Audi has reinvented the cult-classic A2 hatchback with electric power and a futuristic new look to celebrate its 25th anniversary.
The one-off Audi A2 E-tron is the latest creation to emerge from Audi’s apprenticeship programme, which in recent years has given us the outlandish RS6 GTO concept and a 240bhp, race-inspired reworking of the NSU Prinz.
Technical details of the electric A2 are thin on the ground, but the innovative MPV-cum-supermini has been subtly redesigned with influence from Audi’s current EVs.
The headlights, for example, have been swapped for more modern, slimline LED strips, and the badges at each end are now illuminated - like on the new Audi Q6 E-tron.
The conventional door handles have been removed, too, and the original alloy wheels have made way for a more contemporary closed-off design - measures made, no doubt, in pursuit of enhanced aerodynamic efficiency.
With a coefficient between 0.25 and 0.29, the efficiency-focused A2 was already one of the slipperiest production cars of its era, but Audi has not confirmed a figure for this electric reworking.
Nor has the firm given any indication of how closely the A2 E-tron is related, technically, to any of Audi’s production cars.
At less than four metres long and just 1700mm wide, the A2 is substantially smaller than Audi’s current entry-level EV, the Q4 E-tron, but it is possible that the MEB architecture which underpins that crossover could have been adapted for the compact one-off.
Audi sparked speculation of an electric A2 revival in 2019 when it revealed the AI:ME concept as a futuristic vision of an MEB-based hatchback to succeed the A3, but has not since alluded to any plans for a production version.
A car bearing the A2 E-tron badge could, however, be in showrooms as soon as 2027: Audi is developing a “wonderful and unique” entry-level EV to sit underneath the A4 and Q4 E-tron models, and according to the firm’s new naming strategy for EVs, it will have an even-numbered name.
The original Audi A2 has come to be regarded as a defining car of its era, with its lightweight aluminium construction, wind-cheating bodywork and ultra-frugal petrol and diesel powertrains helping to cement its legacy as a flagbearer for truly efficient family transport.
It was expensive, however, and less practical than the more conventional alternatives that were on sale at the same time, so it sold in low numbers and was not replaced after its retirement in 2005.
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The A2 really was, together with the OG TT and the '97 A6, the pinnacle of Audis' design. It's been ( mostly ) all down hill from there.
This would be a great car but sadly it would never sell. It would cost a fortune to build and Audi would lose more money than it did on the original. It's a hard sell trying to persuade people to buy smaller lighter more efficient cars - when we have been conditioned to believe bigger is better and never mind the cost or weight.
But well done the Audi apprentices for showing what might have been possible.