This is the new Audi A1, due for reveal at the 2010 Geneva motor show. It ‘condenses all the values of the brand down to less than four metres,’ according to Audi. The old A2 did that too (and arguably with more originality thanks to its all-aluminium construction) but while that was a car ahead of its time, this one is bang on schedule.
Looking like the offspring of an A3 and a Citroen Pluriel (but without the folding roof) it’s aimed squarely at the Mini – and another Citroen, the newly arrived DS3, which you can read about here.
So it’s a three-door, four-seat hatch and it’s available with a choice of four engines. There’s a 1.6 TDI with either 90bhp or 105bhp, but we don’t reckon either of those will suit the car as well as the 1.2 or 1.4 TFSI petrols that develop 86bhp and 122bhp respectively. All four come with stop/start technology, even if you specify the optional DSG ‘box.
With the fastest only posting 0-62mph in 9.1sec, it’s safe to assume that hotter ones will arrive further down the line, but for the time being Audi is known to want to concentrate on volume and to that end is targeting the standard Mini Cooper rather than the Cooper S.
Audi says the A1 will be the sportiest car in the class – a bold claim given it’s up against the Mini and uses Polo underpinnings – but the lightest one does weigh only 1045kg (a Cooper is 1140kg) and the engineers have worked hard to move weight further back in the chassis. A 200bhp S1? Let’s hope so, but expect Audi to build up to that with other models first.
The entry-point to A1 ownership is 16,000 euros (approx £13,990) and you’ll be able to personalise extensively – the roof arch comes in a choice of four colours, for instance. We don’t think it has the Mini’s exuberance, but the potential is there. We’ll pass further judgement when we see the A1 first-hand at March’s Geneva motor show, with live show reports on evo.co.uk.