STEPHEN OTTLEY

Never accuse Audi of sitting idle. Its just-launched A1 hatch is set to spawn spin-offs including this striking Cabriolet.

The German firm is expected to add several variants of the Mini-fighting A1, starting with a five-door hatch. It will be followed by a sporty S1, which is expected to share the drivetrain of the Volkswagen Polo GTI.

They are both scheduled to launch next year in Europe.

The convertible will be crucial to Audi’s campaign to steal sales from BMW-owned Mini, which has had success with its drop-top model.

The Cabriolet will almost certainly share the A1 hatch’s running gear – small-capacity turbo-petrol and diesel engines matched to six-speed manual or seven-speed double-clutch auto transmissions. No launch date has been confirmed; speculation points to early 2012.

Audi is also believed to be working on an Allroad A1.

JEZ SPINKS – Audi’s new model flagship the A8

Is Audi’s new image and technological leader a genuine rival for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7-Series?

Audi has the wind in its sails as booming sales continue to narrow the gap to market leader BMW, so it’s apt that we find ourselves in the Australian yachting Mecca of the Whitsunday Islands for the launch of the German brand’s flagship model.

With cars banned from Hamilton Island, however, a quick hop across the Great Barrier Reef from the static launch venue to Cairns is necessary if Audi’s Great Big Sedan isn’t to become the shortest first drive in automotive history.

Since the A8’s first appearance in 1994, Audi’s range-topping model has always been considered the ‘other’ choice of the three German limos that include the dominant Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7-Series. Audi, however, believes its brand has never been stronger and that renewed credibility will drive increased A8 sales.

If first impressions in the limousine segment arguably begin with styling, the A8’s design could be considered disappointing. In a segment where imposing, bespoke looks are said to be desirable, the A8 merely looks like an enlarged A4.

Step inside, though, and Audi’s elite executive car is the business. The car maker is renowned for brilliant interiors, and the A8’s cabin is suitably dressed to take it to its highest level yet.

The look and feel of many buttons and dials are familiar from other Audis, but they’re grouped together in a more sophisticated presentation – and surrounded by an exquisite mix of materials that include alcantara, leather, wood and both polished and brushed aluminium.

A best-in-class award for finest interior, however, would be hotly contested by Jaguar’s recently arrived XJ, the British limo that also brings high-tech features such as a digital instrument panel. The A8, like its rivals, must act as a technological showcase for the brand and there are multiple driver assist systems available either as standard or options. They include Audi’s first night vision assist, blind spot alert and lane departure warning.

There’s also a new version of adaptive cruise control with stop and go function, where the car effectively takes control of acceleration and deceleration in traffic – now up to a speed of 250km/h (German autobahns only obviously) and now down to a complete standstill just metres behind the car in front. It’s a smooth and clever experience, even if slightly unnerving.

Audi’s MMI (multimedia interface) menu operating system has always been wonderfully intuitive (and is now mimicked by BMW’s latest iDrive), and it now features a touchpad that allows the driver or front passenger to work some functions – such as sat-nav destination entries – simply by scribbling capital letters (or numbers) with your index finger.

It might sound gimmicky but it works, and your letter ‘writing’ doesn’t have to be super accurate for the system to recognise the input.

So the A8 is an Aladdin’s cave of high technology, though during the launch drive the car didn’t deliver the magic carpet ride that many would consider a crucial element for the target market.

The ride is generally comfortable, but the lumps and bumps encountered suggested the A8, even with its variable dampers in their softest setting (Comfort), will not isolate occupants from surface irregularities as well as an S-Class. Road noise also became noticeable on coarse-chip roads.

It won’t handle as well as the recently arrived Jaguar XJ, either, despite Audi’s claims that the A8 is the sportiest car in its segment.

Yes, there’s a firmer, more disciplined feel to the suspension when Dynamic mode is selected, but the sensational zig-zagging stretch of road that runs through Queensland’s Gillies Range reveals some dynamic shortcomings.

The steering, firstly, is accurate enough – and weights up in Dynamic mode – but is devoid of the feel crucial to making a more involving driving experience.

It doesn’t feel as agile as the XJ, either, despite sharing the Jaguar’s boast of aluminium construction that keeps its kerb weight (1835kg) below the two-tonne mass that’s common to the limo segment.

But while there’s plenty of body roll in corners, there’s also no shortage of grip from the standard 19-inch tyres and the brakes are easy to modulate. All-wheel-drive also adds a layer of extra assurance when the road surface is not so traction friendly.

As you up the rate of knots – and the nautical theme can’t be helped when Audi calls the A8’s transmission stick a ‘yacht thrust lever’ – there’s a delicious, if muted, snarl from the ridiculously smooth 273kW 4.2-litre V8 under the bonnet.

Acceleration never feels dramatic but the A8 4.2 FSI has sufficient pace to make overtaking comfortably easy. There’s also graceful progress through the gears via the new eight-speed auto.

Official fuel consumption of 9.5L/100km is also notable, though our trip computer was reading an average of 15.5L/100km by the end of the launch drive.

Drive spent some of route in the rear seat to see how it stacks up for those buyers who intend to be driven.

They might want to consider the long-wheelbase A8 that will be previewed at October’s Sydney motor show before going on sale some time in 2011. Legroom isn’t as generous as you would expect for a limo, though the roof is sufficiently high to accommodate tall passengers.

The sculpted seats, like the front pews (with 22-way electric adjustment), offer great comfort, and a long, pull-down centre console features pull-out cupholders, storage section and separate controls for the four-zone climate control.

There’s also a ski port, linked to a boot that seems relatively small even at A special mention should be made, though, for the optional Bang & Olufsen audio.

A $14,430 price tag may not be music to the ears, but the awesome sound quality makes it a worthy extra investment – especially in the context of a car that costs $225,904 before on-road costs.

Our first stint aboard Audi’s new flagship suggests it’s worthy of being the brand’s image leader, but only a Drive comparison test can determine whether the A8 can pip its rivals to line honours

JEZ SPINKS – 2010 Audi A8 luxury limosine

Audi claims its vastly improved credibility as a luxury car brand will help its new A8 in the sales battle against dominant S-Class and 7-Series.

Audi says its A8 flagship is better prepared than ever to break the Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7-Series duopoly in the limousine segment.

The car maker has this week launched the third-generation version of the A8, a car that previously in sales terms has reflected Audi’s status as ‘Germany’s third luxury brand’.

While the S-Class and 7-Series accounted for nearly 75 per cent of their category in 2009, the A8 registered a market share of just seven per cent.

The dominance of BMW and Mercedes has slipped slightly so far this year but they still command just under two-thirds of the segment, with the Lexus LS in third place.

Audi is the fastest-growing luxury car maker in Australia and, as it narrows the sales gap to its German rivals, the company believes the brand’s increased credibility among buyers will help sell more A8s than ever before.

“You have to understand that when we launched the second-generation A8 in 2003 that Audi was not where Audi is today,” says Audi Australia’s general manager of marketing, Immo Buschmann.

“The Audi brand has developed; it has a lot more substance in this market now than it did in 2003. “We’ve built a dealer network to the point where they can actually sell a car like the A8, and it means this car has a lot greater chance of being successful.”

Audi believes it can sell “at least” 100 A8s per year, though this would still be about half the sales of the 7-Series and S-Class.

Buschmann admits the next three years will be the prime selling period for the A8 because the status-oriented nature of such cars means buyers prefer to have the latest model regardless of brand.

“Yes, that’s more an issue like the supercar segment, where the guy who buys an R8 might suddenly buy an Aston Martin the next year and then buy a Ferrari the following year.

“With cars like the A8, though, the customers tend to be a bit more loyal and they tend to hold their car for two or three years. But ,yes, whatever is then the new kid on the block, customers might jump on that.

“It basically boils down to brand and how much the customer feels for it and wants to be associated with the brand. That will determine success. And we have brand credibility now.

“We may not be the No.1 but the new A8 will be a key player in its segment.”

The new A8 goes on sale officially in September. It will be powered initially by an upgraded 4.2-litre V8 for the 4.2 FSI model that costs $225,904 (plus on-road costs). It will be joined later by other all-wheel-drive models, including a 3.0-litre V6 diesel (by end of year) and a 4.2-litre V8 diesel (early 2011). All engines will be mated to a new eight-speed auto.

A long-wheelbase version will be showcased at October’s Sydney motor show, though Audi Australia is not yet committing to front-wheel-drive A8s that will eventually be made available.

An Audi source revealed that the company is working on a twin-turbocharged V8 TFSI engine that will eventually replace the 4.2 FSI V8.

Bruce Newton, The Sydney Morning Herald

The diesel version of the five-door coupe is the best vehicle to wear the A5 badge.

Good:
• Rides, handles and steers with the best balance of any A5
• strong performance excellent economy.

2 Minute road test:

Competitors

There’s perception and then there’s reality. Audi wants you to believe the A5 Sportback creates a whole new passenger-car niche. However, this is actually a hatchback derivative of the A4 with a sexier name and look.

PETER MCKAY – Artist’s illustration of 2013 Audi A2

The original A2 was considered a car ahead of its time, and Audi is set to bring it back – this time with cheaper steel construction.

Audi is expected to revive the A2 hatchback that became famous in the late ’90s for its aluminium construction.

An A2 has become the only obvious gap in Audi’s family of passenger cars, following this week’s launch of the A1 sub-compact car.

The A2 was Audi’s first tilt at a compact car and was sold in Europe between 1999 and 2005, though while it was highly acclaimed it never reached viable sales volumes.

Despite a light kerbweight reducing fuel consumption to as low as 3.0L/100km on one model, and some admirable green values, the A2’s aluminium construction made it too expensive to buy. Five years after production finished, Audi says the A2 is proving popular all over again.

“Many customers are returning to the A2,” said Audi’s head of development dynamics, Dr Horst Glaser. “It is very popular as a used car. It was ahead of its time but now of course everyone is talking about fuel, C02 and lightweight consumption.”

He hints the A2 is not dead and buried. “There is a missing link between the A1 and A3. Who knows?” was Dr Glaser’s enigmatic comment.

The A2, however, is understood to have already been approved for launch by 2013, though switching to steel to keep building costs down.

The second-generation A2 is expected to be offered with various drivetrains including battery-electric only, hybrid and conventional three-cylinder engines.

PETER MCKAY – Artist’s illustration: 2013 Audi Q1

A1 family will expand as Audi chases its 1.5 million annual sales target for 2015.

Audi will produce further variants of its new baby luxury car, the A1, with spin-offs expected to include a cabriolet, hot-hatch and soft-roader.

The German car maker believes the A1 will already help achieve a one million sales target for 2010, claiming it has taken more orders for the pint-sized hatch in the first four weeks than any other model in its history.

A five-door version of the Mini rival, previewed at last year’s Tokyo motor show, will be first to join the three-door A1 hatch that has just been launched in Europe, with the S1 hot-hatch already confirmed for 2011.

The S1 will be powered by the same 1.4-litre turbocharged and supercharged four-cylinder engine as used in the upcoming VW Polo GTI.

The A1 shares its platform with the baby Volkswagen. Audi’s response to a question about a convertible A1 suggests the model is in the pipeline.

“It is not planned but if acceptance of the A1 is as big as we think, a cabrio/convertible will be contemplated,” days Audi’s head of development dynamics, Dr Horst Glaser.

Lips are tight, however, about a rumoured Q1 model that would become the smallest and most affordable of Audi’s range of soft-roaders.

The company already sells the Q5 and Q7, with a Q3 model confirmed to arrive by 2011. The A1 is also packaged to take a petrol-electric hybrid drivetrain if the decision is made to go in this direction.

“Every car company has its own ideas on the future of the motor car,” says Dr Glaser. “But no one really knows the right direction for future power trains.”

Dr Glaser has ruled out a smaller and more affordable Audi we in the foreseeable future. “There is no thinking about a smaller car at the moment.”

PETER MCKAY – Drive heads to Berlin, Germany, to test the world’s smallest luxury car.

Audi’s new sub-compact hatch, the A1 – its first go at a such a small premium car – will certainly get the attention of the 2011 versions of the old inner-city yuppies.

It has the looks and features. And a desirable badge. It’s also a fun drive. The hardest questions they’ll need to ask themselves are what colour and what engine.

Turbo diesels are rightly all the rage, especially among European car makers; their appeal is a usual joyous driveability and of course their frugality at the pump.

But Drive’s choice of the two engines on offer with the A1 when it arrives early next year is definitely the petrol-sipping 1.4-litre turbocharged TFSI version.

Due in large part to the A1’s low weight – 1040kg – the 90kW turbo TFSI petrol engine (which powers the base model Golf locally) is lively enough – and economical, too.

Audi claims its weight is the lowest in the segment. The petrol A1’s claimed zero-100km/h time is a reasonable 8.9 seconds.

That’s hardly rocket-like but it’s handy enough. More importantly, maybe, is the engine’s pleasant drive characteristics, pulling willingly from around 1500 revs (this is a petrol four-cylinder, remember), with peak torque on tap between 1500 and 4000rpm.

It also comes with commendable noise suppression and refinement. We tried the six-speed manual and the seven-speed ‘S-tronic’ dual-clutch automated manual versions and consumption with both was a thrifty 7.4 litres/100km in a mix of 120km/h autobahn driving and heavy city traffic snarls.

The A1 TFSI is pleasantly quiet at 120km/h, too, when the engine is turning over at just 2500rpm in top. On the other hand, the 1.6 TDI turbo diesel feels surprisingly indolent low in the rev band, and doesn’t get percolating until around 1700rpm. It’s also noisy at low speed, though less so at cruising pace.

Its economy is up there with the best in the market. In real-world traffic conditions on a rural and city peak sampling of a five-speed manual TDI, Drive returned 4.2L/100km.

The largely straight and smooth tarmac roads in and around Berlin this week hardly provided definitive answers to the questions Drive was asking about the A1’s ride and handling.

We managed to find a few patchy pieces of road and some cobblestones that suggested that the A1’s ride is nowhere near as punishing on kidneys and teeth fillings as the Mini.

The question of whether the A1 offers premium-level comfort along with sporty handling needs to be determined closer to home in more familiar road conditions.

In the few winding bits we encountered, the little Audi changed direction purposefully with no loss of composure.

Body roll was minimal through the corners and there was no sign of the tendency of some front-wheel-drive cars to understeer or ‘push’.

The electronic limited slip diff, which is part of the ESP (stability control) system, does a fine job of computer-managing any nasty tendencies out of its handling behaviour.

The electro-hydraulic steering is also quite direct. Choosing manual or the S-tronic dual-clutch gearbox is another buyer conundrum.

Manual is more fun; the S-tronic is getting better and better, even in slow-speed situations where in the past it was sometimes bothersome.

The interior seems about A3 size, with good head room. Rear seat passengers can be accommodated with a little compromise.

The sports seats, with adjustable ride height and lumbar, are terrific, with excellent support and comfort. It has a handy functional side, too, with a versatile split-fold rear seat that can be folded flat to open 920 litres of cargo space.

The boot has a lid that can be positioned at two levels, depending on requirements. Beneath the lid is the battery, put there for improved weight distribution.

There is no spare, not even a space-saver. The A1 runs on 15-inch alloys for the Attraction trim level, 16s for the Ambition. 17-inch alloy wheels are optional.

If you’re after a sportier A1, an S1 model is coming next year.

STEVE COLQUHOUN – 2010 Audi RS5.

Thanks to an angry volcano, I’m part of an extremely exclusive group to have driven Audi’s newest performance hero, the RS5.

The car’s international launch was disrupted by the huge cloud of volcanic ash creeping across continental Europe.  Most of the journalists who actually made it to the launch scrambled to get home by whatever means at their disposal. Hundreds more, due to fly in from around the world, phoned in their apologies.

That left a select group to sample some V8 magic at full, glorious noise around the Ascari racetrack in the Spanish coastal hinterland.

First impressions are that it’s a lively little bugger, to use the technical terminology. It needs to be, though, with the likes of BMW’s mighty M3 coupe and the brutally powerful Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG sedan in its cross-hairs.

It’s off to a flying start under the bonnet, having nicked the brilliant 4.2-litre, naturally aspirated V8 engine from the Audi R8. For the RS5, Audi tickled out an extra 22kW to bring power to a mighty 331kW that’s available just shy of its stratospheric 8500rpm redline. Torque is unchanged but more than adequate at 430Nm from 4000 to 6000rpm.

Audi concedes forced induction is the way of the future because of the outstanding power-to-economy ratio of turbocharged engines, but took the traditional path with the RS5 and it’s a better car for it.

Acceleration is immediate, swift and linear, dispatching the 0-100km/h sprint in 4.6 seconds, and largely without guilt. A combined fuel consumption figure of 10.8 litres per 100km is outstanding for a V8-powered sports car, and undercuts its less-powerful R8 brother by a sizeable 2.3L/100km.

It’s teamed exclusively to a seven-speed dual clutch auto. This style of gearbox in other cars can tend to feel a bit busy, thunking up and down the box endlessly in suburban stop-start driving in the quest for fuel economy. Not so the intuitive RS5 unit, called S Tronic, that’s freakishly good at understanding your driving style and predicting what you’ll do next.

There’s always the steering wheel-mount paddle shifters if you’re the DIY type, and shift patterns can further be tuned to comfort (soft), dynamic (sporty), auto (variable) or individually tailored specifications. Dynamic mode is particularly aurally satisfying, allowing the engine to rev all the way around to its limit with a banshee howl, and greeting downshifts with a delightful crackle.

Audi has worked on the steering, and it’s indisputably more precise, responsive and confidence-inspiring than the A5 coupe on which the RS5 is based.

The RS5 joins a select few Audi performance models to bear the “RS” moniker, which loosely translates to stand for “racing sport”. To boost its track credentials Audi has developed a launch control system – stomp both the accelerator and the brake pedal simultaneously and when the car holds the tacho needle at 5500rpm, step off the brake for a perfect traction-controlled launch.

A racing-style spoiler recessed into the boot-lid is automatically raised at 120km/h and stows again when speed drops below 80km/h.

The piece de resistance, though, is an Audi-developed self-locking crown gear differential that works with the “quattro” all-wheel-drive system to hold a 60:40 rear-front split until traction is lost, when it can send up to 85 per cent of power to the rear wheels or 70 per cent to the front.

There’s also a torque vectoring system that detects when an unloaded inside wheel is about to break into wheelspin and gently applies an individual brake . The result is a confidence-boosting all-paw safety net that’s usually several steps ahead of you in arresting any loss of traction.

It comes with a penalty when compared to its BMW and Benz rivals, though, with the added weight of the all-wheel-drive system blunting a little bit of the RS5’s impressive power delivery.

Other minor niggles are a back seats that is so cramped it is almost uninhabitable, front seats you have to shift yourself on the base model, a mile-long options list and a sticker price that’s likely to be well north of $150,000 by the time it lands here later this year.

The new Audi A4 TDIe aims to mix luxury and sportiness with fuel efficiency.

Compromise is typically the name of the game for car buyers hankering after space and real-world fuel efficiency combined with a dose of sporty performance. Two outa three ain’t bad, right?

Now Audi says you can have it all with the greenest version yet of its A4 mid-size sedan, dubbed the 2.0 TDIe.

We’re testing the theory on the type of road trip that holidaying families might find themselves on: kicking off by wading through Adelaide’s morning peak hour and ending around seven hours and more than 500km later in outback Broken Hill.

The designated route is deficient of the type of roads that showcase sporting virtue, but no matter. Today’s trip is mostly about fuel; specifically, how much – or little – we’re going to use.

Along the way we’ll reinforce our opinion of the A4’s worth as an open-road tourer that pampers up to four occupants in comfortable and classy surroundings. We’ll arrive in the rural mining centre feeling fresh, courtesy of comfy and supportive leather seats and a generous equipment specification that includes cruise control, climate control, a 10-speaker audio system that includes full iPod integration, and automatic headlights and wipers.

The first order of the day is to get acquainted with the 2.0 TDIe’s headline act, a stop/start system that can shut off the engine when the car comes to a halt, saving fuel that is normally burnt when the car is idling. Adelaide’s brief but heavy peak hour provides ample opportunity, with plenty of traffic around to regularly hamper our progress.

Bring the A4 to a halt, slot the six-speed manual gearbox into neutral and remove your foot from the clutch. In most cases the engine switches itself off with a tiny but perceptible shudder, and sits idle and silent until the clutch is depressed. Then it springs back to life with a quick cough, and is typically ready for action before you can slot first gear and move your right foot from the brake to depress the accelerator.

It’s possible to deactivate the system by pressing a button in the centre console, but with a system that works this well, why bother? Other irregular activities will also cause it to shut down – stalling, for instance. To re-boot the system, though, you need to reactivate the dash-mounted key with two presses, rather than simply stabbing the more conveniently located engine starter button on the console. It’s a small blight on an otherwise well-devised design.

There’s also an automatic over-ride function that will prioritise the car’s needs – maintaining the climate control temperature or feeding other demands on the electrical system – by restarting the stopped engine if needed.

Hand-in-glove with the stop-start system is another cornerstone technology, Audi’s “Driver Efficiency Program”. It has the dual role of informing the driver what the car is doing, and telling them how to drive more efficiently. Opening a window while the climate control is working earns a rebuke, while holding a gear for too long also prompts a suggestion that you should be paying more attention to the gearshift indicator.

You can also view your instant and average fuel consumption on the same screen, quickly teaching you where you use most fuel. It becomes an involving challenge to try to undercut the average by moderating bursts of acceleration and coasting more frequently to squeeze more distance from the fuel tank.

Another handy gauge shows how much your ancillary functions – such as climate control – are contributing to fuel use, although it requires some mathematical nous to recalculate the litres-per-hour readout into the standard litres-per-100km measure.

Other fuel-saving technogies are not as obvious, but still apparent in day-to-day driving. Aerodynamic measures including a 15mm-lower ride height courtesy of sports-tuned suspension help the A4 to scythe more efficiently through the air and generate better balance and handling, but also produce a less forgiving ride with small-to-medium road acne transferred faithfully through the cabin. Low rolling-resistance tyres generate significant tyre noise on coarse-chip surfaces, but gear ratios reconfigured for fuel economy do little to dampen the A4’s enthusiastic response to requests for acceleration. Brake energy recovery and regeneration is seamless and unnoticeable.

At the heart of it all is Audi’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel (or TDI, in Audi-speak) engine. With just 100kW of power but 320Nm of torque it’s flexible and willing, with equal enthusiasm for overtaking on the open road as for diving into a gap in traffic. The six-speed manual is relatively easy to use with a nice, positive clutch action but the lack of an automatic option – for which Audi is still working on a stop/start system – won’t overjoy some prospective customers.

So does it all make a difference to consumption? Or is it all metaphoric smoke and mirrors? Officially, the A4 2.0 TDIe gets a combined consumption figure of 4.8 litres per 100km, one litre per 100km better than the A4 2.0 TDI on which it is based.

In peak hour traffic, where cars normally drink the most, we saw around 3.0L/100km courtesy of frequent engine shutdowns, rising to 3.9L/100km by the time we reached the city limits as speed rose and traffic lights thinned. A couple more hours of highway driving nudged the average to 4.9L/100km by our lunch stop in the Clare Valley.

With trip computers reset we again hit the highway after lunch and with the stop/start system rendered redundant, consumption settled around the high fives, showing 5.7L/100km as we rolled into Broken Hill. Above the official average it may be, but we’d also rate it an above-average result relative to the comfort, space and ambience we’d enjoyed over the day.

Priced from $49,900 (plus on-road and dealer costs), the Audi A4 2.0 TDIe is the new starting point in the A4 range and undercuts its diesel-powered BMW and Mercedes-Benz competitors by more than $10,000 on price, and at least 0.6L/100km on official consumption.

Audi says it wants to woo hybrid drivers looking for more performance and sportiness. Although we’re yet to be convinced that the A4’s firmer ride will impress the conservative petrol-electric crowd, the A4 2.0 TDIe still ticks a lot of boxes.

JEZ SPINKS

New A1 will be sporty and customisable … just like BMW’s iconic British hatch.

Audi has revealed the production version of its new Mini rival.

The A1 will become the smallest Audi on the market when it reaches Australia in late 2010, with the German car maker saying it will feature multiple customisation options and sporty driving characteristics just like BMW’s iconic hatch.

Audi says the three-door A1 is targeted at younger buyers and will feature a high level of individualisation. The company, however, has also warned the hatchback is not going to be cheap for a small car, with pricing expected to follow the Mini with a starting point in the low-$30,000 bracket.

The four-seat interior will offer connections for Bluetooth and portable music players such as iPhones, as well as infotainment and multimedia systems based on those used in the company’s more expensive luxury vehicles.

Different seat colours are one of the options buyers will have to individualise the A1’s interior, while contrasting paint for the car’s roof arches will also be available.

The contrasting roof arches featured on the 2007 Metroproject quattro concept that closely previewed the A1, which is based on the same underpinnings as the forthcoming Volkswagen Polo.

The production A1 hatchback retains the arched shape and short overhangs of the concept, and is easily identified as an Audi by design cues such as the dominant grille, LED daytime running lights and sharply styled head- and tail-lights.

At 3950mm in length, the A1 is 251mm longer than a Mini Cooper hatch. It should also be more practical, with more boot space (267 v 160 litres).

The A1 is also set to be Audi’s most fuel efficient model, launching with four four-cylinder engines featuring both turbocharging and direct injection and ranging in consumption from 3.8 to 5.4 litres per 100km.

Engines include two 1.6-litre turbo diesels with 66kW and 77kW of power respectively, and two turbo petrols comprising 63kW 1.2-litre and 90kW 1.4-litre.

A seven-speed dual-clutch automated manual will be a cost alternative to the standard manual gearbox.

Stop-start and regenerative brakes will contribute to efficiency, while the 1.2-litre engine also benefits from a new temperature management system.

Five-door and convertible versions of the A1 are expected to follow the three-door, as well as S1 and RS1 performance versions.