Audi A1 still on the drawing board

Posted Mon Oct 8 2007 10:37 AM by Viknesh Vijayenthiran

Audis have a tendency to look the same but that doesn’t mean designers don’t toil for months on getting the lines of the cars just right. Case in point is the situation with the upcoming Audi A1 hatch, which is reported to be still on the drawing board despite plans for the unveiling of a concept car at this month’s Tokyo Motor Show.

The problem is that officials have deemed the concept car to be too radical for production and thus no final design has been signed off. The new A1 is a small hatchback based on Volkswagen’s Polo and is being targeted at BMW’s Mini range. According to Automotive News, the A1 will begin production in Brussels at the end of 2009 and should top 100,000 units per year.

Power will come from a turbocharged range of diesel and petrol engines with displacing starting at just 1.2L and moving up to 2.0L. Audi will also be showcasing a hybrid version of the A1 concept at the Tokyo show and it’s possible the mild-hybrid version could also enter production. Unlike most minicars, the A1 won’t be cheap and is expected to have a price tag of around €20,000.

Gallery: Audi A1

Reader Comments

Mon Oct 8 2007 11:24 AM
Sanchez says

I just hate those boring executives, who always tend to kill anything cool and interesting (i.e. "radical"). Production cars almost always look so much less interesting than concepts. And I'm not talking about unrealistic things, they ruin many good and absolutely possible features/designs. :(
Mon Oct 8 2007 6:20 PM
HECTOR says

What kind of brand snob do you have to be to buy this car? The same brand snob as those who will buy the BMW 1 series.

By the way: also on the drawing board: the A0, A-1 and A-02. Also the A9, A10 & A11. Coming soon! The Q1, Q2, RSA-01, S9.3, A3:9-4x7....

Stop the insanity!!
Mon Oct 8 2007 7:38 PM
Gus says

Hahhaahhaaa. That was funny.
It's true, how many models do we possible need? It's amazing to someone who grew up in the 80s when there was an S-class, an E-class, and a C-class.
Wed Oct 10 2007 5:54 AM
car fan says

if you can't handle progress then at least don't ruin it for the rest of us. I welcome all the new models, it's called competition and having options. It's the best the consumer could ask for. I do not have a confidence or personality (or financial) problem to prevent me from choosing to buy an Audi.

As far as the article is concerned, the only issue I have is that because of this tinkering with a new design for such extended period Audi seems to always allow the competition to react to its designs and even come to market before Audi's models are introduced.

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