2010 Audi A1

2010 Audi A1

2010 Audi A1

The new Audi A1 has stepped out in public for the first time and CAR’s spies were on hand to capture the moment. This three-door Audi A1 is a near production-ready car and, despite the hallucinogenic disguise in our spyshots, it’s clear to see the silhouette and outline of Audi’s new Mini rival.

The 2010 Audi A1 will be shown at next spring’s Geneva motor show, with first drives held over the summer. Continental sales start in the middle of 2010, right-hand drive A1 sales most likely kicking off in September.

2010 Audi A1

Great scoop! Where were these Audi A1 spy photos taken?

On the streets around Munich, Germany, not far from Audi’s Ingolstadt HQ. The spyshots confirm the A1 will be launched initially as a three-door hatchback, like the Mini. A five-door hatch, probably dubbed Sportback like the concept car, will follow. These first scoop photos prove that Audi has deviated little from the A1-siring Metroproject Quattro concept car.

Unlike the original lightweight Audi A2 which pioneered the use of aluminium and other clever technologies previously unseen on volume small cars, the new 2010 A1 will be a more conventional supermini.

Conventional in the sense that it will stick with steel construction and a transverse engine, front-drive format – for now (4wd quattro versions are rumoured for future faster A1s). The A2 was clever, but it was also costly – and Audi plans to build 80,000 A1s annually in a full year’s production.