Audi working on new A2, including an electric version
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Audi A1 Sportback concept
Audi has made a habit over the last few years of teasing us with cool small car concepts that appear as if they could be production-bound but have yet to materialize into an actual vehicle for sale. Audi's trepidation isn't too surprising since its last city car, the A2, never found a real audience and failed to translate into big sales. Still, the automaker hasn't given up on the idea of an A2 revival, especially since small cars from logical competitors, like the MINI from BMW, have proven so popular.
According to Michael Dick, the German brand's chief of R&D, the next small car in the works has moved to the concept stage and is reportedly recognizable as an A2 but will be designed from the start to house both standard internal combustion engines and electric powertrains. The firm's A1 will do battle with the smart fortwo and Toyota iQ on the city car front while the revived A2 will be a bit larger and will be based on a separate platform.
Gallery: Audi A1 Sportback concept
[Source: Autocar]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tohe 12:26AM (3/25/2009)
Haven't they learned anything from Tesla? why do they insist in making EVs unattractive and far fetched? I don't get why they couldn't simply give us an EV version of their popular A4 or their cabriolet? I've always wanted an Audi and had high hopes, that they would be among the first auto company to innovate and promote their cars into the EV market. I guess I was wrong as I this announcement showcases their determination to fail.
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Mirko 6:59AM (3/25/2009)
" The firm's A1 will do battle with the smart fortwo and Toyota iQ on the city car front"
Really? The A1 will be as large as the Polo - 4 meters long, while the Fortwo is 2.7 meters long and the iQ still under 3 meters. They are both sub-sub-subcompacs, while the A1 just will be a normal small car, just a tiny bit smaller than an A3.
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Middleman 8:30AM (4/21/2009)
It won't work unless it passes the 7 tests - read about them here:
http://caughtinthemiddleman.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/739/
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