

Conclusion

B&B has two things going for it with this tuning program. One is that it offers plenty of variety for potential customers. The other is that the engine upgrades, even the Stage 5 kit, are priced affordably. Everything else though is subject to interpretation. I for one don’t see the point of having five different tuning stages if the difference between one stage and the other isn’t that significant. That said, I appreciate that B&B took the time to work on it. It shows the class and skill of the tuner to build quality kits, as it has done in the past and almost assuredly, will continue to do in the future.