Audi is well advanced with plans for a spiritual successor to the lightweight A2 city car, according to company sources.
Strong demand for the recently launched A1, and the increasing relevance of fuel efficiency — an area where the original, aluminium-bodied A2 really excelled — are thought to have persuaded the Ingolstadt firm to replace the car. However, it was considered a sales flop by the time it was axed in 2005.
See an exclusive rendering of the Audi A2
“A new A2 is being discussed internally and a number of concepts are being looked at,” an insider told Autocar. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it was shown first as a concept. “I’m sure that the new car will be in a similar mould of the old model: futuristic, low volume and using state-of-the-art technology,” the source added. “It will be an unashamedly hi-tech Audi.”
Engineers are also thought to have been given the challenging target of undercutting the 895kg weight of the original A2. However, the low-run A2 1.2 TDI ‘three-litre’ model, which returned 95mpg, weighed just 825kg; that raises the possibility that the internal weight target for a new, four-seat A2 could be as low as 800kg.
Read more on Audi's plans for a new A2
It’s thought that the new A2 could be one of the first production cars using Audi’s new Multimaterial Space Frame (MSF) technology, which will underpin the company’s next-generation MLB-Evo platform. MSF mixes steel, aluminium and fibre-reinforced plastics — using rivets, screws and bonding — into a single structure and will replace Audi’s pure-aluminium ASF construction.
Insider sources at Audi say the MLB-Evo platform will be used on all future models, from the A4 up to the Q7.
Hilton Holloway
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